I read a Mentzer article in Ironman last night and let me tell you this guy is nuts. He has serious problems. Besides this, what luck (ok Mike its not luck, its science!) has anyone had with his programs? Is overtraining really this common? Any comments on his programs, The God Ayn Rand, or the 1980 Olympia are welcomed. Personally, I never thought he looked that good.
Ayn Rand is awesome. Many T-mag staffers have read her books, including me. Old Mentzer has really screwed up by talking about her so much. Now people blow her off because as noted, Mentzer is insane. Screw Mentzer. Read “The Fountainhead” now.
Go ahead Chris! I agree totally. About the training, I have poor recovery ability so I need infrequent training and low volume to progress. In 95 when I was training for the NABBA USA contest, I used the Heavy Duty program (slightly modified but not much) with alot of success. I was like 195 in contest shape (1-2%fat) from daily cardio (1hr) and 3 days of Heavy Duty training (45min per session) per week. No one would believe me that I trained that infrequently. They thought I was just lying to them to hide some “secret”. I liked the program but I like others too. I think cycling training is the best approach. I do a month of mentzer every 4 months or so of training. So 3 months out of the year I use Heavy Duty.
I absolutely despise Mentzer and his training approach. And I disagree that what John Berardi did would even qualify as Heavy Duty training. Training 3 days a week for 45 minutes is much closer in volume to what Ian King generally recommends. It may even be more.
In Heavy Duty II (i know, i have no idea why i read it), Mentzer’s program consists of lifting once EVERY FIVE DAYS, with a volume of about 6 sets per workout, and it takes a full 20 days to get through the whole body once! He can’t be serious right?! Here are his volume recommendations:
2 or 3 sets per muscle group (usually a pre-fatiguing set superset with a compound exercise) ONCE EVERY 20 DAYS! I know it’s best to avoid overtraining and all, but give me a break. There is such a thing as detraining.
And of course, like any blind/ignorant trainer, he recommends avoiding free weight exercises and squats, preferring to spend ALL training time on machines. What a psycho!
Yes, that training program is crazy. However, I do incorporate High Intensity Training into my regimen for about 4 weeks, every 3 months. I do this after a period of overtraining, and it works wonders! This isn’t a mentzer style necessarily, but it is somewhat close. I train m/w/f split. An example of my leg day is one set of squats 10-15 reps to failure. One set of stiff leg deads to failure, one set of donkey calf raises to failure, and ab work. Sometimes I through Leg extensions in there.
In the 80s and 90s overtraining has been overdone. Before I changed to Big Beyond Belief I got good results with a high set program. Optimum Traing Systems is the only traing system with actual science behind it. Bulgarian scientists spent 10+ years perfecting this system. You should also know that many guys have been severly injured when doing the Heavy Duty system, even Dorian Yates had problems with it.
I tend to agree with Doug, here. John Berardi is one smart dude, but I don’t know where he got this 3 days a week for 45 minutes recommendation by Mentzer. Mentzer’s always recommending training sessions keep to 20mins or less and once maybe twice a week.
Well, I’m pretty sure there was a time when 3 weight sessions a week for about 45 minutes was what Mike recommended. I think I was still in the crib though… That was when he was tooling around with Arthur Jones. Eventually, when he went his own way, he started periodically lowering the volume and frequency, until his workouts finally reached the pathetic state they’re in now.
I remember his audio interview in mm2k many moons ago, where he recommended not even doing complete repetitions! He recommended instead using static “holds,” where the trainee doesn’t even move the weight, but instead holds it in the contracted position for extended periods of time. So I guess now all you need to do is one REP every twenty days or so and you’ll be a big son of a bitch…
The thing is he diidn’t even use it. He believes in only machines? I did not know that. You can see why people like his philosophy . . Just lift hard for maybe 10 minutes every 5 or 6 days and you will get the best results. My question is if it works so well, why don’t the pros use it? OK, what about natural bodybuilders?
As good as the Fountainhead is, Atlas Shrugged is a much better book, READ THEM BOTH.
Mike is an embarrasment to real objectivists.
The heart of objectivism, as a philosophical system applied to everyday life, is the application of the scientific method whenever possible. This means examining evidence, experimenting, and when reality disagrees with you theories, dropping them. Mike refuses to take any evidence not directly agreeing with his ideas into consideration. As an objectivist myself, I really wish he would shut up and go away.
As to his training methods, they will work for a while. Using the workout in the first Heavy Duty book, I got my squat above 300 for the first time. After a couple months, though, my gains ground to a halt, and I began to dread every workout. If done properly, they are quite painful, and my joints got to achin' big time. I made my best gains to date on the old fashioned 20 rep squats routine.
As to Ayn Rand, she was not by any means a god, in fact did not believe in god. She was a very intelligent and somewhat flawed human being. Personally, I find her fiction tedious, but neccessary reading. For a more accessible look into the objectivist world, check out one of her essay / speech collections, such as "The Voice of Reason".
Finally, Mike may have been robbed at the 80 Olympia, but that was twenty years ago, and he surely isn’t the only one screwed out a title. He should get over it.
I’ve been to mike mentzer’s web site,
but I can’t find anything about Ayn Rand or the 1980 Olympia. I like to read nonsense, but I don’t like paying for it. Is there any place on the web I could read some of his rants?
Anyone remember when Mentzer had a hard on for Nietzche in the 70’s. Now it’s Ayn Rand. I thought Atlas Shrugged was a great book, but I don’t see how it proves HIT training.
By the way, ART for rehab, and Westside Barbell did more for rehab and strength in two months than any other training program did in years. Everyone should listen to Dave Tate because it does work. This is from a drug free lifter.