Dorian Yates upper/lower split

[respare]

yes that is right one of the best bodybuiders of all time trained with a upper/lower split during his first 2-3 years of training and considering he turned pro after 5 years i think this routine is definatly worth a look for some of you guys out there.

Upper

Bench- 3x8
Incline press- 3x8 (can be dumbells or barbell)
Incline flyes- 2x8-10
Chins or lat pulldowns- 3x8
Barbell rows- 3x8
Deadlift 3x8
Shoulder press 3x8
Side laterals 2x8
Bent laterals (aka rear delt flyes) 2x8
Crunches- 3 sets to failure
Hanging leg raises- 3 sets to failure

Lower (+arms)

Squats- 4x8
Hack squats- 3x8
Leg curls- 3x8
Standing calf raises- 3x8
Barbell curls- 3x8
One arm preacher curls- 2x8
Tricep pushdowns- 3x8
Lying tricep extensions- 2x8

Notes

Just because you have reached the prescribed number of reps in a given set does not mean you have to stop, if you feel like you can get 1-2 more reps out with good form, do so.

All though yates was a big advocate of the HIT style of training he stil trained with a fair amount of voume in his early years, he also recomends only taking the last set to faiure with rest/pauses etc. but only after 1 year of serious training.

The shoulder press exercise can be any variation of a shoulder press, yates initially recomends behind the neck press but he later goes on to state that the lift is not good for anyone due to shoulder issues, fleibility, rotator cuffs etc. You can choose to do OHP, military press, seated db press etc.

Each session should last apx. 60 minutes with 1-1:30 rest betwen each set.

When you reach the prescribed number of reps with a given weight for each set in that exercise you can increase the weight next session.

At this stage in yates carreer he only trained 3 days a week alternating upper and ower workouts so he had a 1.5x/week frequency per muscle group. You can always bump this up to 4 days a week to get 2x/week frequency.

[comps]

I also do upper / lower +arms.
It is fun.

[respare]

Here is also a sample meal plan for yates during these years as well for anyone who is interested (1983-85)

Breakfast
5 whole eggs
2 slices whole weat toast
Bowl of oatmeal

Midmorning
Protein shake made with skimmed milk
Bannana

Lunch
Chicken breast or tuna
Baked potato
2 cups of vegs

Midafternoon
Protein shake with skimmed milk
Orange

Dinner
8oz steak
Baked potato or rice
2 cups of vegs

Supper
Bowl of oatmeal
4 egg whites
1 egg yolk

It doesnt mention what the calories or macros are only that he would aim for 55% carbs, 30% protein, 15% fats

[Mobster1995]

I also do upper / lower +arms.
It is fun.

especially when super sets are involved

[respare]

I also do upper / lower +arms.
It is fun.

it makes sence to do arms with lower as it allows for more volume.

i might actually start this routine to see what its like.

[respare]

Have done some more reading up and for this routine yates only sugests usings "forced reps" on only 1 exercise per body part and only on the last set.

For example for chest he will be doing bench, incline press and flyes. On his last set of bench he will reach failure then do one or two forced reps with the help of a spotter.


I advise everyone to read 'dorian yates: a warriors story'. Very good read on both background on yates style of training and advise for beginners.

[respare]

Bump so more people can see

[Tb0282]

Pretty cool routine. At the moment I'm stuck on whether I want to do a push/pull/legs or a upper/lower routine

[respare]

Pretty cool routine. At the moment I'm stuck on whether I want to do a push/pull/legs or a upper/lower routine

Depends what days you can train. If you can only do 4 days a week a upper/lower will be best. If you can do 6 days a week then a pull/push/legs or a chest&arms/legs/back&delts are best

[Basketball22]

Pretty cool routine. At the moment I'm stuck on whether I want to do a push/pull/legs or a upper/lower routine

You can hit the whole body 2x a week with 3 rest days as opposed to push/pull/legs 2x a week 1 rest day. so upper/lower is better imo Unless you want to workout 6 days a week. I'm considering doing a
Upper
Lower
Upper
Lower
Rest
Full body
Rest
Repeat
Volume would need to be low but I really like the high frequency. Although I really like PHAT so i'll probably stick with it for now.

[musclehead09]

It's good. I do full body workouts 3x a week the way Reg Park had ol' Arnie start out and the way he trained himself like all the golden era bodybuilders. Frequency is key

[respare]

It's good. I do full body workouts 3x a week the way Reg Park had ol' Arnie start out and the way he trained himself like all the golden era bodybuilders. Frequency is key

Yates also recomends doing a fullbody routine to 'learn the ropes' however he only recomends doing this for upto 8 weeks then to move onto the upper/lower i wrote in the op.

[respare]

Bump

[Tb0282]

You can hit the whole body 2x a week with 3 rest days as opposed to push/pull/legs 2x a week 1 rest day. so upper/lower is better imo Unless you want to workout 6 days a week. I'm considering doing a
Upper
Lower
Upper
Lower
Rest
Full body
Rest
Repeat
Volume would need to be low but I really like the high frequency. Although I really like PHAT so i'll probably stick with it for now.

I'm most likely going to be doing upper/lower/upper/lower/upper/lower/off - repeat

I don't mind working out six days a week, I'll see how that feels, and if I don't like it I'll most likely use that template, mixing U/L and fullbody

[respare]

I'm most likely going to be doing upper/lower/upper/lower/upper/lower/off - repeat

I don't mind working out six days a week, I'll see how that feels, and if I don't like it I'll most likely use that template, mixing U/L and fullbody

If you can train 6 days a week why not do a pullpush/legs routine or a chest&arms/legs/back&delts routine? Allows for a lot more volune

[Tb0282]

If you can train 6 days a week why not do a pullpush/legs routine or a chest&arms/legs/back&delts routine? Allows for a lot more volune

I prefer more frequency, its just a preference thing, thats really the only reason. These next few weeks are going to be a little trial and error, I'm testing out this upper/lower and I'll be testing out a push/pull/legs, will see which one I like better.

[respare]

I prefer more frequency, its just a preference thing, thats really the only reason. These next few weeks are going to be a little trial and error, I'm testing out this upper/lower and I'll be testing out a push/pull/legs, will see which one I like better.

Well if you can handle training with a upper/lower 6 days a week go for it. Only problem i can see is that your lower back wil get stressed quitr hard and the weekly volume does end up quite high.

[Tb0282]

Well if you can handle training with a upper/lower 6 days a week go for it. Only problem i can see is that your lower back wil get stressed quitr hard and the weekly volume does end up quite high.

I can't do anything with my lower back atm, but I do see your point. Thats why I'm probably going to have to end up using a mix of U/L and fullbody. One of the reasons I can't really do a P/P/L atm is because my lower back is fuarked, so on pull day I can only do vertical pulls, bicep curls and maybe some shrugs

I'll have to see, this month will be interesting, I haven't done a routine that isn't fullbody in over 6 months.

[respare]

I can't do anything with my lower back atm, but I do see your point. Thats why I'm probably going to have to end up using a mix of U/L and fullbody. One of the reasons I can't really do a P/P/L atm is because my lower back is fuarked, so on pull day I can only do vertical pulls, bicep curls and maybe some shrugs

I'll have to see, this month will be interesting, I haven't done a routine that isn't fullbody in over 6 months.

Ahh i get ya, stay safe bro you dont want to **** yourself up training to much and end up not being able to train at all

[TDeck3295]

Upper

Bench- 3x8
Incline press- 3x8 (can be dumbells or barbell)
Incline flyes- 2x8-10
Chins or lat pulldowns- 3x8
Barbell rows- 3x8
Deadlift 3x8
Shoulder press 3x8
Side laterals 2x8
Bent laterals (aka rear delt flyes) 2x8
Crunches- 3 sets to failure
Hanging leg raises- 3 sets to failure

Lower (+arms)

Squats- 4x8
Hack squats- 3x8
Leg curls- 3x8
Standing calf raises- 3x8
Barbell curls- 3x8
One arm preacher curls- 2x8
Tricep pushdowns- 3x8
Lying tricep extensions- 2x8

I've always made my own routines, never trusted what the pros do because of obvious differences between us, but this looks like a solid routine. Legs+arms? Never thought of that. Probably gonna give this a try when I hit the gym again monday

[southparkbbb]

taking a training split from a pro who had been on heavy steroids and HGH, super fast recovery, increased MPS, more volume with less chance of overtraining; not the smartest idea for a natty just starting

[respare]

@ the 2 posts above me.

Normally i would agree with you saying that pro bb routines should not be followed. Howeer i believe that this routine is basic enough for normal lifters (otherwise i wouldnt of posted it). Yates is also a great beliee in the KIS principle.

Is this routine really that different to most upper/lower routines? Not really

[Broscientist88]

doing Lyle mcdonalds routine atm and it takes about 1 hour 20 mins, this would surely take up to 2 hours?

[KrazyEyezKillah]

Maybe this has already been answered, but on which days do you rest? I feel like if you do this for several days without resting, your triceps will start to hold you back.

[respare]

Yates did this routine only 3 days a week, but for nattys i would do this lower, upper, off, lower, upper, off, off. Reason being so the lower back fatigue from upper days does not affect squatting.


It should only take 60 mins as rest periods should be kept to 1-1:30mins

[KrazyEyezKillah]

Yates did this routine only 3 days a week, but for nattys i would do this lower, upper, off, lower, upper, off, off. Reason being so the lower back fatigue from upper days does not affect squatting.


It should only take 60 mins as rest periods should be kept to 1-1:30mins

Seems like too much tricep work doing it that way imo

[iWantToGrow]

I'm most likely going to be doing upper/lower/upper/lower/upper/lower/off - repeat

I don't mind working out six days a week, I'll see how that feels, and if I don't like it I'll most likely use that template, mixing U/L and fullbody

I was thinking about doing something similar but I'm not sure if my body would recover quick enough. What do You think?
BTW volume would be low ( around 15 sets per workout).

[comps]

Seems like too much tricep work doing it that way imo

You would think my routine is disgusting then if you saw it.
Literally disgusting.

[respare]

Seems like too much tricep work doing it that way imo

I dont think it will be tbh, but i wont know if it is untill i've been training with it for a few weeks.


^lol'd at comps comment

[musclehead09]

Depends what days you can train. If you can only do 4 days a week a upper/lower will be best. If you can do 6 days a week then a pull/push/legs or a chest&arms/legs/back&delts are best

After I do full body for much of 2013 ill be doing chest&arms/legs/back and delts. Def a solid routine