Dorian Yates shares the high-intensity secrets for back building

In our March 2008 issue we ranked Dorian Yates’ back as the second best of all-time behind Ronnie Coleman’s, but we hedged our bet with the assertion that a strong argument can be made for Yates as number one.

A six-time Mr. Olympia (1992-97), Britain’s “Dozer” was renown for his high-intensity training methods: low volume and maximum effort, pushing working sets to failure and beyond. He shares with us his ideas about back training and includes a typical routine from his Olympia reign. (Only working sets in that routine are noted; he typically did one or two warmups for each exercise, as well.)

YATES ON BACK TRAINING

* “If I have a secret for width, it’s Nautilus pullovers. I really feel these in my outer lats. I alternate doing these one workout and Hammer pulldowns the next.”

* “During barbell rows, I keep my body at 70 degrees to the floor. Staying more upright places less strain on the lower back and puts you in the strongest position to work lats. I try to keep my upper body as still as possible but some upward sway is necessary to use maximum weights.”

* “I find going underhand isolates my lats more, but others might find it works their biceps too much. Do what works best for your body.”

* “I ended my Olympia back workouts with deadlifts and usually stayed around 405. That’s less than I used for barbell rows, but I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I was just trying to tie my back together, top to bottom, after all the punishment I put it through.”

source : flexonline.com

DORIAN YATES’ BACK WORKOUT
EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Hammer Strength pulldowns	1	8-10
or
Nautilus pullovers	1	8-10
Underhand barbell rows	1	12
Hammer Strength one-arm rows	1	8-10
Underhand cable rows	1	12
Back extensions	1	8
Deadlifts	1	8