Raw Bodybuilding, Health & Life Advice From a 6x Mr. Olympia | Dorian Yates (E050)

Dorian Yates is a legendary English bodybuilder 6x former Mr. Olympia who revolutionised the sport by being the first of the so-called “mass monsters.” His “high intensity” philosophy involved pushing each set to failure through techniques like forced reps, drop sets and partial reps. This allowed him to maximise muscle stimulation in shorter, more intense workouts. After retiring from competitive bodybuilding, Yates has transferred his knowledge into DY Nutrition which offers a line of premium and science-backed products to help people achieve their health goals. Tune in for the next two hours as we explore all things bodybuilding, mindset, spirituality and more.
0:00 Mike’s experience training with Dorian
4:44 Key lessons from bodybuilding legends & the impact of a training partner
8:14 The #1 thing that could be ruining your workout
11:02 Why strength training is essential for longevity & quality of life
13:20 Dorian’s injuries: “my career is over” - how he bounced back
19:10 What Dorian would change about his bodybuilding career if he could go back in time
22:12 The origins of bodybuilding coaches
25:00 Using “F*ck you energy” for gym motivation
29:00 How Dorian overcame depression & found new purpose once exiting bodybuilding
35:41 Identity & spiritual journeys for self discovery
43:52 Cannabis: common misconceptions & health benefits
48:22 The dangers of alcohol
56:22 Medicinal mushrooms & ayahuasca
57:22 DY Nutrition & supplements
1:03:42 Bloodwork & deficiencies
1:06:55 Dorian’s favourite thought leaders on health
1:11:45 TRT & steroids
1:14:38 Low testosterone: the new epidemic
1:18:11 Natural bodybuilding & false expectations
1:20:35 At what age do men peak? (strength)
1:23:33 How setting up a gym in Marbella was a “nightmare”
1:27:15 Dorian’s future ventures & what be hopes to be remembered for?
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[@tatuco8]

I could listen to Dorian talk all day. Great guest. Top bloke

[@bobfred1974]

🎯

[@BullyBoxer]

@@bobfred1974not if your Jew .😂

[@steve4633]

I love Dorian Yates. He's totally right about mobile phones. It's a massive phone addiction. I agree with him on everything

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

We will look back at mobile phones one day with the same perspective as cigarettes and things that damage mental health too

[@mindyourbusiness6293]

Dorian Yates? They need a two thumbs up button.

[@nolan1907]

The greatest. Every word he says is true.

[@Account1746]

We need a podcast with your dad, see what he thought about all this weight lifting stuff and if he could imagine this empire you’ve got from it 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@YoutubeLoves2Cenosor]

That would get no views. No offense.

[@thomaswilliams4546]

His old man died when he was 8

[@Account1746]

@@thomaswilliams4546 he’s literally been in a video few months ago lad 🤣🤣 his mom passed

[@bumbleofthefluff4418]

Dorians dad died when he was a kid.

[@nev7711]

He then had a stepdad, with whom he may have referred to him as being 'dad'.

[@salfetka]

Dorian Yates is amazing as be's done it at the top of the sport for 6 years then done a successful business in DY nutrition, also is happy, reads, learns, he's found the happy medium in life, tried this and that. Wealth of experience and knowledge. What an amazing guy.

[@carlosphillyspecial]

He’s completely right about the phone abuse in gyms. I’m sick of seeing people spending a lot of time with their phones in machines and benches and not training!

[@Sp-yd4vm]

Amen!

[@seanohare3509]

I also hate this, but probably look like one as I track my lifts on my phone 😂

[@ashleystansfield4888]

That shit drives me mad. I can't stand them clowns that are constantly fucking around on their phones instead of training

[@ryan-patel]

'Unveiling your hidden potentital by Bruce Thornwood' is a must read for everyone

[@polakke3953]

Is it easy or hard to read for non native speakers? Because I‘m from germany and my english is good but not the best 😅

[@TSB43]

@@polakke3953use chat gpt to help translate for you. You can copy and paste and ask chat gpt to translate it for you and customize to your preferences. Hope this helps. I use it all the time for things like this also.

[@vukziza4868]

I don’t know what I like more, the way Dorian explains things or how Mike makes conclusions. Thanks guys!

[@michaelnightingale3792]

My new favourite Dorian interview- he is so relaxed all the way through! Well done Mike

[@JustinNg26]

Getting blazed with Dorian got to be a tick off the bucket list ✅

[@MikeThurston]

Been ticked off twice

[@Demon-default]

Him and Mike Tyson of course

[@Jamie-uj4br]

I’d rather train with him !!

[@RVRayRay]

I can listen to Dorian all day. His and Mentzer’s philosophy on building muscle is the way.

[@keithcrane469]

To train as hard as he did...day in day out (for years) takes a lot of mental toughness and fortitude. Respect

[@Jamie-uj4br]

And steroids

[@user-dz6il2bx5p70]

Finally a real OG podcast.

[@isaacbrandt1662]

these two are just too relatable

[@toddgriffith9042]

SPOT ON re: Psychedelic’s - after tripping on heavier doses in nature it, even being over a decade ago, has made me so at peace with not needing to understand everything around me, but rather to just be grateful to be part of it.

[@Costa_del_Artlepool]

Smashing bloke. Wide awake too, which is encouraging.

[@markjames8070]

Dorian is what’s missing with the world today. A proper proper man.

[@M77982]

I love how Humble Dorian is.

[@LDacic]

Same! It always impresses me and makes me genuinely engaged with what he has to say. He's also surprisingly wise.

[@adambrown6573]

My first gym I started at was Dorian’s gym in Birmingham, he came up to me and showed me what I was doing wrong, but at that time I was only young and had no idea who he was, and thought it was just a random dude

[@theironforce3000]

Solid interview with the master ! His current interviews are more compelling and resonate with the everyday person, not just strict bodybuilders anymore . General wellness . Aging with grace. That's where it's at . 👊😎

[@X_theOracle]

The video of Mike at Dorians Weed shop will be great! Looking forward to it.

[@DragonsBeard444]

He's such an interesting man to listen to

[@AtroposzMr]

Very good and interesting interview. DY is my idol, you can learn a lot from him. Another positive thing that Mike let him speak and did not interrupt him often unnecessarily which is a very annoying habit at other podcasts.

[@Gary-w3m]

Great interview. Could've listened to this conversation for many more hours

[@Marbella-Dave]

Words of wisdom. great interview gentlemen

[@davidwhitton5519]

I could listen to Dorian yates all day, great podcast👍

[@harrytakar151]

Unreal conversation. Everyone can learn something from this

[@LDacic]

For me, THC is not recreational, it's therapeutic. A few times a year (often only once), I'll get very high, by myself at home, and let my brain take me to a very dark place. It's always terrifying because it magnifies every minor insecurity I have and makes me face a blown-up version of all the life problems at that particular time. The good part is that every time I come up with an answer for each and every one of those insecurities and life problems (e.g. yes, that may be true but here's what I'm doing to get out of this particular situation and why it's expected to work). Tomorrow morning, I write down a detailed plan on how to tackle every one of these topics and I get a boost of motivation to go get it. CBD, on the other hand, is very good for inflammation and daily use, simply to mellow you out in situations where you need extra patience (with family members, loved ones, friends, pets, etc.) All that said, however, I cannot agree with the "no downsides" position that Dorian, and many others, take. I started smoking recreationally when I was circa 13 years old, and so did most of the gang I hung out with. It's undeniable that it fucked with my memory. I have massive holes from that part of my life all the way until mid 20s when I cleaned up my act. Yes, there were other substances involved, but I know many people who are proper potheads and they all, without exception, show massive memory problems. Also, there are numerous life situations where assertiveness is very much needed and recreational pot will take this edge away from you, often when you need it the most. Well, pardon the essay, but someone might find it interesting. Cheers all!

[@ExpatinSpain1976]

Every time I think of having a break from weed, Dorian puts me back on track 😂

[@anthonyvenegas8299]

Couple puffs a day is fine,more than that you are partying,

[@meldoon1015]

Hi hear you bro. 😅

[@sebastiansanzini7840]

@@anthonyvenegas8299I blaze half a spliff every night before bed, where do you classify that?

[@mortenlaursen1179]

Good interview with the man!

[@timkiefer1980]

Dorian absolutely king. 3-4 times a week for 45-60 minutes 😂😂 All training twice a day every day 😂😂 REGENERATION. Love this man.

[@Bling92]

That level of service he mentions at 1:02:20 is what bulknutrients does too, i think all brands of supplements should be required to this.

[@jarondavis1]

Great interview thanks

[@user-ms2en8rr5t]

Do not use auto focus, only manual!!! The sharpnesses jumped the entire video from the persona to the background and back. In daylight you have a large margin of depth of field.

[@yaftali1434]

I did barbel row like the KING Dorian today... It felt awesome. Great talk

[@karlmeaden6868]

You rowed 200kgs. Fair play.

[@user-jy5oi9bi4i]

@@karlmeaden6868😂😂

[@okthenguys]

Congrats on episode 50 👏🏼 keep em coming

[@nev7711]

Agree with Dorian about phones. I remember being on a first date during the early days of phones and texting. I didn't understand why everytime her phone buzzed with messages, she had to reply instantly! It was then I walked. Little did I know how the phone would then run people's social lives. If I'm in social company, or any sporting activity, the phone stays away.

[@edwardross8134]

Surprised Dorian didn’t ask Mike what he was on

[@GC_Unfiltered]

This is going to be a good one 🔥

[@skwiot86]

Great chat guys 👍 Well done to Dorian, after Ll tbese years he's still in grest shape with good legs 💪

[@jasonconant8531]

Absolutely the best. Truly inspiring.

[@akakassking9665]

Well done Mike and Dorian, very cool interview. 🎉

[@johnmcfall1703]

Mike, you have a nice succinct way of asking questions to Dorian about his past and his future aspirations. It was great listening to the pair of you about your life experiences.

[@chandlerbingbong]

That was an enjoyable watch. I'd like to hear Dorian talk more about the realities of lifting weights and nutrition for naturals. 👍👍

[@bobfred1974]

yates is pure wisdom. real human

[@Farfromweakness-brotherhood]

For every 5 likes, I will do a push-up👊

[@ownthispwn]

cringe. why do you need others to push you to workout? just like-baiting

[@Hhhlll7778]

@@ownthispwnYeah it’s ridiculous

[@endregillay4491]

Well done Mike, good stuff

[@scatdaddy3790]

Awesome interview

[@meldoon1015]

Great open minded fella. 10/10

[@LJCGym]

Triceps looking huge Mike 🔥

[@mashup7]

One of the greatest English sportsmen ever, talks sense to

[@TheTwsa]

Amazing genes, he won big shows after 1 yr. training and proshows after just few yrs. training.

[@johnm001]

That lens on autofocus is a buzz killer! Great talk though

[@Joe-xo3xy]

@FirstThingsTHRST here is a testimonial for you and Dorian; About 15mnths ago, being a hobbyist bodybuilder or professional, we always have a burn out point where we leave training and try to figure out what went wrong. I really wanted to come back better and said let me try something new, I know the former Mr. olympia did this exclusive training protocol; I started watching his videos but could not understand what he was doing until I noticed it was 1 set, 1 exercise for each part i.e Upper chest 1 set, lower pec 1 set, mid back 1 set, upper back 1 set and so on and I was freaking excited. I tried it out, got great results and then, my nervous system started going crazy, like a martial artist, the reps started getting more powerful and the density started kicking in and now at 42, way below TRT most guys use, in combination with my old prep diet, I am bigger, denser, leaner than when I was on full blown cycles in my mid 20's. Dorian won't believe my split, I learnt a lot from him, no biceps on back day and no triceps on chest day, it is reversed to avoid over lapping parts going into over training. I do a big cheat meal at the start of my training week, use that energy to train chest and back, not more than 4 or 5 exercises and working sets on back and not more than 3 working sets and exercises on chest, then over the week, I go into the gym and train the smaller parts like tris, bis, abs, traps, calves and the next big workout is quads and hams at the end of the week, I said, if traditionally we train 1 part per week, I will do 1 part every 10 days and it has worked wonders for me. After training for a whole year to failure, my nervous system has gotten so strong that it is beggining to get fatigued! I do 1 week HIT and the other week is straight away to deload, same exercise as HIT week but 3 sets for every exercise at 70% roughly with very little rest so between sets so I can still do light damage to the muscle, 3 sets at 70% is hard because I am still getting too close to failure, not going to failure is the hardest thing ever when you are used to going balls to the wall. Tell Dorian that HIT works so well because for example, each back exercise feeds off the other, they are all synergistic, mid lat row or Dumbell row will work very well with upper back, so it is more like 2 working sets rather than 1. Thanks to Dorian and Mentzer, I think very hard about volume and frequency and even exercise selection and pairing

[@dpcater]

Dorian started reading this and left promptly for a spliff

[@seb9093]

Another back workout video with Dorian would be perfect Mike! You've had about 6 years to adequately recover, so you should be ok to go again! 😆

[@matthewjackson4299]

Best guest!!! Doesnt give AF and lives how he wants whilst offering simple answers and insight 🫡

[@silvestercappel5221]

Great podcast Mike . love Dorian. Absolute legend

[@MyLifeRSC]

Always good listening to Dorian, interesting guy. Makes me want to start smoking again

[@rumenizabel1199]

Great talk ❤

[@shuaalim]

Great episode

[@user-zc5lf9xb2g]

Great podcast super interesting for people into fitness

[@jordandunne5292]

Mike, your curiosity makes you a great podcast host.

[@jackjax7921]

Mike forgot to ask the right question "How to grow Calves." 😂😂😂

[@babygravey]

Hahaha i think the calves are the same as any other muscle group jeff nippard does some great science based video on them breaking down in studies what works best but i think you either have them or dont i have sparrow legs like my dad and mum but by stepdad who never trains and walks the dog has calves i would kill for

[@Shadow-bs1iu]

bike riding and skipping, these work better than most other exercises

[@laddy2522]

amazing pod bro

[@DanDavisHistory]

Fantastic conversation, thank you both.

[@nialbarnsley4108]

You should have asked him about NASSER , when the show was fixed. I hate youtube nowadays how everyone just sucks ass. And behaves like sheep . Just following the crowd.

[@boydsmith5217]

Mike Thurston is surprisingly good as an interviewer. Just puts in a word or two then stays the fuck outta the way while the other person talks. Of course, Dorian is a great interview subject. Very verbose and knowledgeable and articulate.

[@pocketsaintemptycuz4309]

My two fav Trainers 💪🙏 when they talk, I listen and I dont listen to just anyone.

[@antonhallergren588]

Can't wait to get back to Marbella come fall. Best place in Europe imo.

[@yandyhitmaster]

Awesome one ❤

[@user-nn8jg6pc9e]

Yates is a legend gave me inspiration when I started training in the 90s I've always trained balls to the wall it's the only way I like dorians views on phones in gyms it really pisses me off when someone is on a machine and your waiting to use it but they are more interested in social media in between there sets wankers and that's why there not getting gains because they haven't got the bollocks to put the effort into there workouts anyway great interview with a great bloke legend 👍

[@nl_kripp]

I knew it will be the legend himself. And some people were hoping for some internet one-time celebrity like Tate, jesus

[@stevehall7192]

Great interview,Dorian never let,s you down,no bullshit,a great ambassador,full of real knowledge 👍

[@matthewtaylor5261]

Lets go Mike 🔥🔥

[@mattheweverly2174]

Excellent interview - You both work well together

[@levslabs]

Pleasantly surprised to see this choice of guest. Big up The Shadow #DorianYates

[@mattroyle1087]

Most beautiful podcast locale I've yet seen

[@steveb6718]

training HIT, 2-4 sets over 2-4 movements per bodypart A - shoulders, triceps, quads B - back, forearms, hamstrings C - chest, biceps, calves 2 workouts per week, so 10-11 days to go from A-C - HIT works. Train hard or long, you cannot do both.

[@LITOLifeintheOcean]

Amazing podcast, absolutely brilliant.

[@davidc4408]

Best British bodybuilder. He never had any education and bodybuilding was his only way out. Got him a networth over $20 million

[@VoiceOfThe]

Just needed some more lighting units facing you guys, you’re in the shadows somewhat. Sack your lighting guy 😂 Only kidding

[@stevepasco5850]

Im 54 you two guys inspire me .... thanks great chat

[@MD77135]

Good podcast for sure. Dorian Yates is eloquent and I personally like to listen him. He has some good takes on life and working out. I do not agree though on his views on psychedelics and weed. As there might be benefits for your health by smoking weed it might also have a negative impact on your psyche. Having a beer might get someone drunk who is not used to drinking, but smoking a joint could have a bad impact on your psyche that you can´t recover off as quick as you´d recover from a little buzz caused from having a beer. As for psychedelics: Why would you try to explore something that you don´t know anyways? Is it gonna change your life for the better? Of course you´d have to try it if you would really want to find out, which I would not recommend. I personally think that the risk of a negative impact on your soul if something goes wrong is greater than the benefits you will experience. Sure enough people are curious and some try to do forbidden, dangerous or risky things. This is a part of human nature. Nevertheless I believe you have to be really strong mentally to deal with such things.

[@hussle777]

Anyone knows what mikes shoes are called ?

[@lewis93156]

Nike metcon

[@iamcorneliu1097]

This is brilliant

[@joshavis9696]

Need a meet up with the tates whilst in Europe !

[@Lovemy911]

Dorian = the OG mass monster back then! Birminghams finest export 😁 The man who beat thr Americans time & again in their own back yard 😂.... A legend of the 90s 👊 I watched him obsessively back then ...

[@bigcheddar100]

very nice pod

[@bolshoikush9093]

Thank you for this podcast

[@matthewellis8626]

Mentzer Shout-Out!!!

[@LLCoolJ7]

Nice talk! 💯

[@adammac4960]

He was unstoppable. There was so many good bodybuilders he came up against and he was miles ahead of them. It was like Ali in his prime. However Ronnie Coleman in his prime had of came along it might have been a different story. Would have been one of the biggest face offs in bodybuilding history. They both wouldn’t have give in Dorian would have ended up in a wheel chair along side him.

[@serkyvlogs6971]

Mike I want to get really toned and fit. But I feel like I do too much 2 mma classes 2 bjj classes, 3 weight classes and 2 crossfit sessions is that too much to get muscley ? I can't decide if I'm happy to do this and stay toned and fit or change it to just weights and bulk up

[@LS-fd6tl]

Do weights one day and martial arts the next (that's what I do). Push, pull, legs split for the weights

[@dpcater]

I want to know if Dorian would play Master Roshi in a Dragon Ball Z live action movie

[@edwardross8134]

Love Dorian! A good bloke and fellow smoker. 💪💨

[@BigVillyStyle]

DY#1

[@jjdebruyne]

Mike you need to go with him to the jungle and try it

[@naveedzaman8252]

❤️

[@AdamWoolley-be7ff]

Dorian Yates, goat. Proper bodybuilder

[@anthonyvenegas8299]

You right,I always get good tips outta past olympians ,for some reason not the current guys or colman

[@AdamWoolley-be7ff]

@@anthonyvenegas8299 agree. watch sadik Hadzovic the absolute goat and great videos, will be at Olympia this year and most real youtuber out there

[@ashearera]

Dorian is 62. Mental 😂