The popular bodybuilding championship, Mr Olympia, gave us some of the finest bodybuilders in history. Many of these champions dominated the industry for a long time. Bodybuilding legend Dorian Yates was one of them. He won the title for 6 consecutive years and is one of the greatest bodybuilders.

Yates won his first Mr. Olympia title in 1992 and was extremely strategic in these competitions. In a podcast with Youtuber Brian Davis, Yates revealed how the competitors were judged on the basis of their poses and build. Posting a sneak peek on his Instagram, the star dived deeper into his experience with the contest.

Dorian Yates – ‘The Shadow’

In the video clip posted, Dorian Yates talked about how the participants had a set of seven compulsory poses combined with four relaxed poses. This was to help the participants show off their muscles in tense and relaxed states. The judges compared the participants in terms of their size, proportions, and conditioning. They then picked the best one by putting together all three factors.

Although the competition required years of training and sculpting, the hard work did not end there. While competitors might have prepared to put on their best show, Yates went a step further. In the caption under the podcast clip, Yates disclosed some of the mind games he would play on his fellow competitors. He revealed, “I knew everyone was waiting to see my physique, so I’d be playing little mind games. I let them wait so they’d think about me more than they thought about what they would do on stage.”

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In fact, Yates learned this from none other than the legendary Lee Haney. The former Mr. Olympia reigning champion used to trick his opponents, including Yates, in a similar fashion.

This strategy prompted Yates to adopt a new routine. He would disappear to train and would only reappear during the competition. This master plan of remaining mostly hidden, appearing rarely, and taking over every competition, earned him the nickname ‘The Shadow’.

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Late bodybuilding journalist Peter McGough came up with the nickname and rightfully so! Since Yates didn’t want to be seen in public, he would go to extreme lengths in order to hide his body from the masses. He always trained with a top on and only let a few people see him a few weeks before the contest.

Yates is one of the prime idols in the bodybuilding world. In a world where showing off one’s aesthetics is everything, Yates managed to ace while laying low. What do you think about this strategy? Let us know in the comments!