Tag Archives: Mike Mentzer

Top 5 Fitness Books (Part III)

Posted by Tim on

Before I get into the third pick for Top 5 Fitness Books, it’s important to note that these are my personal top 5. They’re the ones that I’ve gotten the most out of, or have influenced me more than the others. Also, these books are in no specific order. Being that they’re widely ranging from powerlifting programming to bodybuilding training, there’s no way to really say one is better than another.

So without further ado – pick number 3 is “High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way” by Mike Mentzer and John Little. Although I’ve already written a series of articles on Mentzer, (you can view them HERE) I still thought his writings should appear somewhere in the top 5, as he’s influenced my own training, as well as the people I’ve worked with.

The book is an in depth text on the training philosophy of one of the greatest bodybuilders to ever live. Mentzer’s ideas focused around training as little as possible and reaping the benefits. Overtraining was a serious thing to him, and he let it be known. While the rest of the bodybuilding community was focused on hour long workouts and training multiple times a day, Mentzer was preaching the minimalist approach – even going to such extremes as a single workout every two weeks!

Mike Mentzer was truly a pioneer, but while his ideas have been proven effective for many people, over and over again, they are still relatively unknown. This is a shame in my mind. I know that I’ve been able to apply Mentzer’s principles to my personal workouts, as well as with people I’ve trained, with great success. A fresh perspective is always welcome in my book, and I urge those out there who haven’t learned from Mentzer to read up on him.

Applying Mentzer (Part III)

Posted by Tim on

Too often people will take one principle of a training program, forget the rest, and then be disappointed with their end results. But training programs need to thought about as whole programs, and ideas shouldn’t be taken out of context. Mike Mentzer’s “High Intensity Training” is no different. Although Mentzer strongly advocated short workouts, often with only a single set per bodypart, this cannot be taken out of context. That single set needs to be intense enough to stimulate growth. Your average everyday 3×8 style set is not the same kind of set you want to use when applying Mentzer’s 1 set idea to your workout program.

To get the most out of that single set one needs to apply a few extra training ideas. It’s these ideas that will push your muscles to failure (and a little beyond), and will stimulate muscle growth with only one set.

To make the initial number or reps (usually 6-10) extra difficult, one can move the weight much slower than usual. This can be as simple as doing curls and taking 4 seconds to bring the weight up, and another 4 seconds to lower the weight. By moving the weight slowly you are eliminating any momentum from assisting you in moving the weight, making the rep that much more difficult and intense.

After these first 6-10 reps have drained your muscles, lift the weight up (with some assistance from either your other arm, or a training partner) and hold it in the flexed position. This is called a static rep. This will drain your muscles even more, making the set even more intense.

Once you can hold the weight in place no longer, slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) lower it. This is called a negative rep. Once the weight is at the bottom position of the rep, assistance will be needed to lift it up again to perform another 2-3 negative reps. By the end of these reps, your muscles will be in pain and will have a great pump.

But not every exercise works well with negative and static reps. It’s not always convenient to have assistance lifting heavy weights with certain movements (such as squats). Even more importantly - negative reps can be dangerous for certain lifts, like the deadlift. Don’t panic – there are other ways to increase the intensity of an exercise.

Drop sets are a simple way to increase the intensity of a set and go beyond failure. Once a set has been taken to the point whereanother rep is not possible, quickly lower the weight and push out a few additional reps. This could be as simple as curling 30 lbs for 10 reps and then dropping the weight to 25 lbs for another 3-4 reps, and of course this can be applied to a variety of exercises.

Rest-pause is one more way to increase the intensity of an exercise, and it consists of taking a brief pause after failure and then completing a few more reps. An example of this would be curling that 30 lb dumbbell 10 times, and while at the bottom of the rep, set the dumbbell on the ground for 2 seconds. Don’t let go, because after those 2 seconds of rest you’ll attempt another 2-3 reps. This allows your muscles just enough time to recover a little bit, allowing you to push out an additional couple reps.

All of these are ways to increase the intensity of a set to the point of exhaustion and beyond, thereby triggering muscle growth. If one incorporates these training techniques into their set, that single set will be intense enough to stimulate gains in strength and size.

Applying Mentzer (Part II)

Posted by Tim on

Whenever one is to question conventional wisdom, “proof” is always needed. A new claim is a lie until it has some kind of science behind it. Luckily for us, Mike Mentzer felt the same way. The principles he taught about (pertaining to training intensity, duration, and frequency) are among some of the most controversial in bodybuilding and weight training, but Mentzer didn’t just randomly come up with these ideas. Mentzer’s principles have been backed up with science.

On the subject of exercise intensity, Mentzer suggests that the greater the intensity, the greater the stimulation on muscles to grow. He often taught that the way to recruit the most motor units (thereby stimulating the most growth) was by training to failure. Numerous studies done have reported the same thing Mentzer was preaching. A study done in 1994 reported far greater gains in dynamic strength (41.2% – 19.7%) when training to failure versus sub-maximal sets. Another study in 1995 showed significant gains in isometric strength when training to failure. Interestingly, a study done in 2002 showed that training to failure for 7 minutes was basically the same as training for 25 minutes not to failure. The evidence is clear – intense training, specifically training to failure, yields better results than less intense exercise.

The duration of the workout, and in particular, the number of sets per exercise is another controversial issue in weight training. Mike Mentzer stirred up the bodybuilding community with his suggestion that it takes only one set to trigger muscle growth.

“…one set to failure is all that is required to stimulate an increase in strength and size.”

Once again, Mentzer’s theory was proven right. A 1998 review by Carpinelli and Otto showed that in 33 out of 35 studies, a single set produced optimal results.

The final principle (at least pertaining to this article) Mentzer taught was that training frequency should be kept to a minimum so as to allow the body ample time to recover and grow between workouts. Mentzer said that for most people, training any body part more than once per week would cause overtraining, and furthermore, that workouts should be spaced with at least several days in between, regardless of which body part was last trained. A study done in 1992 tracked strength gains in the 24-96 hour period following a biceps workout. Amazingly, after 96 hours, bicep strength was only at 80% of what is had been prior to the workout. This means that even after 4 days the biceps hadn’t fully recovered. If it takes longer than 4 days for a small muscle like a bicep to recover, imagine how much time is needed for larger muscle groups like legs, and back.

But if the science isn’t enough, perhaps Mentzer’s most famous trainee is. Dorian Yates won the Mr Olympia six consecutive times from ’92-’97. During that time Yates attributed his success to the training philosophy of Mike Mentzer.

Applying Mentzer (Part I)

Posted by Tim on

There may be no common denominator more important or more obvious in the world of bodybuilding than the frustration that surely comes with lack of gains. Plateauing is something that all of us deal with, but not everyone understands exactly what may be causing the stall in progress. Plateaus can last weeks, months or even years, and can be such a discouraging problem that people (beginners especially) quit the game altogether. But what is causing our lack of progress is what we should be asking. Why is it that we train so hard for hours at a time and see no noticeable effect? Mike Mentzer has a different view on training. Understanding and applying Mentzer’s principles may be the key to unlocking your bodybuilding potential.

Mike Mentzer is a bodybuilder from the good ‘ol days. He was the first (and only) bodybuilder to ever receive a perfect score for the Mr Universe contest. But Mentzer was more than a bodybuilder – he was a thinker. Mentzer was a trainer, and worked tirelessly to help thousands of clients reach their bodybuilding goals, with his most famous trainee being former Mr Olympia, Dorian Yates.

Mentzer’s principles revolved around a few basic ideas, but while they were well researched and highly effective, they were also horribly unpopular. The first idea of Mentzer’s is that muscle growth is stimulated not by volume, but by intensity. Second, that the human body’s capacity for recovery is much less than we make it out to be. And thirdly, that workouts should be short and infrequent to avoid overtraining.

To begin, muscle growth is triggered by high intensity exercise, and contrary to popular belief, one cannot train long and hard. Because growth is triggered by hard exercise, one can certainly not expect to truly workout hard, while also working out for a long time. If the exercise was truly hard, it would be impossible to train long. Mentzer believed in this so much that he said that muscle growth could be triggered through only one set! Of course, this one set would have to be very intense, and to be so, would need to incorporate any number of extra training techniques (rest-pause, static/negative reps, drop sets, etc). But the principle remains - intensity over volume.

But why only one set? When we lift weights we break down muscle, creating an “inroad”. When we recover, we fill in that inroad, and build up some extra – a “gain”. The more we work out, the deeper the inroad, and hens the longer it will take to not only recover to our original point, but to make any gains. The ideal is to stimulate growth, while making the smallest inroad possible. When we workout for multiple sets we deepen the inroad, and overtrain, thus stalling our progress.

Mentzer’s third principle pertains to how long it actually takes to recover. While most of us would like to think that a good night’s rest is enough for our bodies to recover and grow, it’s not. Mentzer advocated training at most 3 times a week, and even suggested later that one workout every two weeks may yield the best results for some trainees.

So, what’s the jist of all of this? Workouts should be short, intense, and infrequent.

But wait. If this is true, why do we hear about all the professional bodybuilders doing 20, 30, or 40 sets per workout and working out 5-7 days a week? Obviously, these guys know what they’re doing – they’re the best. But there are a few things that separate pros from the rest of us. The first is steroids, and a large budget to go along with them. The second is genetics. With or without steroids, the top guys would still be the top guys because of their genetics.

It’s understandable that many are still weary. We’ve been taught for years that building muscles takes long hard workouts 5 days a week. Unfortunately, that belief is causing many of us great frustration. If you are at a plateau then you may want to try a more Mentzer-esk routine. 

Part II coming soon.