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From The Desk Of Clarence Bass

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Book Commentary

Dorian Yates: The Ultimate Bodybuilder

Dorian Yates impressed me the first time I saw his photo in a muscle magazine. But I didn't fully appreciate his massiveness until I saw him guest pose in Albuquerque about six years ago. He weighed 295 and even though not in contest shape, his proportions were absolutely mind boggling. It didn't seem possible that a 5'10" man could pack on that much muscle - all in the right places. But seeing is believing. There he was in the flesh, not to be denied. It is beyond dispute that Dorian Yates has taken bodybuilding to a level of massiveness that even Arnold would not have dreamed possible. The nearby photo of Dorian, weighing 269 a month or so out from his second Mr. Olympia victory in 1993, hangs on the wall of my gym to remind me - and others - not to set limits.


This photo hangs on the wall of my gym; it's also on the back cover of the book.

And now that Dorian has retired from competition he has surprised me once again - with a down-to-earth, sensible and well-written bodybuilding book. With the help of Flex Editor in Chief Peter McGough, who like Dorian is from England, Yates has produced A Warrior's Story (1998), which was released in this country only a few weeks ago. Having read his previous book, Blood and Guts (1993), I anticipated a good read, but the new book exceeded my expectations. In addition to a moving word picture of Dorian's humble beginnings and how he made his way from incarceration to bodybuilding, A Warrior's Story explains step-by-step how he moved from beginner to intermediate to advanced to Mr. Olympia. He was obviously a good student and this book proves he's a good teacher as well. There's something for everyone.

Beginners may save themselves months, perhaps years of wasted effort by reading this book, and advanced bodybuilders will benefit as well. It's all there - training, nutrition, recuperation and mental approach, the works - all presented in a no-nonsense manner. For example, Dorian says the notion that successful bodybuilding is as much as 80% correct nutrition is bull (my word, not his). Diet is important, of course, but it's not the whole ball game by a long shot. Clearly, Dorian is not out to sell you a bill of goods, just give sound advice.

Finally, what makes Dorian's story even more instructive is the fact that from the very beginning he rejected the high-set, volume approach and followed the HIT (high intensity training) philosophy of bodybuilding. Influenced by the teaching of Mike Mentzer - it made sense, he says - Dorian began with hard, brief and infrequent workouts. That system - and great genetics - took him to the pinnacle of the sport of bodybuilding, the Mr. Olympia title, not once but six times. Even as a beginner, Yates never did more than three sets per exercise and one of those sets was a warm-up. Over a period of several years, he progressed to doing only one all-out main set (after warm-up). That method, consistently applied, made him the world's best bodybuilder.

Note:  We are no longer able to get this book.

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