“As if It Was the Last Ever Workout”: Dorian Yates’s Former Workout Partner Reveals the Intensity the 6x Mr. Olympia Demanded in the Gym

The curiosity to know about legendary champions is common among bodybuilding and sports fans. Hence, former bodybuilder and training partner of six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, Paul Baxendale, often shares unknown insights from Yates’ glory days. In his latest post about the first and only (so far) Mr. Olympia from the UK, Baxendale revealed how the original mass monster worked out. The 57-year-old described the sheer intensity that Yates demanded from himself and everyone around him.

The former competitive bodybuilder began working out at Temple Gym in 1992. Soon he became a part of the bodybuilding champion’s posse. However, Baxendale uploaded an image of Yates’ guest posing in 1993, this time before narrating the story in the caption.

The debut of the mass monster 

Dorian Yates turned heads in 1991, and his reputation preceded him. While he didn’t defeat Lee Haney in 91, Yates became Mr. Olympia in 92 and held on to the crown for six years. However, besides being the first Mr. Olympia from the UK, Yates forever changed the landscape of bodybuilding in 1993.

“Guest posing in 1993, @thedorianyates showed a stunned audience the added muscle that he’d accumulated,” Baxendale wrote in the caption. In the image, Yates looked massive. While he didn’t look shredded, the guest posing in question happened during the off-season. The 57-year-old said it had been “as perfect an off-season as he (Dorian Yates) had planned for.”

While many pros struggle with executing a perfectly planned offseason, The Shadow never deviated. Despite having the luxury of eating more or taking it easy, the 61-year-old maintained his discipline. “The intensity of every workout was brutal as if it was the last ever workout we would ever do,” Baxendale wrote.

The 57-year-old revealed that Dorian Yates demanded 100% in the gym from himself and his workout partners. For Yates, remaining champion and pushing the boundaries were top priorities. Working out with the six-time, Mr. Olympia gave Baxendale a wealth of knowledge, some of which he shared with his followers.

What the mindset of Dorian Yates taught Paul Baxendale

In his caption, the former competitive bodybuilder shared the “one thing I could pass on to anyone,” that he learned from Yates. Baxendale said anyone looking to make massive gains needed to treat their off-season “with the same strictness as your prep.”

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People often go overboard with their diet, eat too much junk food, and work out with less intensity during the off-season. However, the reason Yates could push his physique beyond what the bodybuilding world thought was possible was because of his discipline during the offseason. Even when the Englishman got injured, he would train other body parts while recovering from injury.

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What did you think about Baxendale’s latest post and Dorian Yates’s mindset during the offseason? Write your thoughts in the comments.