One of the greatest bodybuilders ever - A tribute

[figgs]

YES KNNY!!!!

[jmt1]

mentzer was a genius and his legacy in bodybuilding is one that will continue grow in the years to come...  people will continue to understand HIT and  embrace it as the greatest method of training... not necessarily following Heavy Duty exactly but following the gerneral priciples of training he talked about.

in his day overtraining was very common...there are still some idiots on this board who post about their 2 hour workouts, endless sets and reps, ect...lol

here are some on mentzers words of wisdom...



"Most bodybuilders seem to regard bodybuilding training as an endurance contest, which it is not. That, again, is operating off the notion that more is better. The idea is not to go into the gym to see how many sets you can do or how long you can mindlessly endure. Your purpose is to go into the gym as an informed, intelligent, rational human being and perform only the precise amount of exercise required to stimulate growth. Note the distinction. Your purpose is not to engage in an endurance contest but to do what is required by nature to stimulate growth. And, as it turns out, the precise amount of exercise required to stimulate growth isn't nearly as much as people have been led to believe or would like to believe."

[jmt1]

there were some posts on here talking about serge nubret... the guy knew nothing about training or nutrition...and people wanna follow his workouts...lol...they dont realize the reason he reached the level he did was because he was genitically gifted...most bodybuilders would regress on that type of training.   

           
more mentzer on training...


"The majority of volume bodybuilders are performing a random, arbitrary number of sets,  up to 60 sets a day, six or seven days a week. You and I both know that represents gross overtraining, and for the bodybuilder who is not genetically gifted or taking steroids, it's useless. For those not taking extremely large amounts of recovery-ability enhancers, such as steroids and growth hormone, it's even counterproductive."


"Your program should involve no more than four workouts a week and should consist of no more than four or five sets per bodypart. The low number of sets will enable you to generate maximum intensity of effort by going to complete failure on each and every set. Any more than that and you’ll have to hold back somewhat on each set; i.e., pace your effort so you’ll have enough energy and drive to complete the sets that loom ahead with like intensity. While it may actually require something less than maximum, or 100 percent, effort to induce growth stimulation, how would you know where that level might be and how would you accurately measure anything less than 100 percent effort? You couldn’t, so be sure to pass that threshold. If such a program doesn’t produce immediate results, cut your workouts back to four every nine days instead. "
     
 

[jmt1]

A properly conducted Heavy Duty workout involves the utilization of weights that allow for up to ten reps to failure. Such is properly referred to as a high-intensity, low-force program, and is quite safe.

Some are reluctant to embark on a high-intensity program because they mistakenly believe that the last rep of a set carried to a point of momentary muscular failure is dangerous. On the contrary. The last rep of a set carried to failure should be the safest because, by the last rep, the trainee is at his weakest, barely able to generate enough force to complete the rep. It is the first few reps, when the trainee is freshest, and able to exert more force than required to move the weight, that are the most dangerous. If, for instance, you are doing a set of Barbell Curls with 100 pounds for ten reps to failure, no rep requires that you exert much more than 100 pounds of force to complete it. On the first few reps, when the individual is fresh, he usually completes them relatively quickly, exerting well above 100 pounds of force. On the last rep, he is barely able to move the weight at all, exerting just enough force to complete it - maybe 101.1 pounds. Therefore, the last rep is the safest so long as proper technique is employed.

[rccs]

One of the greats.

Say what you want about him but he brought many new innovative thoughts to the world of bodybuilding.

Hail to the Mentzer brothers! They were raw power, fantastic BB, and didn't have monster guts! I wish they could still be among us... RIP

[jmt1]

too bad he quit after the 80 olympia...it would have been interesting to see what he could have done.

[Joey Tito]

I gotta say, Mike was on to something with the heavy duty system.  A few years ago I put on about 30 lbs of muscle in 2.5 months (not kidding), no roids, just following mike's philosophy to a T.  If I didn't have to diet down and lose all that weight for a bbing show i was doing i'd still have it.  But even still kudos to mike's system!

[Jr. Yates]

I gotta say, Mike was on to something with the heavy duty system.  A few years ago I put on about 30 lbs of muscle in 2.5 months (not kidding), no roids, just following mike's philosophy to a T.  If I didn't have to diet down and lose all that weight for a bbing show i was doing i'd still have it.  But even still kudos to mike's system!

I never looked into his system...I read that he'd spend like 11 min on upper body or something like that. I couldnt do that. the gym is the only thing to look forward to each day....that'd suck to go there for about 15 min and thats it like once a week or something!

[jmt1]

I never looked into his system...I read that he'd spend like 11 min on upper body or something like that. I couldnt do that. the gym is the only thing to look forward to each day....that'd suck to go there for about 15 min and thats it like once a week or something!

with a name like jr. yates you should be an expert in HIT.

[Yev33]

I thought Mentzer's physique was awesome, I agree with some of his trainining philosophies but not all of them. A good question to ponder is why Dorian Yates had so many injuries following a similar system to HIT. How can someone tear that many muscles while using perfect form? IMO a system like HIT doesn't allow for enough warm up sets. On the other hand you have someone like Coleman whose form is nowhere near as good as Dorian's on most exercies, he uses more weight and he performs explosive reps, yet his list of injuries is nothing compared to Dorian's. If you look at Coleman's training he also uses one set for maximum intensity with the heaviest weight, the difference is that he will do at least 2 warm up sets before any movement.

[jmt1]

I thought Mentzer's physique was awesome, I agree with some of his trainining philosophies but not all of them. A good question to ponder is why Dorian Yates had so many injuries following a similar system to HIT. How can someone tear that many muscles while using perfect form? IMO a system like HIT doesn't allow for enough warm up sets. On the other hand you have someone like Coleman whose form is nowhere near as good as Dorian's on most exercies, he uses more weight and he performs explosive reps, yet his list of injuries is nothing compared to Dorian's. If you look at Coleman's training he also uses one set for maximum intensity with the heaviest weight, the difference is that he will do at least 2 warm up sets before any movement.

dorian would do multiple warm up sets before his one working set...i wouldnt blame his injuries on HIT.

from what i have heard dorian trained like that all the time...i always admired dorians work ethic but sometimes you have to back off a little.

i think some people are just more prone to injuries than others...ronnie is a freak of nature...i dont think anything could slow him down.

[jmt1]

heres part of an interview with dorian...

[ Q ] Your high intensity, Blood and Guts training has been frequently talked about. What is it about this system that gave you such great results?


It is high intensity training to stimulate growth tempered with rest away from the gym. I think if you look at the way the pros train now you can see the influence this system had on them. In the late 80's people were still training six-times a week, training each body part twice a week.

I came along with a totally different philosophy, which is based on high intensity training. Various people promoted it before: Arthur Jones from Nautilus and Mike Mentzer with Heavy Duty. But I think I came up with a system that was more practical and had an influence on the way everyone trains. I think that is why guys these days are carrying more muscle - they are not in the gym overtraining all the time.


[ Q ] Could you explain this system in a little more detail?


It is the intensity of the exercise that is important not the duration. If you do one set that is adequately intense enough to stimulate any muscle, then you are not going to gain anything, even if you do 99 or 100 such sets. If you do one set that is intense and to failure, then you have triggered the muscle growth.

Doing another set at that point is not going to give you any more. It is just going to make it more difficult for your body to recuperate. So that is the reason for doing fewer sets.

[figgs]

Thanks jmt1! Great quotes!

Here's a clip from Mike Mentzer's High-Intensity training video.

Lol at the guy after leg presses "I hate you.... I hate you..." hahaha