Everyday Series | Season 1 | Significant Lessons Saturdays | 010 | Dorian Yates
In this episode, we unpack lessons from Dorian Yates.
He is the legendary bodybuilder from Birmingham who dominated the sport in the 90s when the competition was the highest. He won six straight Mr Olympia titles and is credited for ushering in the mass monster era. He is known for his legendary workouts and his tunnel vision mindset is revered throughout the sport. His mysterious personality earned him the nickname “the shadow”. His name is Dorian Yates and here are some lessons we can learn from him.
Don’t be a fan
“I had to stop looking at him and start saying, no no no, he has two arms, two legs and lifts weights.”
Dorian started the sport in 1983. The best in the world was Lee Haney at the time and would remain the best until 1990. As a result, Lee was a great hero for Dorian as his career progressed. When Yates won his first major show in the late ’80s, people and he started to think that he could go toe to toe with his idol. “I really beat this guy? Seven times, Mr Olympia - the greatest physique on planet earth?” Yates used to ask himself. Then he realised that to compete at the highest level he had to change his approach, and stop seeing him as an idol but as another competitor. “I had to stop seeing him as oh my gosh this is Lee Haney and say, he has two arms and two legs and one thing I guarantee, he does not train as hard as me.” Once this happened, he was able to place second to Lee, make adjustments and go on to dominate the scene for a large part of the ’90s. If you remain a fan of people then you minimise what you can achieve and over glorify another person. If you look at top competitors, they all genuinely believe they are the best in the world as that removes limitations on what they can achieve. It is good to have people to look up to and be inspired by but don’t be too much of a fan as you will minimise what you can achieve.
You need a next-level mindset and discipline
“One thing I guarantee, he doesn’t train as hard as me. He doesn’t lift as hard as me. How do I know that? It’s not possible. It’s not possible for them to be training hard or doing more because I couldn’t give anything more to this thing that I am doing.”
“You know what, I gave everything I could to that thing. I couldn't have given any more to that thing, you know. I have no regrets,” said Dorian when he was asked to look back on his career. He was known for intensity at the gym, tunnel vision when dieting and he ate, slept and dreamt bodybuilding for 12 years. He was a pure student of the game. And documented every rep, set and exercise from when he started and when he retired. He had the vision to become the best in the world and cut off all distractions. He did not ascribe to the bodybuilding lifestyle of the day, spending time on the beach, with cars, movies and girls. He got his nickname the shadow because he would show up to the shows, dominate everyone and disappear until the next show.
Yates had immense discipline. He had the thought to become Mr Olympia and put in the actions. He then separated himself by having complete dedication to what he wanted. He also said, “If I listened to my instincts, I’d be down at the pub chasing women, not under a 400-pound bar squatting.”
To get to what you set your mind to, you need discipline, tunnel vision and minimal distractions. There may be no need to have any fanfare. Show up every day, do what you need to, disappear and then show up again when you need to.
Focus on progressing
“Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you’re not laying a brick down. Somebody else is.”
Life is a journey, a marathon, not a sprint. What makes human beings happy is progress. Don’t undermine progress, no matter how small it is. Every action you take towards your goal is putting a brick on your wall. This is how Dorian approached every meal and workout - he is building a wall and every action is laying down a brick on the wall. By laying out each brick, as perfectly as a brick can be laid will result in a massive wall. A little by little becomes a lot. A little by little done well will result in a legendary career. Have the vision in front of you of building a grand business, life, relationship and body. Next, break the vision down into small and achievable steps and then do the little things every day as best you can. And then one day, you will look back on a great result and a life well-lived.
