Dorian Yates Explains Why Machines are Perfect for Pushing Past Failure

Dorian Yates was known for his brutal workouts and landing 6 consecutive Olympia titles between 1992 and 1997, but despite his love of free weights, “The Shadow” also knew when it was time to turn his attentions to a machine, as he explained in a recent Instagram post.

Using footage from his seminal instruction film, Blood & Guts, Yates took his 1.8 million followers on a trip down memory lane in order to explain his process as relates to the seated chest press machine, and all machines in general. “I really liked this Hammer Strength ISO Chest Press I got it in Temple Gym, around 1994/95, after using a range of Hammer Strength equipment in the States,” he shared. B

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efore hitting the chest press, the O.G. (Olympia Gentleman) was always sure to execute some warm up sets that included free weights such as the barbell incline bench press, working up to failure. After this, he’d move on to a machine. “Machines vs free weights? I recommend using both, which is what I did,” explains the Englishman. “There’s pros and cons with either but I would say use both.”

Dorian Yates explains how he split his time between free weights and machines

Yates says that when it’s time to really vie for failure, machines are a safer option with exercises like the seated chest press offering great value. “On this machine, each side moves independently so you’re ensuring both sides are working to their max and that one side isn’t doing more work than the other,” begins the bodybuilder. “Firing it up through a full range of motion, notice how far back my elbows go to work the pec through its entire range and at the peak contraction, I squeeze my pecs. Going all the way to positive muscular failure and after Leroy (Davis) gives a spot and at the end for the last few, lifts the weight up where I hold it in the static phase of strength and perform extra negative reps, completely taxing each part of the rep. You can’t really do this with free weights safely so it’s best to go beyond failure on machines.” For this Olympia icon, it’s all about “complete muscle failure.”

And, while Yates had a spotter for his epic workout, machines offer a chance to lift without the need for a partner present. So, next time you are in the gym, why not try pre-exhausting the muscles with free weights, before pushing past failure more safely on a machine? Tell’em Dorian Yates coached you.

For more muscle taxing tips, follow Dorian Yates on Instagram