Has anyone tried John Little’s 1 set / week that he discusses here, https://youtu.be/gT56Fw6Gh_M?si=dw195A8qkuCjuq6h&t=2996? He’s had some pretty crazy success / gains across ~30 clients with it…
It’s something that Mike Mentzer started doing with his extreme consolidation routine decades ago. John Little is reviving Mentzer”s Heavy Duty. It’s nothing new. But there has been on online resurgence about Mike Mentzer.
Mentzer started telling people to do an A/B routine.
Squats and pulldowns then the next week Regular Deadlift and dips.
I was a phone client. Mike later told me to train every 14 days. He told me to eat more calories too. After a few months I stopped doing it.
You can get stronger. But you won’t be in good condition. I would not call it a success. Many have tried this and many have moved on.
I got better results with a little more volume and frequency. I still do one set to failure.
5 Likes
Listened to this, it sounded like taking things to their illogical conclusion - not one set squats then one set chin up but both at same time, belt squat with chin up bar, pushing with legs while pulling with arms at same time. Can see his idea (maximum muscle/minimal exercise) but can’t help but think concentrate on squats for lower body, concentrate on chins for upper, not some HIT version of db press on a bosu ball
2 Likes
I’ve only been doing it three weeks but have gone from 8 to 16 to 28 reps, with the same weight, the three weeks I’ve been doing it, along with some ab / low back work. It’s early yet, but I’m reminded of Arthur Jones’ quote: “It took me twenty years to learn that two sets are better than four, and twenty more years to learn that one set is better than two.”
1 Like
@rkutner
I’ve read the article more than once and cannot picture the movement(s). Do you have a video?
No article, just the YouTube interview linked above. John describes it at 51:00. I’ll try to get some video this weekend.
1 Like
Yes, sorry, I had watched the video also and still couldn’t picture it. 
It’s always interesting to speculate how little you can train, and still get results. I believe in it within reasonable margins. Many trainees would likely benefit from similar approaches, but who dares trying, when the gospel (both “science” and trenchwork) preaches significant volume?
Personally, I’ve applied one day a week of powerlifting, an A and B workout shifting squats (A) and deadlifts (B) with additional bench each session. Applying different techniques and strategies for progressive overload - Much to my surprise - I’ve achieved good numbers in my lifts, and the weights continue to increase, though slowly (much due to age and my fear of getting crushed by the bar).
Hats off to John Little for bringing this forward!
2 Likes
I have tried Mike Mentzer’s Super Consolidated routine.
I have a Nautilus OME in prime condition. I just lubricated the weight stack bushings and guide rods. Furthermore, I put 3-inch industrial caster wheels with locking mechanisms to mobilize and slightly increase the height of this beautiful machine. I will replace the hardened steps with rounded wooden steps to facilitate calf raises.
The belt squats on the OME with chin-assisting seems awkard to me…YMMV! However, once the OME has been slightly raised by the caster wheels, the step-up on the second step of the OME (one leg at a time) is a winner, and can easily be assisted by using the parallel grips on the chin tower. Absolutely a killer exercise that is easy on the knees, as shear forces seem reduced for the knee. However, a simple solution for this is a Nautilus leg press using hands-on-the-knees assisting which works well, and has done so for years.
More important is recovery from exercise between workouts, not workout length. Rather than cutting down to just one exercise, allow for more days between workouts to facilitate complete recovery. How does one do this?
It takes a little getting used to and requires some help setting up with straps and pinning the stack, but I’ve gone from 220 lbs x8 reps to 250x22 in four sessions, so I’m hooked.
Workout length is paramount for me, as I can go all out for one set without saving anything for another. So intensity is never an issue, and I show up ready to bite the ass off a bear for 90-120 seconds after a warmup. Then some MedX low back, but I don’t save anything for it.
Anyone else remember Little’s crazy Deadlift-Calf Raise-Shrug combo exercise?
CNS Workout Program by Pete Sisco
This was from a Pete Sisco book.
Note: Deadlifts, followed by shrugs, followed by a calf raise can result in excessive compressive forces in the lower back. YMMV!
Yes! Thanks for remembering that correctly! I actually tried these a few times… Goofy AF.