Ali Bilal<\/strong><\/a> has enlisted one of bodybuilding\u2019s greatest champions as he attempts to reach the top of the Men\u2019s Physique division.<\/p>\n Bilal announced that six-time<\/strong> Mr. Olympia<\/strong><\/a> champion<\/strong> Dorian Yates<\/strong><\/a> will help train him during the final stretch of his preparation for the<\/strong> 2026 Mr. Olympia<\/strong><\/a>, scheduled for Sept. 24-27 in Las Vegas.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Yates won six consecutive Mr. Olympia titles from 1992 through 1997 and became legendary for the enormous width, thickness and conditioning of his back.<\/p>\n Bilal traveled to Marbella, Spain, to train with Yates before making the partnership official.<\/p>\n \u201cProud to officially announce that I\u2019ll be training with the legend himself, @thedorianyates, as I prepare for this year\u2019s Olympia,\u201d Bilal wrote on Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before agreeing to continue working together, Yates put Bilal through one of his trademark high-intensity back sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a little chat. Ali told me that his back is his weakest point that he needs to focus on,\u201d Yates explained. \u201cSo I said there\u2019s maybe something I know one or two things about that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The workout included:<\/p>\n Rather than simply pushing more weight, Yates repeatedly adjusted Bilal\u2019s technique to ensure he was actually targeting the areas of his back that need improvement.<\/p>\n During lat pulldowns, Yates noticed Bilal leaning too far backward and shifting the emphasis away from his lats.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re leaning back and not getting the lats<\/a>; you\u2019re using upper back more,\u201d Yates told him. \u201cEverybody in the contest has got upper back, right? Not many people have the lower lats because they\u2019re not focused.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The intensity clearly made an impression.<\/p>\n \u201cBeginning it felt pretty good, but at the end, I feel like throwing up,\u201d Bilal admitted after finishing the workout.\u00a0<\/p>\n The timing of the partnership is significant.<\/p>\n Bilal has established himself as one of the elite competitors in Men\u2019s Physique<\/a>, but he has yet to capture the division\u2019s biggest title. His back development has been a particularly important factor when standing alongside the best athletes in the world.<\/p>\n Now, with roughly four weeks remaining before the Olympia, Bilal is turning to a bodybuilder whose back development helped redefine the standard for Men\u2019s Open bodybuilding.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going into a contest now. We don\u2019t want to do anything with any risk,\u201d Yates said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bilal will face another stacked field in Las Vegas, with Ryan Terry<\/a>, Erin Banks<\/a>, Brandon Hendrickson<\/a>, Kyron Holden and other top Men\u2019s Physique competitors expected to contend.<\/p>\n Bilal has already shown this season that he belongs in that conversation. He captured the New York Pro<\/a> title before losing to Holden in Pittsburgh<\/a>, providing another indication of how competitive the Olympia battle could become.\u00a0<\/p>\n Adding Yates to his preparation could provide Bilal with something different during the final weeks.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Image embed via Instagram<\/em> @ali_health1<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Preferred](\"https:\/\/generationiron.com\/wp-content\/themes\/generation-iron\/images\/preferred-source.webp\"\/)
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<\/a><\/div>\nDorian Yates Takes Ali Bilal Through Brutal Back Workout<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Bilal Looks to Take Next Step at 2026 Olympia<\/strong><\/h2>\n