Dorian Yates routines 1983-1992

[Rmj11]

There is a big misconception, especially with the Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones followers, that Dorian Yates built his body with low volume and only one set to failure per exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like the myth that Arnold built his mass by training 6 days a week, twice a day and anywhere from 20 to 30 sets per body part all year round, Dorian actually built most of his mass with volume training.

Dorian first began training in 1983 with a simple split to build his foundation of mass. He would train half the body in one workout and the other half the next. Dorian hit the gym every other day in his beginning years and put on 20 pounds of muscle in his first two years of training drug free. The workout is as follows

Day 1

Chest

Bench press 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Incline press 2 x 8-10

Back

Chin ups 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Bent over rows 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Deadlifts 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10

Shoulders

Press behind the neck 1 warm up 10-12 then 2 x 8-10
Side laterals 2 x 8-10

Day 2 Rest

Day 3

Legs

Squats 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Leg press or hack squat 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Leg curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Standing calf raise 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Seated calf raise 2 x 8-10

Arms

Barbell curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell curls 2 x 8-10
Press downs 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Lying extensions 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10

Day 4 Rest

Day 5 Repeat cycle

Dorian would do 1 or 2 warm up sets of 10 to 12 reps at 50 to 70% of his top set max followed by 2 work sets done in a reverse pyramid fashion. The first work set is for 8 reps to failure with the second set at 10 reps with a 10% or so reduction in weight taken to near failure.

Dorian followed this routine for two years then changed the routine when he started competing in bodybuilding events. The split changed due to the addition of more exercises so now Dorian's split was

Day 1

Chest and arms

Bench press (flat or decline) 2-3 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Incline press 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell flys 1 x 10-12 warm up then 3 x 8-10 (triple drop set)

Concentration curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Barbell curls 2 x 8-10
Hammer curls 2 x 8-10

Press downs 1-2 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Lying extensions 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
One arm extensions 2 x 8-10

Day 2

Legs

Leg extensions 3 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Leg press 1-2 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Squats or hack squats 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Leg curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Stiff leg deadlift 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Standing calf raise 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Seated calf raise 2 x 8-10

Day 3 Rest

Day 4

Back and shoulders

Weighted chin ups 2 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Close grip pull downs 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Barbell rows 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Cable rows 2 x 8-10


Seated dumbbell press 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Side laterals 2 x 8-10
Rear laterals 2 x 8-10
Barbell or dumbbell shrugs 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10

Hyperextensions 2-3 x 12-15

Day 5 Rest

Day 6 Repeat cycle

Dorian kept to his two work sets in this routine which he continued to use up until 1992 when he cut back the works sets from two to one and added high intensity techniques like forced reps, negatives and partials. So as you can see Dorian did for the most part 10-12 sets per body part in his early years.

[Anthony.b]

You created an account just to post this stupid ****.

Who gives a ****.

Adding size/muscle isn't difficult and posts like this just make it more complicated for a rookie.

[RedSox1990]

There is a big misconception, especially with the Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones followers, that Dorian Yates built his body with low volume and only one set to failure per exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like the myth that Arnold built his mass by training 6 days a week, twice a day and anywhere from 20 to 30 sets per body part all year round, Dorian actually built most of his mass with volume training.

Dorian first began training in 1983 with a simple split to build his foundation of mass. He would train half the body in one workout and the other half the next. Dorian hit the gym every other day in his beginning years and put on 20 pounds of muscle in his first two years of training drug free. The workout is as follows

Day 1

Chest

Bench press 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Incline press 2 x 8-10

Back

Chin ups 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Bent over rows 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Deadlifts 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10

Shoulders

Press behind the neck 1 warm up 10-12 then 2 x 8-10
Side laterals 2 x 8-10

Day 2 Rest

Day 3

Legs

Squats 1-2 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Leg press or hack squat 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Leg curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Standing calf raise 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Seated calf raise 2 x 8-10

Arms

Barbell curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell curls 2 x 8-10
Press downs 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Lying extensions 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10

Day 4 Rest

Day 5 Repeat cycle

Dorian would do 1 or 2 warm up sets of 10 to 12 reps at 50 to 70% of his top set max followed by 2 work sets done in a reverse pyramid fashion. The first work set is for 8 reps to failure with the second set at 10 reps with a 10% or so reduction in weight taken to near failure.

Dorian followed this routine for two years then changed the routine when he started competing in bodybuilding events. The split changed due to the addition of more exercises so now Dorian's split was

Day 1

Chest and arms

Bench press (flat or decline) 2-3 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Incline press 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell flys 1 x 10-12 warm up then 3 x 8-10 (triple drop set)

Concentration curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Barbell curls 2 x 8-10
Hammer curls 2 x 8-10

Press downs 1-2 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Lying extensions 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
One arm extensions 2 x 8-10

Day 2

Legs

Leg extensions 3 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Leg press 1-2 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Squats or hack squats 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Leg curls 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Stiff leg deadlift 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Standing calf raise 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Seated calf raise 2 x 8-10

Day 3 Rest

Day 4

Back and shoulders

Weighted chin ups 2 x 10-12 warm ups then 2 x 8-10
Close grip pull downs 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Barbell rows 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Cable rows 2 x 8-10


Seated dumbbell press 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10
Side laterals 2 x 8-10
Rear laterals 2 x 8-10
Barbell or dumbbell shrugs 1 x 10-12 warm up then 2 x 8-10

Hyperextensions 2-3 x 12-15

Day 5 Rest

Day 6 Repeat cycle

Dorian kept to his two work sets in this routine which he continued to use up until 1992 when he cut back the works sets from two to one and added high intensity techniques like forced reps, negatives and partials. So as you can see Dorian did for the most part 10-12 sets per body part in his early years.

Source?

[Rmj11]

Source?

The books blood and guts and one more rep.

[Rmj11]

Yes. Yes I did. So?

[BartPimpson]

Gaining 20 pounds in 2 years isn't really impressive for a beginner.

[grouchyjarhead]

Gaining 20 pounds in 2 years isn't really impressive for a beginner.

Agreed. I put on almost 30 in eight weeks when I first started.

Probably why he started working with Mentzer.

[gomez26]

Agreed. I put on almost 30 in eight weeks when I first started.

Probably why he started working with Mentzer.

he never worked with mentzer. mentzer tagged along during a session when he happened to be in town one day in the u.s, took a bunch of photos to make it appear as such. even yates himself had to clarify this point.

[ROMMYromboid]

Gaining 20 pounds in 2 years isn't really impressive for a beginner.

It is a lot, thats 20lbs of lean pure muslce, not bodyweight and natural. Also I bet his strength skyrocketed. A 10lb increase in bodyweight would easily amount to 50lbs on bench if lean muslce. Yates started off doing 180lbs from memory, i would expect he was handling 280lbs after a 20lb increase which is what you would expect.

Also OP thanks for posting. REPPS. (EDIT - just noticed you have been banned, so can not rep)

[thesarra]

Dorian kept to his two work sets in this routine which he continued to use up until 1992 when he cut back the works sets from two to one and added high intensity techniques like forced reps, negatives and partials. So as you can see Dorian did for the most part 10-12 sets per body part in his early years.

No? As I can see, he was doing 5-8 sets per muscle once every 5-6 days. Where did you get 10-12 sets from? You don't count warm ups as working sets. He did low volume from day 1.