Dorian Yates: When to Swap the Dumbbell Shoulder Presses for the Smith Machine

Known for his “Blood & Guts” training series, few bodybuilders hit the gym with the same intensity as the man they called “The Shadow.” But to command the title of Mr Olympia from 1992 to 1997, Yates had to be as smart as he was savage with the weights. So, in a recent Instagram post, the big Brit explained why swapping the free weights for machines, in order to perform moves like the shoulder press, is often essential in order to make progress.

Providing advice for his 1.8 million Instagram followers, Dorian Yates looked back on his journey with the shoulder press, a move that he favored in order to build his delts. The Olympia icon started out with exercises such as the seated shoulder press, a movement that especially hits the anterior (top) and medial (middle) deltoid muscles of the shoulder. This was a regular weapon in Yates’ bodybuilding arsenal from 1983 all the way to late 1992, but as the weight got heavier, the man mountain ran into some issues.

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“It became awkward and dangerous actually getting the dumbbells into position before even beginning the movement,” he recalled. “I worked up to 160-pound dumbbells and it just wasn’t practical.”

The Difference Between the Dumbbell Shoulder Press and Smith Machine Shoulder Press

The smith machine shoulder press, much like the plate loaded shoulder press machine, becomes a safer option as the load increases. “So, I switched to pressing on the smith machine and it felt great,” reflected The Shadow. “There was no issue with setting up and plus it allowed me to do extra intensity techniques such as rest pause, which we used often. For the uninitiated, the rest-pause technique means taking a set to failure, having minimal rest, and then performing additional reps to failure. This method ramps for the intensity of a workout and is thought to increase the state of hypertrophy, leading to increased strength and more muscle.

So, if you feel like the dumbbell shoulder press is becoming increasingly difficult to execute without compromising your stability, don’t risk injury. Instead, utilize the smith machine, or the plate loaded variation. To replicate Yates’ approach, begin with two warmup sets to get the blood flowing, before taking one heavy working set all the way to failure. If you feel able, and you have the guts, take a short rest and rep to failure once again. That’s how champions are made!

For more intense muscle building advice, follow Dorian Yates on Instagram by clicking here.