...all it took was one read of "HIT training the Mike Mentzer Way"?...man, you do sound like an aged Heavy Duty acolyte, that's for sure. You make the same points most HIT fans do...
On paper it sounds great. I'm glad Mike motivated you to train his way, but if you're serious about building muscle eventually you'll catch on that there is no "one way" to train. Here's a few examples why, even with the limited info you've provided on yourself....
..how long have you trained? HIT usually "works", by that I mean building noticeable muscle, on intermediate to experienced bodybuilders. Mike himself built his Mr Universe winning body mainly using tried and true high volume principles.
Yet you also state the well known fallacy that HIT is NOT designed for juicers...nothing could be further from the truth. Evidence?...Mike was as big a steroid user as ANY pro of his time...and Aaron Baker? Well, he did try HIT but didn't stick with it the way Mike prescribed it. Don't listen to the "Aaron was too weak to handle the intensity"....NOBODY can handle this mythical amount of "intensity" that Mike spoke of! Not even Dorian!
And finally, yourself. You've been doing HIT what, a whole WEEK? Not to sound condescending, but that is in no way or shape even REMOTELY long enough to assess the training pricinples of ANY program. You do have an enormous amount of faith, though, I presume. That's admirable.
Experiment with HIT, and learn from the experience. But I can save you a lot of heartaches, and possible injuries...realize that there is NO "right" way to train. There is only what you prefer, what you like, and that's subjective to each person. No amount of Mentzer Magic will change that fact.
ps....I spoke with a man who trained in Mentzer's gym back in the day...a whole gym full of people training "heavy duty style"...and only ONE person who looked like Mike, and that was Mike himself. Yet his clients rave about their strength gains...but when it comes to muscle, where was it? Only ONE Mike, with his genetics, his training style, and his drugs could do what he did. Nothing scientific about it, but he's to be commended for many more important reasons in the world of bodybuilding. Don't make the mistake of not seeing the forest for the trees...Mike was revolutionary in that he thought differently, and wouldn't accept things at face value. You should follow that example as well, not just his training style.
The bare "truth" is that Mike realized, very smartly, that you don't need to spend hours in the gym day in and out to build a great body....ESPECIALLY with anabolics! But he was also business smart enough to know that in order to make lots of money and build a legend around himself, he needed something different in order to try to chip away at Arnold's legacy. That was, and became, the HIT style. And as he got older, and went through the hard times, his eventually let his "logic" cloud the real world and finally arrived at an "ultimate HIT routine" which the person trained ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS, if need be, using a total of SIX EXERCISES. Sound strange?...well, it should!
Early HIT ideas were very useful, and led much (if not MOST) to the way we train today in that volume is no longer "king" of styles. For that alone he should be remembered for a long time, and his intelligence...but not his final HIT ideas, which bordered on lunacy.
Your choice though. Post some pics if you really want to prove to us that HIT is the "best"....I'll almost guarantee you that your results will be no more fantastic or astounding than someone using another well-thought out program. Not a challenge, but if you REALLY want to convince people, that's a great way to do it. Good luck.
hehehe yeah, I've gotten really into the book. I've never read a bodybuilding book that was so intellectually stimulating.
Mike trained with high volume until he himself fell into the trap of it. When he plateued from that kind of marathon training routine, he naturally assumed that more was better, but when it got to be too much training, and far less results, he decided to switch it up and try low volume. This was during the late 70s. I know he was well into using his HIT routine leading up to the 1980 Olympia, where he showed up in his best shape.
I definetely didn't say Aaron Baker didn't have what it took to push himself to train at such a level of intensity. He went through that training and had great results from it. I believe, however that Mike Mentzer pushed the limits. He had to have. It was his experiment! I'm trying to do the same!
And yes, I am very faithful about this. If I don't get the results I expect, I won't have a meltdown. I'll just be a bit disappointed. From reading Mike Mentzer's books it's clear that this man was a genius. I sense no lunacy whatsoever. He dedicated his life to making a science out of bodybuilding. And with such a great mind comes a desire to leave behind a great legacy. And although that attempt might have been sort of desperate, it's admirable to want that sort of thing.
And I'm very confident about this routine because this is just how I like to train. I'm a bit extreme with my intensity and have always been. It has to do with the way I think. I can NOT end a set and tell myself I could have done another rep if I tried. There's just no way. I will get upset over it.
I go to a very big professional gym and I LOVE knowing that I train harder than anyone else there. I know it and can say it with absolute confidence. Only me and my best friend/training partner seem to have what it takes to push our minds and bodies to the absolute limits of muscular fatigue. And that attitude is applied to almost every aspect of my life. To make the greatest effort or none at all. And the birth of that attitude came directly from bodybuilding.
About his gym being full of unsuccessful bodybuilders, I just don't know. Even if that's true and very few of his clients did actually make improvements, I'm still going to keep this up. At least 6-8 weeks, until I get the full effect. But I just have to doubt that. Mike wouldn't dedicate his life to something that has no proof of success.
And yes, you're right. Even if HIT will not be socially or scientifically accepted, his efforts to challenge the idea that "more is better" has changed the way we train today.
I'm doing just what you suggested. I will post all about my progress including pictures in my HIT log. It's being updated regularly so keep an eye on it.