MASS MONSTER OR CLASSIC PHYSIQUE: WHICH DORIAN YATES WAS BEST?

June 16, 2016

Old School vs New School

The battle between the classic era body type and the mass monsters that have nearly taken over the entire sport. When people think of classic bodybuilding physiques they think on athletes like the great Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger, competitors that had a tremendous amount of muscle mass but were still extremely focused on aesthetics and being defined. The era of today however worships a different kind of body type, one that many individuals have claimed has wrecked the sport while others claim it has reinvigorated it.

[wptouch target=”mobile”]

[/wptouch]
[wptouch target=”non-mobile”]

[/wptouch]

The argument on what the ultimate physique will usually depend on the individual. After all it’s an opinion. But there were certainly benefits to having a more aesthetic physique. The classic physiques of the Golden Era were still quite muscular, but not nearly as much as we see today, which meant these competitors of the past had greater body mobility. That same mobility allowed them to put even more complex posing routines than what you would see today. Kai Greene is perhaps the shinning example of a mass monster possessing the ability to put on extremely intricate posing routines.

Though the aesthetics physique had their benefits, the mass monsters also bring their own sense of intrigue to the stage. Just ask the god father of mass monsters Dorian Yates. Yates was one of the first bodybuilding athletes who decided to put on a tremendous amount of muscle mass and hit the Olympia stage with a frame that was massive while at the same time still shredded. With a physique never before seen on a pro stage before, Yates was able to dominate his compatriots. Soon everyone had decided to pack on more muscle in order to keep up with the Olympia champion.

But a recent comparison photo of Yates has many questioning which version of the former Olympia champion was the best. The photo features Dorian Yates with a more lean and classic physique while the other demonstrates his transformation into a mass monster. Which physique was better? You be the judge.