Abodybuilders’ competitive game cannot go on forever. At some point in their career, they retire from the stage to work on other aspects of their lives. However, the choice to quit the elite career while winning the Mr. Olympia championships is a tight spot to squeeze through. Not everyone can summon the courage to do so. But the lack of courage and conviction has never been a problem for 6x Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, who left the bodybuilding arena in 1997 after lifting his sixth Sandow trophy.

The English bodybuilding icon recently took to his Instagram to reflect on his decision to end a 15-year-long bodybuilding career and life after math in a detailed post.

Dorian Yates recounts the hardest decision of life

The 61-year-old dominated the stage from 1992 to 1997, bringing 265 lbs of granite-like hardness onto the Mr. Olympia stage. However, years of heavy weightlifting left Yates with injuries, which eventually ended his run at the prestigious bodybuilding show. “Retiring from the sport I dedicated nearly 15 years of my life to was not an easy choice!” Yates revealed in his post.

Despite ending the most rewarding journey of his life, The Shadow is proud of his trajectory. The bodybuilding march from the basement gym in Birmingham to stages of amateur, British bodybuilding championships and the prestigious Mr. Olympia left Yates with content. However, after six Mr. Olympia wins, Yates found it rational to quit the sport owing to the monotony and injuries.

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“I am grateful that I managed to leave bodybuilding on my own terms and more importantly, with my health in check,” the 6x Mr. Olympia wrote. After quitting the bodybuilding scene, Yates focused on healing his injuries by embracing other fitness avenues like Yoga, swimming, Pilates, and bike riding. 

Life after bodybuilding 

While lifting weights at the gym made Yates world-famous, his post-bodybuilding life rewarded him with health and healing. “I’m more flexible now than I was 30-odd years ago!” declared a happy 61-year-old in his post. However, the initial Yoga training was a disaster as Yates realized his lack of flexibility due to all the weightlifting he did for years.

The Shadow is happy about his progress in the arena of late and focuses on longevity and health. Yates is on cloud nine as he could fit into “normal size” clothes, which was impossible for the bodybuilder during his prime.

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Dorian Yates’s journey is a testimony of how life can bring better things to existence when one is ready to let go of past learnings. The Shadow’s latest post reflecting his incredible story can help his followers understand the importance of making the right decision at the right time despite it being the hardest choice.