Today, November 15th 2010, would have been Mike Mentzer’s 59th birthday.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mike Mentzer. It was his Heavy Duty column in Iron Man magazine that got me to start training properly and finally getting worthwhile results after having wasted years following the “blind, non-theoretical volume approach” espoused by the bodybuilding magazines.
It was these results and the response from others that inspired me to become a personal trainer.
It was through phone conversations and e-mail discussions with Mike that I gained a thorough understanding of the importance of adequate recovery and tailoring the volume and frequency of training to the individual.
And although I have probably learned more about the technical details of exercise performance from Ken Hutchins than any other two or three individuals I’ve known, without Mike I might never have had the opportunity. Just as Mike moved to Florida in the early 1980’s to work for Arthur Jones at Nautilus, I was inspired to move to Florida in the mid 1990’s to work for Ken Hutchins.
Although I always thanked Mike for his time when we spoke, I don’t think words could ever truly convey how much I appreciated the knowledge he shared. I can never again thank him directly, but I’d like to think I’m doing the next best thing by passing along what I learned from him to others.
I encourage anyone who hasn’t read Mike’s books to visit the Mike Mentzer web site and pick up copies of Heavy Duty and Heavy Duty II: Mind and Body.
If you have been inspired or helped by Mike Mentzer in any way or have a memory of him you would like to share, please do so in the comments section below. Also, if you have any questions about Mike’s Heavy Duty system please ask. I can not speak for Mike and am in no way an official representative of Heavy Duty, but I can share what I learned from him and my experiences applying that knowledge as a trainer over the past two decades.
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Hi Drew:
Thank you very much for your heartfelt remembrance of Mike on what would have been his 59th birthday. Right about now he would probably have given you his “throaty chuckle” and move on to convince you he was only 49. One thing I’ll say about you, Drew, is that you are always ready to give credit where credit is due and this speaks so highly of you and your character. Mike would truly feel proud to know how deeply he influenced your life and also to see how far you have grown in the field of high-intensity training.
You are an awesome guy and thank you once again.
Joanne Sharkey
http://www.Mikementzer.com
Joanne,
Thank you. I am fortunate to have known Mike and really appreciate you keeping MikeMentzer.com going. I’m also glad you’ve had Heavy Duty printed again. It would be a shame if it were not available for new generations.
Drew,
Thanks for the post. These pioneers of this industry are also why I wanted to become a professional in the fitness industry. Many people get into fitness to make a quick buck and the direction the industry is going shows us that it seems to be taking over. I hope through efforts like yours and others who truly believe in teaching people the scientific / non-fad approach to exercise, we can bring this industry back from the deep hole it is digging for itself. Thanks for the post and for your continued professionalism.
Dwayne Wimmer
I am a little late due to carb depletion for my contest..lol – but Happy Bday to the MAN! – thx for remembering Drew!
Going to dedicate my contest to Mike this weekend!
all the best! – MR
If my memory serves me correctly I first happened upon a Mike Menzter article in FLEX Magazine. This would have been somewhere in ’91 to ’93. His training protocols and his logical way of looking at everything really got my attention. My critical thinking of training and just life in general were and are greatly influenced by Mike.
Thanx Drew for remembering , no doubt Mike Mentzer has been the biggest influence in my training, personally and professionally. I think he was a courageous hero, a true giant that didn’t sell out. I have had conversations with almost all of the top author/trainers in the field and I would not feel comfortable making the same statement about most. Having spoken with Mike on a few occasions on the phone I was always re-inspired to continue to fight the good fight, his logic was irrefutable. After more than 4 decades of weight training, I find that I am still searching for answers and I must admit I am heavily swayed by different versions of the HIT approach as my response to training diminishes with age.
I know Mike claimed that training a body part once every 14 days or more might be beneficial or even necessary at times. Where I have been stuck lately is with the idea that the response to training is so well preserved that the stimulus of training for a particular body part (or particular exercise) is best performed that infrequently. I have not brought myself to experiment with such training frequencies but do have clients occasionally train once every 14 days with no adverse performance affects .I question whether a steady diet of such a training frequency would lead to less muscle .I would welcome feedback regarding extended training frequencies, (I can just picture Mike’s response)
Dennis
Dennis,
As a general rule, if progress slows or stops and it can not be attributed to a change in sleep, diet, or other stressors, a brief layoff from training followed by either a reduction in workout volume or an increase in recovery time is usually required.
Many years ago I got to see and hear Mike in person when he gave a seminar at UC San Diego. I remember watching one pencil-neck tell him that his ideas could not work because it was not the way Arnold did it. But Mike carried on respectufully. He is missed.
Thanks for the eloquent thoughts Drew.
My wife and I would also like to personally thank Mike-Arthur and all the HIT proponents for being voices of light in a darker “acceptable paradigm”.
We owe so much of our recent physique and philosophical development to the ways of HIT.
We are excited to promote the lifestyle going forward and hope we can become good ambassadors for all things associated.
Happy Birthday Mike!
Thanks Jay,
You and Anh are great examples of what dedication and proper training can do. Kick some ass at Fitness America for us!
I first discovered Ellington Darden at 18 in 1982. I then discovered Mike Mentzer and Heavy Duty/Heavy Duty II. From Heavy Duty II I discovered Ayn Rand. All of this still plays a role in my life, from workout “philosophy” to life philosophy.
Happy Birthday M.M.
Thank you Drew Baye for this post.
Wanting something to read, and with your tome still in the pipeline, I was thinking of getting one of these books. Could you please advise on whether you need to start with Heavy Duty, or is Heavy Duty II a newer revision covering a lot of the same ground?
Cheers, Ian
Ian,
Both are excellent books but Heavy Duty II goes a bit deeper into the philosophy of science in general and high intensity training specifically. It does cover a lot of the same ground, but both are worth having in your library.
I was a phone client of Mike a few times. The first time I talked with him he spent a good hour pounding into my brain about HIT. He even had me take notes and would question me about it later. If I had a question down the road he took some time to help me out. When I went to the consolidation routine I was able to add a 100 pounds to my squat in 4 months. Thanks Mike
I always admired MM back in the 80’s-his logic was so clear. Unfortunately at the time the Weider magazine propaganda was ingrained in my head. It sounds good-too good to be true, I thought. Now I wish I would have just followed his advice.
I was very surprised when he passed-and watching some of his videos on you tube (with Markus Reinhardt) a few years ago, you could see how Mike’s and Ray’s health were declining (it seemed to happen rather quickly). I know there was heart disease in their family, but I still wonder what happened? Anyway, It was good to have a sane voice in the insane world of bodybuilding. Thanks Mike.
Mike was a great mind that helped many people get on the right path with their training.
Drew, what is your favorite HD routine?
I’d also love to hear your opinion on the Athlete’s Routine.
Happy Birthday Mike.
Nathan,
My favorite Heavy Duty style routine is actually a modification of the athlete’s routine. It addresses all the major muscle groups with just a few exercises:
Workout A:
Squat
Weighted Chin Up
Standing Press
Wrist Curl
Wrist Extension
Workout B:
Shrug Bar Deadlift
Weighted Dip
Curl
Calf Raise
Gripper
Drew,
Thanks for your very thoughtful reflections on Mike Mentzer. In my (admittedly haphazard) reading, I continue to find traces of his influence. He, Arthur Jones, and a handful of others, clearly were seminal thinkers.
Almost as a non sequitur, I do have a training question (based on your modification of the “athlete’s routine”. Specifically, I see that you rarely do unilateral work; do you think it’s unnecessary? For example, I generally add Bulgarian Split Squats along with Barbell Back Squats. Is this an unnecessary redundancy?
Will,
You’re welcome. I do not recommend split squats. Full barbell back squats are a much safer and more effective exercise. There are very few instances where unilateral exercises would be preferred over regular, bilateral exercises.
Drew
Did I read you are using a 5 day frequency? With the listed routine?
Dennis,
My frequency depends on a variety of factors. When I’m getting adequate sleep and have normal stress levels I recover quickly enough to train twice weekly – about once every three to four days – but if I’m not getting enough sleep or have more stress than usual I’ll cut back to once weekly or even take up to two weeks off between workouts.
I think his most important contribution to exercise was bringing Objectivism into HIT circles, and HIT into Objectivist circles.
In honor of Mike and to learn about the outer limits of my recovery abilities,I am thinking about doing an experiment with a cycle or two of a three way split,similar to Mikes recommendations.I plan to workout once every seven days so each particular workout is repeated once every 21 days, wondering if anyone on the site has any experience with this frequency.
Dennis
Dennis,
Splitting up the body into parts is a good idea for someone who has predominantly fast-twitch muscle fibers since local recovery might be slower than systemic recovery. Everybody responds a little differently, so the only way to know whether it will work better for you is to try it and keep track of your results.
Drew,
Any chance you could post a video on how you perform dumbbell squats? I have been doing dumbbell Bulgarian squats to make the exercise hard, I couldn’t make my dumbbell squats hard enough with the dumbbells at my disposal.
Greg,
I just purchased a new video camera and mic for doing exactly those kind of videos. I can’t promise I’ll be able to get around to it any time soon but it’s been added to the list of things to record.
I first remember stumbling upon Mike’s work in high school. I had signed up for the weightlifting class taught by the football coach thinking, ‘He’s the Varsity coach; he should know plenty about how to bulk up and get stronger…’ Boy was I wrong. Three months and two separate cases of tendonitis later, I hadn’t gained any weight and had been stuck on the same workout level for almost half that time. I picked up Heavy Duty II at the local library on a whim, and it was like someone had just showed me the world was round. The logic was so clear and concise, the principles so sound and simple.
I was convinced Mike’s work was the answer I had been searching for, and in my overzealousness, I shared my discovery with the coach and suggested I try it as an experiment to see if the MM HIT way was any better/worse than the current high-volume pyramid scheme I had been working. Thus began my first experience with the narrow-minded and borderline psychotic side of my high school FB coach. Needless to say I was pretty much barred from the weight room at the school after that unless I was under strict supervision and made sure to only do ‘his’ workout.
However, because of Mike Mentzer I chose not to quit or give in to the simple-minded around me. Today, much of the way I view strength training and the world-at-large is a direct result of his work. His books are an invaluable part of my library, and whenever I feel myself getting off-track or a little down for missing a workout, they never cease to re-ignite the fire inside. I have never been stronger than when I was consistently working Mike’s Consolidated Routine.
Thank you Mike, wherever you are; and thank you Drew, for granting the forum space to tribute one of my heroes.
I want to thank Chris, last name unknown, a fitness instructor at las vegas athletic clubs, for telling me about the book, body by science, which has changed my life. and for mike mentzers’ research right up till his death.
The John Little book THE WISDOM OF MIKE MENTZER is aptly titled. I’m presently doing an MM consolidation routine consisting of deadlifts and dips on Mondays followed by squats and chins on Thursdays. It meets my high intensity/brief duration requirements nicely.
Hi Drew,
Thanks for remembering Mike, I met him in 1977 and again in 1978 training for
the Mr Universe.
In my gym in South Africa I only promote Mikes H D. My own training has been
Mikes for years and before that Arthur Jones High Intensity.
Mike I feel, has the answer to those not wishing to use steroids.
Well Drew thanks for your thought.
Regards,
Kevin.
I am 48 years old. I originally started lifting in the early 1980’s following the classic “more is better” routines of the day. At a little over 6′ tall I would hit a lean 200lbs and get stuck there.
I bought Mentzer’s training booklets via mail. While it was a lot less sets it still wasn’t enough and I hit a peak of around 205lbs. Fast forward to 2002 and after a long break I decided to lift again. One of the guys I worked with was following his new plan of even less sets and days off. I worked out about every 4-5 days and hit a body weight of 227lbs at 37-38 years old. Needless to say I was impressed.
I always imagine what I would have accomplished in my high school years if I was on his consolidated program.
8 weeks ago I started lifting after a layoff. Went from 215 to 210lbs and increased my strength about 30-50% in those eight weeks.
So yes, it does work. I am going to try and hit my best body weight of 227 or better this time.
I miss Mike big time. I have ordered a lot from him over the years (courses, t-shits and sweatshirts.).
My current co-workers do not believe I am working out once a week. I was actually going to do it every 4-5 days but my schedule has gotten in the way.
So for now I am going to keep it going once a week.
Hey Mark,
Not searching out better information on the subject during high school is one of my biggest regrets. I wish I had come across Mike’s writing earlier instead of wasting so much money on and time reading bodybuilding magazines. I think a lot of us wish we would have had better information right from the start, but better late than never.
Even if your recovery ability would allow you to train slightly more frequently, if you are training with a high intensity of effort one workout a week is effective.
Hello,
I have been following Mike Mentzers consolidated/athletes routine for years, best damn thing in the world.
When I started I began getting stronger very quickly, but once I traded barbell squats for trap bar squats my weight went up 30 lbs. within months as did my lifting poundages.
No, Mike was spot on, the thing is finding the right compound movement that works for your body mechanics.
Keep sets and reps as low as possible, but dig in when doing those few sets, back off and rest several days, and then go back and do it again
I recently came across one of my old posts and thought I’d share it…
CR Success
As for Mike’s Consolidation Routine. Mike enticed me–over a month–to make the switch late 90’s. These are my results from 4 weeks:
Dates 5th July 1998 – 26th July 1998
Weight: 96.5kg (212.3#) – 99kg (217.8#)
Quad: 25.4 – 25? (I suspect fat loss)
Calf: 16.1″ – 16.4″ (the hardest muscle to grow)!
Chest: 47.1/4″ – 49″
Forearm: 12.5″ – 12.6″
Bicep: 16.3″ – 16.5″
Waist: – 1/8th”
That’s quite dramatic progress for a months work… on less than an hours total training!!!
I used the typical Consolidation Routine of 3 exs/sets with a 5/5 rep tempo. As an advanced trainee, I was bezerk with enthusiasm, rearing to go days before I got the opportunity to train again. I can’t remember why I didn’t remain with it other than the anxiety of waiting a week to train again.