That being said it was time to get ready as Dorian had followed me down the stairs, and when he’s in the gym there is NO messing about. It was chest day for me and cardio for Dorian, so we worked it around so that he was there when needed for the heavy max set to muscle failure. I began my workout by doing my usual rotator exercises, making sure the joint is well warmed and ready for the pounding I was about to give it. I then went on to do 3 sets of dumbbell flies getting some blood into the chest before hitting the bench press. 2 warm up sets mixed with a lot of dynamic stretching and I was ready to throw some weight on. 3 plates and I banged out 10 easy reps. Dorian grunted “That’s too light, you need to go heavier,” so we added another 5kg each side, took a little bit of a breather and then it was time to rock and roll. From the moment I sat on the bench, I visualized myself moving the weight with massive pecs. Visualization is a psychological tool I often use in my work out. It helps me to narrow my focus to the job at hand, which was to build some serious pecs by moving some serious weight. And to have a 6 time Mr. Olympia in my corner, made the whole ordeal that more serious. After all, Dorian does not mess about, especially when it comes to training. He lifted the 150kg bar off to me and shouted, “Let’s do this Bullman!” I forced out 6 solid reps before we racked the bar, and got the seal of approval from Dorian when he said, “You’re a strong little leprechaun, aren’t ya!” with that cheeky smirk on his face. I then loaded up the hammer incline machine, 4 plates each side. The whole essence of Temple Gym had become so infectious that it had had a profound effect on my workout. I was finally in a gym where I felt like I was home, no frills or spills, just hardcore training. Workouts fueled through pure manic aggression, the attitude I had used for so many workouts down through the years, and never more so than this year, training on a broken foot for the biggest contest of my life. And now fully recovered I could enjoy the full benefits of the whole experience of training in Temple Gym. I sat into the Hammer machine, telling myself, “This is it, 6 reps Bullman, that’s it!” (I had only ever managed 4 unassisted previously). Yates hollers, “Come on Bullman, this is it, your set, strong reps!” I banged out 8 solid reps, taking the negative real slow and exploding out for the positive. Dorian is an advocate of super strict reps, which I am learning is the one common denominator between all of the IFBB superstars I have trained with: Shawn Ray, Kevin Levrone, Frank Richards, Richard Jones. All are advocates of super strict form, with the weight being secondary. After my workout I sat in a restaurant contemplating what I had learned and what it had meant to me to have trained with Dorian and in his backyard (Dorian and I had already done legs together in my home town gym in Limerick Ireland). I love training with guys like Dorian, Shawn and other elite bodybuilders. They have a love for the iron that only true bodybuilders can understand and feel at ease during the workouts. That’s not to say that the workouts are not hard, because they have been some of the toughest I have ever had, and I use the experiences to fuel my workouts when training alone.