Mike Mentzer remains one of the most fascinating characters in the history of bodybuilding. A deep thinker and proud contrarian, Mike is one of the few men in bodybuilding to achieve a perfect score in a competition—and do it on more than one occasion! His training style was defined by the high-intensity training first proposed… Continue reading Interview with Mike Mentzer author John Little
Some time ago I published an article here on the 'death wish' in bodybuilding. For those who haven't read it, and shame on you, it focused on the most obvious problem with the sport I love - it is killing people. This isn't mere hyperbole. Over the past three decades, a significant number of bodybuilding… Continue reading Are Steroids Killing Bodybuilders?
The following workout comes from the wonderful A Portrait of Dorian Yates: The Ultimate Bodybuilding Guide from the Ultimate Bodybuilder by the late Peter McGough. For those who don't know, Peter was one of bodybuilding's most authoritative journalists for several decades. He was intimately linked with Dorian and it was Peter who bestowed Dorian with… Continue reading Dorian Yates’ Olympia Winning Workout
Cards on the table, I was a huge Flex Wheeler fan growing up. Coming to bodybuilding at the tail end of the Dorian Yates era, I was convinced that Wheeler would be the next multi-time Olympia. In my defence, this is what we were being told repeatedly in Weider magazines from the time. Dorian was… Continue reading Why Did Flex Wheeler Withdraw from the 1997 Mr. Olympia?
Are bodybuilders becoming too large? It’s a simple question but one loaded with controversy. Today most Internet forums are filled with heated arguments about whether the ‘mass monsters’ of today are helping or hurting the sport. Rather than continue the common narrative that the 1990s and the Dorian Yates era was the dawn of the ‘Mass… Continue reading Tracing the Mass Monster in Bodybuilding
I sat poised watching the clock with my finger in the ready position. I knew to get the desired seat I would have to have my ticket ordered the second that it went on sale. I called with speedy precision and connected with the agent who took all the needed information and we both waited… Continue reading Jeff Preston, ‘The 1991 Mr. Olympia: The End of an Era’, Iron Age (c.2003)
I sat poised watching the clock with my finger in the ready position. I knew to get the desired seat I would have to have my ticket ordered the second that it went on sale. I called with speedy precision and connected with the agent who took all the needed information and we both waited… Continue reading Jeff Preston, ‘The 1991 Mr. Olympia: The End of an Era’, Iron Age (c.2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcMOG0ECqDU Previously on this website, we have discussed the heavy duty training protocols of men like Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. The 'high intensity training' of Jones, Mentzer and Dorian Yates is perhaps the least understood style of training to grace the lifting world. Critics cite a lack of volume, incomplete workouts and too much… Continue reading Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Training in Action
I sat poised watching the clock with my finger in the ready position. I knew to get the desired seat I would have to have my ticket ordered the second that it went on sale. I called with speedy precision and connected with the agent who took all the needed information and we both waited… Continue reading Jeff Preston, ‘The 1991 Mr. Olympia: The End of an Era’, Iron Age (c.2003)
Yates in 1986 Known as 'The Shadow' in bodybuilding circles, Dorian Yates was the goliath of early 1990s bodybuilding. Winning the Mr. Olympia six straight years in a row from 1992 to 1997, Yates was famed for his intense approach to training. A modified form of the high intensity training advocated by Arthur Jones and… Continue reading Dorian Yates’ Workouts from 1982-1985
