Most bodybuilders didn’t get into the sport to practice their posing, instead choosing to grind in the gym to make the necessary gains for success. But the six-time Mr Olympia champ, Dorian Yates has shared the precise amount of time that he spent perfecting the art, and in a recent Instagram post, he warned up-and-coming musclemen that posing really is essential to you your progress.
Yates, who won the Mr. Olympia contest from 1992 to 1997, knew he needed to develop a detailed relationship with posing if he were to lift bodybuilding’s most prestigious trophy. “Posing practice… this was by least favorite part of the content prep, but it was essential for onstage endurance and to present your physique to maximum potential,” revealed ‘The Shadow’ in a recent Instagram post for his 1.9million Instagram followers.
Indeed, Yates has schooled bodybuilding students on the art of posing in past IG posts, providing tips for maximizing your movement. He advises studying the professionals and adapting your posing style to work with your own physique, along with mastering your choice of music (where offered). He also enthused that competitors must practice, perfect, and repeat their posing.
So how much time did the big Brit invest in his own posing development?
Dorian Yates Reveals How Often He Practiced Posing for Mr Olympia Success
“There’s a lot more to bodybuilding posing that just simply flexing the muscles,” he explained. “It is a work of art, and something that goes under the radar is the breathing part of posing… conditioning is a must!”
To develop the kind of conditioning that would crush his rivals onstage, Yates explained that he would practice and perfect his breathing and movement for “45 minutes, 3 times per week.” Yates further expanded that he would hold on to compulsory poses such as the rear double biceps pose, squeezing for around 15 seconds. “As well as long periods in the front relaxed pose so that I could maintain throughout the long pre-judging.”
While many bodybuilders view posing purely as a means of displaying their muscles in the best possible light, true champions like Yates leave no stone unturned, practicing and re-practicing to make sure their conditioning and endurance is also on point.
Has posing become more of a priority for you now? If you want to become a celebrated bodybuilder like Dorian Yates, you’d better make the appropriate time to perfect your craft.
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