David Baye Interviews Dorian Yates

My youngest brother David just interviewed six-time Mr. Olympia and high intensity training advocate Dorian Yates at the 2015 FIBO Power Expo in Cologne, Germany for Muscular Development Magazine. Dorian talks about his training philosophy for contest preparation, differences between bodybuilders in the 90’s and today, and the problem with bodybuilders on social media.


While he was there he also got Dorian to sign a few photos and his training DVDs for me, which I look forward to reviewing here after I’m able to watch them. Thanks David!

Dorian Yates' autographed photo

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  • Bryce Apr 15, 2015 @ 14:37

    Couldn’t really see Dorian behind your brother’s arm.

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 12:23

      Hey Bryce,

      David’s arms are pretty big, and over the course of interviewing all of these very large bodybuilders David has learned the trick to looking even bigger is to stand closer to the camera than the person you’re interviewing 🙂

  • JLMA Apr 15, 2015 @ 17:08

    Because I do not like and do not see how anyone could like how people with massive muscles look, I do not understand what drives massive bodybuilders to pursue the goal of growing such huge muscles. Can anyone share some light? This is not a criticism, but just a question because I do not understand. What am I missing? Thank you.

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 12:00

      JLMA,

      Nobody can argue it isn’t impressive to have that much size, but whether it looks good is a matter of personal opinion.

    • Ben Tucker Apr 22, 2015 @ 12:40

      I can’t answer for you, but ever since I was a kid, it was the comic book image of aesthetic; large muscles, power, tapered waist, the extraordinary not the ordinary.
      I think that’s why people drew comics and sculpted images out of granite like Hercules.

      I even think on a primal, subconscious level, like Dr. Doug McGuff says, the female species sees strong male stock and subconsciously reasons; This is the body type to propel DNA procreation on into the future.

    • E Lopez Dec 22, 2015 @ 15:34

      Truthfully, it’s two things from my point of view. Money and fans. Since the late ’80’s early 90’s the bodies got bigger and the fans liked and demanded it. They still do. Also until Arnold’s breakthrough there wasn’t much money in body building, but now there’s plenty to make with sponsor ships, etc. In order to get those deals you have to win titles and to win titles you have to please the fans. Hope this helps

      • Drew Baye Jan 3, 2016 @ 16:26

        Hey E,

        I think you’re right, and I only hope that fans’ tastes change and the “classic” physiques with broad shoulders and a narrow waist like Steve Reeves’, Frank Zane’s, and Serge Nubret’s come back into style.

        • Ben Tucker Jan 4, 2016 @ 9:17

          Amen to Frank Zane. He gave the “little guy” hope in those competitions of yesteryear. Perfectly sculpted and proportional. He was very in tune with his posing routine, as well, which made his physique shine.

          I concur; bring back the tapered waists. The classic V shape is the most aesthetic.

    • Gary V Jan 22, 2018 @ 11:09

      From early times man has been judged by power be it physical or position and prestige and nothing has changed.

  • Karthik Apr 16, 2015 @ 9:36

    Awesome !!! Thanks.

  • Karthik Apr 16, 2015 @ 13:59

    Great to hear from one of the legends of bodybuilding. He hit the nail on the head when it comes to today’s state of bodybuilding. Thank you for the share Drew.

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 11:57

      Hey Karthik,

      You’re welcome. Dorian’s comments on work ethic will probably piss off a lot of bodybuilders, but hopefully it will also get a few of them to question whether they’re working hard enough and push themselves to train more intensely as a result.

  • Brian Apr 16, 2015 @ 20:09

    Oh you lucky bast@#%!!!!!! That dude is one of my all time favs! One of the very few SMART and knowledgeable former pro bodybuilders that can intelligently lecture and teach people.

    I AM SO FREAKING JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 11:37

      Hey Brian,

      So am I. David has also interviewed Jay Cutler, Kevin Levrone, Dennis Wolf, Shawn Ray, and many others, and has met Arnold Schwarzenneger. It’s a dream job for bodybuilding fans!

      • Ben Tucker Apr 22, 2015 @ 12:45

        Shawn Ray is probably one of the most understated bodybuilders of recent age. No he wasn’t a mass monster like his contemporaries, but I don’t think his aesthetic can be beat. Like Frank Zane before him, his proportions were just outstanding and those genetically blessed, perfect symmetrical abs!

  • Greg Roseman Apr 17, 2015 @ 12:01

    Drew,

    Your brother is so much bigger than Yates. Yates now looks like a typical middle aged man who trains occasionally. Do u consider Yates a HIT guy. I’ve seen his workout videos from the 90s and it was alot of reps and sets and it never appeared he trained failure in this videos. did I miss something.

    Greg

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 12:34

      Hey Greg,

      David is also standing closer to the camera than Dorian which makes him appear to be much larger. Dorian has obviously still got a good amount of muscle on him.

      Dorian’s general training philosophy is high intensity training; very high intensity of effort, relatively brief and infrequent workouts. Keep in mind, that for someone using the amount of growth drugs typical of bodybuilders in the nineties the volume he used was pretty low. He generally performed a few low to moderate effort warm up sets followed by two sets to failure, although I think during the brief time he worked with Mike he had him only doing one.

      If I’m able to get an interview with Dorian for the web site I will ask him about it.

    • Ben Tucker Apr 22, 2015 @ 12:59

      Greg,

      I think you also have to consider that once these guys retire, they probably don’t do the gear (if any) like they used to.

      Bodybuilding is also a life consuming sport, and I’m sure Dorian has a lot more important things going on in his life to attend to now. In essence, he’s already done his time in the trenches.
      Furthermore, bodybuilding is an extreme end of the bell curve and cannot be kept up indefinitely.
      In contrast, what Drew promotes is sustainable living; looking and feeling your best for as long as you can. In my opinion, that is a more balanced approach to life.

  • Bryce Apr 17, 2015 @ 13:31

    Greg,

    Yates looks a little better than someone who occasionally does pushups. Looking at his face and arms, I’d wager he’s below 10% body fat, and as such he’s probably carrying a deceptively large amount of mass, especially on his torso where it’s easy to hide under a big shirt. I notice that when I get quite lean, my pecs all but disappear under a shirt, because we tend to hold a lot of subcutaneous fat over them. Dorian are plenty visible, and I bet he looks pretty big shirtless.

  • jancel conroy Apr 25, 2015 @ 10:04

    most bodybuilders at an older age decide to go leaner and more athletic looking. when they train there are literally eating all day long and as you know there are pharmaceuticals that are involved to keep their size up. in my book he is still tremendously big and in great shape. he also stated the conditioning is tremendously important to him and that’s always something he tried to bring into bodybuilding. I know for a fact somebody bodybuilders are not able to do basic calisthenics effectively or even run a mile the gas up too fast. I’ve also seen this in martial arts strong at the get-go week after couple seconds.
    My question is what is going on with the extended stomachs. and is that due to pharmaceuticals or is it due too too much size on the frame.

    • Drew Baye Apr 27, 2015 @ 9:28

      Hey Jancel,

      The extended stomachs result from taking excessive amounts of human growth hormone which causes other organs to grow as well as muscles.