HEAVY WORKOUT

In this video Mike Mentzer reveals what it is about performing a set of repetitions that turns on the growth machinery inside a muscle, and how if you continue to perform tasks (reps) that are already well within your existing capacity, then your body has no reason to change the present size and strength of your muscles. It is the last seemingly impossible rep in a set that is the trigger mechanism that sets the growth process into motion.

Recently, Mike Mentzer’s “Heavy Duty” training method has been attacked by those who favour a more traditional high volume approach, citing studies by exercise science researchers such as Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. Although Schoenfeld doesn’t advocate the 20 sets per body part training that Arnold Schwarzenegger and others embrace, his conclusions on the matter seem to have been accepted by many people without further investigation. In this video, the major principles of Mike’s training system are presented by Mike himself, along with reams of science studies in support of his conclusions. The criticism that Mike’s method is “out of date” is shown to be unfounded. Even more impressive, Mike came to his conclusions long before many of these studies were published, which shows that the data he analyzed from his clients, along with his logical thinking, resulted in conclusions that we’re truly ahead of his time, and that are only now being recognized by the scientific community.

One of the most common misrepresentations about Mike Mentzer is that he built all of his size with volume training, but then, for some reason, recommended that people train with low volume and high intensity. The pro volume people allege that he did this solely as a means of making money. Nothing could be further from the truth. In this video, I examine the actual history of how Mike trained and built his muscle mass. As a point of fact, Mike had been training in a low set, high-intensity fashion ever since he got his first set of weights. There was a brief interlude from 1967 to 1971, in which he trained with high volume. Thereafter, he switched back to a high-intensity, low volume routine, and gained 50% more muscle than he did with volume training. Also included is audio from Mike Mentzer explaining how he changed his training recommendations for trainees during the 1990s after discovering how demanding high-intensity training really is and how everybody has a different genetically determined tolerance for training, with some requiring much less than others. And by the way, Mike’s first ad for his Heavy Duty training courses didn’t come out until April 1977, many years after he had been training in this fashion.

In 1986 I asked MIKE MENTZER the questions "what builds character and how does one cultivate it?" I can’t think of a single bodybuilder that I interviewed over the years who ever brought the topic of character up, nor any who could have provided as comprehensive an answer as Mike did. Indeed, discussing concepts like character building came as easy to Mike as discussing muscle building. What he had to say is worth listening to.

In this video Mike Mentzer REVEALS the SECRET to bodybuilding gains why one set to failure is better than multiple sets, and the definition of intensity. (INTENSITY referred to the percentage of possible momentary muscular being exerted)

In this video, Mike Mentzer REVEALS The Bear Minimum Minimalism Workout Routine, for those who want to build muscle faster and possibly reach full muscular potential in 1 year or less. Mike also has another minimalist workout program that's even shorter than this one called the consolidation program, for when you stall using the workout program provided in this video.

In this video, Mike Mentzer reveals the best way to eat for muscle growth. A well-balanced diet consisting of 60% carbs 25% protein, and 15% fats for those who train in HIT style seems to work best!

In this video, Mike Mentzer explains the best way to eat for muscle growth and fat loss. A well-balanced diet consisting of 60% carbs 25% protein, and 15% fats for those that train in HIT style seems to work best!

In this video Mike Mentzer presents his “Man From Mars” perspective. If you were a fresh arrival to the planet earth, you wouldn’t have any preconceptions about what is the “best” way to train. Our views on this, however, have been shaped by the fitness industry and its influencers - not common sense. Mike argues that we need to take a fresh, new approach to bodybuilding. He explains the significance of reconciling the commonality of our human physiology with the fact that we are each unique as individual human beings, and once we know how to do this, we can then use our own critical thinking to guide our training efforts rather than assuming that the local gym hulk can guide us successfully to our ultimate bodybuilding goals.

The mainstream bodybuilding industry swept the controversy of both the 1980 Mr. Olympia and the 1981 Mr. Olympia competitions under the rug in order to minimize the damage done to the sport and to keep the money rolling in to benefit the corporations that controlled bodybuilding. The truth is that after decades of slow but steady growth, the results of these two contests knocked bodybuilding back on its heels, causing Mr. Olympia competitor Dennis Tinerino to lament that, "the Mr. Olympia doesn't mean anything anymore." This is the story of the aftermath of the 1980 Mr. Olympia, which resulted in Mike Mentzer leaving the sport forever.

In this video, Mike Mentzer reveals the lessons he learned while training for the Mr. Olympia contest in 1980. He explains why he stopped gaining until he cut his training frequency back only four out of every ten days for half an hour to forty-five minutes a workout. It’s interesting to see that even as far back as 1980, Mike was questioning conventional training practices and understood the need for full recovery to take place in between workouts. NOTE: It’s important to remember that the audio for this was recorded in 1991, before he started training clients. After training clients for several years, he learned that training even four out of every ten days proved to be too much for many of them.

In this video, recorded at the end of Mike Mentzer’s seminar in Las Vegas in 1997, Mike answers questions about his training system such as: Does the Heavy Duty Program change at all if used by someone who is using steroids? If the last rep of a set taken to failure is what hits the growth switch, why not just do a single one-rep max? How does he lay out his clients’ training schedule?

In this video, recorded by the veteran bodybuilding journalist and photographer, Garry Bartlett in 1983, Ray Mentzer shares his twice-a-week workout program, in addition to offering his dietary and motivational advice. Training only on Mondays and Fridays, Ray breaks down his routine in terms of exercises, repetitions and structure. Even then he was only performing 1 set per exercise.

In this video Mike Mentzer explains why "cookie-cutter" or "one-size-fits-all" training programs are largely doomed to failure. The reason, he says, is that each of us has our own unique tolerance for exercise. If this is not accounted for, then you are merely engaging in bodybuilding training as a social ritual rather than as a productive discipline. He covers topics such as exercise tolerance between different people, how to determine personal recovery ability, why bodybuilders are confused, overtraining and overlapping muscle exercises.

This was Mike Mentzer's first-ever video (produced in 1980), on high-intensity training. In it he outlines its general principles and provides sample exercise programs for beginners and intermediate/advanced trainees. It’s worth noting that he would refine these programs after he began training clients in the 1990s and discovered that most of his clients could not recover from the volume and intensity even of these comparatively brief workouts. Nevertheless, this video is a wonderful historical reference to Mike’s thought in an era when he was a competitive bodybuilder. Also worth noting, this was the first bodybuilding training video released to the mass market and opened the door for other bodybuilding instructional videos that would follow from the 1980s through until today.

In this video, Mike Mentzer reveals his program for hard gainers; those who simply cannot tolerate and do not respond to conventional training - or even basic high-intensity training. There is a genetic component, he argues, that impacts each and every trainee, that will determine the optimal amount of sets and days off in between workouts that’s best for them. Some people can tolerate training three days per week, but others simply cannot. Mike offers encouragement to those who are hard gainers, and reveals the program that hit upon that resulted in his hard gaining clients making progress for the first time in their training careers.

n this video, Mike Mentzer explains the science of bodybuilding exercise in simple, easy-to-understand terms. He covers why a high-intensity effort in the gym is the most productive way to stimulate growth and why high-intensity exercise must be brief exercise. Also important is the 3-phases of muscle growth: 1. Growth must be stimulated through high-intensity muscular effort. 2. You must allow time for full recovery to take place (even in 1981, when the audio for this presentation was recorded, Mike recognized that recovery of the muscles and physical system could take up to three days to take place). 3. You must allow time for growth to take place. Understanding the science of bodybuilding exercise as explained by Mike Mentzer will save you hours of wasted effort.

In this video, Mike Mentzer reveals the essence of muscle building. He explains what role intensity plays in the adaptation process and how that intensity must continue to be dialled up if one wishes to keep progressing in strength and muscle size.

In this video Mike Mentzer reveals to bodybuilding journalist Peter McGough how he used Rest-Pause training (and only a 7-sets -total per workout) to become the most “heavily-muscled” he had ever been in his entire bodybuilding career. That portion of the video was recorded in 1993 (over the phone).

In this video (audio: circa 1980), Mike Mentzer reveals his method for losing body, fat, building muscle, and getting ripped. Whether you’re a competitive bodybuilder, considering having it ring your first contest, or simply somebody who is looking to lose body, fat and build muscle at the same time, the information he relates, will be very helpful. he covers the role of aerobics and fat loss, the importance of bodybuilding exercise to build and maintain muscle, while dieting away the fat; what diet works best for burning body, fat, with the importance of carbohydrates in this process, how to determine your maintenance need of calories and to make the adjustments necessary to burn just body fat.

In this video, Mike Mentzer explains his science underlying his Heavy Duty approach to nutrition for building muscle and losing fat. The points covered are: Why you don’t need to force-feed yourself supplemental protein What you should consume a well-balanced diet The importance of limiting energy input (calories) during times when you want to lose fat The importance of carbohydrates to high-intensity training Aerobic versus anaerobic How to discover your maintenance need of calories What about supplements? What is a good bodyfat level to maintain year round? Did the low-carbohydrate diet result in steroids coming to prominence in bodybuilding? Why the sugar in candy bars won’t give you an energy boost How Mike dieted for the 1980 Mr. Olympia How Tom Platz dieted for the 1981 Mr. Olympia Also included are contemporary references to science studies that have come out since Mike’s passing that completely support his nutritional recommendations for health, muscle growth and fat loss.