Dorian Yates to Train Ali Bilal for 2026 Mr. Olympia
Ali Bilal has enlisted one of bodybuilding’s greatest champions as he attempts to reach the top of the Men’s Physique division.
Bilal announced that six-time Mr. Olympia champion Dorian Yates will help train him during the final stretch of his preparation for the 2026 Mr. Olympia, scheduled for Sept. 24-27 in Las Vegas.
The partnership is particularly intriguing because Bilal has identified his back as an area that needs improvement. Few bodybuilders in history would be better equipped to help.
Yates won six consecutive Mr. Olympia titles from 1992 through 1997 and became legendary for the enormous width, thickness and conditioning of his back.
Bilal traveled to Marbella, Spain, to train with Yates before making the partnership official.
“Proud to officially announce that I’ll be training with the legend himself, @thedorianyates, as I prepare for this year’s Olympia,” Bilal wrote on Instagram.
Dorian Yates Takes Ali Bilal Through Brutal Back Workout
Before agreeing to continue working together, Yates put Bilal through one of his trademark high-intensity back sessions.
“We had a little chat. Ali told me that his back is his weakest point that he needs to focus on,” Yates explained. “So I said there’s maybe something I know one or two things about that.”
The workout included:
- Machine pullovers
- Lat pulldowns
- One-arm dumbbell rows
- Low cable rows
- Bent-over dumbbell rear delt flyes
Rather than simply pushing more weight, Yates repeatedly adjusted Bilal’s technique to ensure he was actually targeting the areas of his back that need improvement.
During lat pulldowns, Yates noticed Bilal leaning too far backward and shifting the emphasis away from his lats.
“You’re leaning back and not getting the lats; you’re using upper back more,” Yates told him. “Everybody in the contest has got upper back, right? Not many people have the lower lats because they’re not focused.”
Yates also instructed Bilal to pull from the shoulder toward the hip during one-arm dumbbell rows and eventually pushed him through forced repetitions on low cable rows.
The intensity clearly made an impression.
“Beginning it felt pretty good, but at the end, I feel like throwing up,” Bilal admitted after finishing the workout.
Bilal Looks to Take Next Step at 2026 Olympia
The timing of the partnership is significant.
Bilal has established himself as one of the elite competitors in Men’s Physique, but he has yet to capture the division’s biggest title. His back development has been a particularly important factor when standing alongside the best athletes in the world.
Now, with roughly four weeks remaining before the Olympia, Bilal is turning to a bodybuilder whose back development helped redefine the standard for Men’s Open bodybuilding.
Yates also stressed that the goal this close to competition is not simply training as hard as possible. During machine pullovers, he cautioned Bilal against unnecessary injury risk.
“You’re going into a contest now. We don’t want to do anything with any risk,” Yates said.
Bilal will face another stacked field in Las Vegas, with Ryan Terry, Erin Banks, Brandon Hendrickson, Kyron Holden and other top Men’s Physique competitors expected to contend.
Bilal has already shown this season that he belongs in that conversation. He captured the New York Pro title before losing to Holden in Pittsburgh, providing another indication of how competitive the Olympia battle could become.
Adding Yates to his preparation could provide Bilal with something different during the final weeks.
Whether four weeks is enough time to dramatically change his back remains to be seen, but Bilal is now learning directly from a six-time Mr. Olympia whose back remains one of the most celebrated in bodybuilding history.
Image embed via Instagram @ali_health1
