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“Was Just Out of This World”: Responsible for Kickstarting Mass-Monster Era, Dorian Yates’ Insanely Ripped Look Leaves Fans in Disbelief

Published 02/13/2024, 4:45 AM EST

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Dorian Yates is the original mass monster. The bodybuilder who took the sport into a new era still commands the fan’s respect. Thanks to one of his friends and training partners, Paul Baxendale, Yates’s fans hear untold stories about the bodybuilding legend, his mindset, and how he trained. Earlier, Baxendale shared a photograph of Dorian Yates’s back, and the fans were left awestruck.

The former pro bodybuilder shared one of the never-before-seen “water-damaged” photographs. Although Bxendale said he had a whole set of them, the bodybuilder shared ones that stand out. A snapshot of Dorian Yates focusing on his back muscles, from 1992. As always, Baxendale had a story to narrate.

The story of squatting six plates per side

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Since Dorian Yates followed the High-Intensity Training (HIT) philosophy, the bodybuilding icon didn’t do more than one set of each exercise. However, he did an insanely heavy warmup set before moving on to the working set. On the day Baxendale described, Yates did Smith machine squats to warm up. However, despite warmup sets being “ultra controlled,” the Mr. Olympia sometimes did a little more.

 

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“With the A4 sheet of paper reminding us of the benchmark for Smith machine squats of 5 pps (plates per side), Dorian stood under 6pps!” wrote the English bodybuilding legend’s training partner. The retired bodybuilder said that Dorian Yates did one rep and even though it looked like he was done, the Birmingham native dropped down for another rep.

The bodybuilding icon’s display of strength reminded everyone that he belonged to a different league. “There was him and then there was the rest,” wrote Banexdale. The story and the photograph deleted fans.

Watch this story | Mr. Olympia Legend Points Out a Sad Loophole in 290 Lbs Slovakian Beast Despite Massive Potential

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Bodybuilding fans didn’t just praise Dorian Yates

One fan narrated his experience of seeing Dorian Yates’s back up front. “You see this pic and the amazing back thickness, the condition, (like) hard-looking granite. But if you ever see DY like I have in person, right in front of you… No words to explain how his back really was just out of this world!” wrote the fan. “Yates THE BIGGEST,” wrote another fan.

However, fans also thanked Paul Baxendale for his stories. “All this stuff should be in a bestselling book. I feel guilty reading it for free!” one fan commented. “Excellent Paul… Dorian’s back is phenomenal,” commented another fan. Meanwhile, one fan couldn’t fathom how strong Dorian Yates was. “6 plates per side?!?! I would fold in half under that weight. Unreal!” wrote the fan.

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While the world knows about the six-time Mr. Olympia’s achievements, Paul Baxendale provides a perspective that chronicles the work ethic behind the champion.

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Written by:

Sagnik Bagchi

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Sagnik Bagchi is a senior bodybuilding writer at EssentiallySports. A passionate fitness enthusiast himself, Sagnik uses his knowledge of bodybuilding to focus on the coverage of major events like the Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic.
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Smrutisnat Jena