High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way (NTC SPORTS/FITNESS)

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Mentzer, along with Jones and Viator, helped push a generation of bodybuilders to try high-intensity training. The best-known example of this was undoubtedly six-time Olympia winner Dorian Yates who entirely changed his approach after reading HIT works. Yates’ later ‘blood and guts’ routine was, in effect, a modified Mentzer approach. Nutritional Protocols Mike Mentzer won the Mr. America in 1976, and, through the remainder of the decade, he wrote of increasingly more advanced techniques. In 1979 the rookie professional won a pro contest and the heavyweight class of the Mr. Olympia (there were two classes then); his brother, Ray, won the Mr. America, becoming the third HIT man to win the title in the ’70s; and their training partner Casey Viator finally made his pro debut. Mike Mentzer had coined a new term for his workout philosophy, “Heavy Duty,” and he was writing two booklets espousing his beliefs. High-intensity training seemed on the verge of transforming bodybuilding. Mike Mentzer crunches a Heavy-Duty most muscular. MORE ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER To go beyond failure, do pre-exhaust supersets. For example, do a set of dips immediately after triceps extensions. I came into this book looking for a comprehensive way to train. Until recently I didn't have a foundation to lose the weight and keep it off after a few knee injuries saw my weight balloon. Jones pioneered the principles of high-intensity training in the late 1960s. He emphasized the need to maintain perfectly strict form, move the weights in a slow and controlled manner, work the muscles to complete failure (positive and negative), and avoid overtraining. Casey Viator saw fantastic results training under the direction of Jones, and Mentzer became very interested in this training philosophy. [11] Eventually, however, Mentzer concluded that even Jones was not completely applying his own principles, so Mentzer began investigating a more full application of them. He began training clients in a near-experimental manner, evaluating the perfect number of repetitions, exercises, and days of rest to achieve maximum benefits. [8]

Oversimplification aside, the passages in Mentzer’s works were emblematic of his drive to verify everything for himself. This also affected his training style — he initially trained like everyone else before discovering that a high-intensity approach yielded better results. High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way was Mentzer's final work. In it, he detailed the principles of high intensity weight training. Weight training, he insisted, had to be brief, infrequent, and intense, to attain the best results in the shortest amount of time. Heavy Duty II also espouses critical thinking. In this book, Mentzer shows why people need to use their reasoning ability to live happy, mature, adult lives, and he shows readers how to go about doing so. Bodybuilding was endorsed as only one potential component of an individual's existence, encouraging many other worthwhile pursuits throughout his books. [9] Diet and nutrition [ edit ] What isn’t communicated in the workout above is the intensity Mentzer brought to his training. Typically he did only one or two sets per exercise. Using pre-fatigue and forced reps, Mentzer’s philosophy was simple — obliterate the muscles and then move on. His workouts were often 45 minutes in duration. Peter McGough, ‘The Mike Mentzer Story,’ The Barbell (originally published in Flex Magazine, 1995). https://www.thebarbell.com/the-mike-mentzer-story/He talks about how so much of bodybuilding training amounts to folklore, and how the idea "everyone responds to different training methods" doesn't make sense from a medical standpoint. He also took issue with people taking successful bodybuilders' words as gospel, but had the class not to point out that the primary authority on bodybuilding lore, Arnold Schwarzenegger, lied compulsively and for fun all the time. Until his retirement in 1980, Mentzer was one of the sport’s most controversial and fascinating stars. In a five-year period, he won Mr. America and Mr. Universe titles, won the heavyweight division at the Olympia, and, perhaps most importantly, stood out against the typical bodybuilding approaches of his age. Heavy Duty Training

Mike Mentzer was a revolutionary in the bodybuilding world because he was the first to introduce concrete science. Even with a heart condition he was the only person to ever get a perfect 300/300 score at the Mister Olympia. He wrote the series to put an end to the ridiculous three hour workouts most people were doing at the time. This is why he advocated for taking every exercise to failure because it meant you only had to do one set not five.Mentzer started bodybuilding when he was 11 years old at a body weight of 95lb (43kg) after seeing the men on the covers of several muscle magazines. His father had bought him a set of weights and an instruction booklet. The booklet suggested that he train no more than three days a week, so Mike did just that. By age 15, his body weight had reached 165lb (75kg), at which Mike could bench press 370lb (170kg) [ citation needed]. Mike's goal at the time was to look like his bodybuilding hero, Bill Pearl. After graduating high school, Mentzer served four years in the United States Air Force. It was during this time he started working out over three hours a day, six days a week. [4] In 1965, Mentzer traveled to the first Mr. Olympia contest with his dad’s old workout partner. ( 3) At the Olympia, two things happened. First, Mentzer encountered Larry Scott (the man who won the first two Olympia titles). Second, Mentzer decided that he, too, would one day become a Mr. Olympia.