HDC, whoever you are, thanks for putting these together. I am 42 and have been training since my 20's, and with that, absorbing as much knowledge as possible. How I never heard of Mike until this year, thanks to you, I do not know. But it took about 5 seconds of listening to know that Mike is speaking at the most rational level of understanding of what works and what does not. It so rational, it seems like he is the Gandalf of BB.
I feel that most bodybuilders who have been training for any length of time should at least understand what is involved in the process of recovery. Mike does a terrific job in helping to explain this process. I also feel once this recovery process is completely understood, it is then up to each individual in how much intensity he cares to put forth for the exact result he is striving for. There is always going to be a fine line between painful training and downright straining. I do not believe anyone who works out should need to be in agony during any type of training. It's one thing to be able to tolerate pain, but who needs to take it to those extremes. Look what's happened to some of the most intense trainers in bodybuilding, they ended up with torn muscles, overly strained tendons, not to mention injured shoulders,elbows, knees, as well as spinal injuries which required surgeries. Train, don't strain is still a good safe rule of thumb to follow. Sure, it may take a little longer to obtain worthwhile results but what the hells the rush anyway. Bodybuilding is something to be forever enjoyed and it's in the journey we follow that fulfills us. Dam, I sound like some darn philosopher. Just go ahead and MUSCLE UP! And just don't forget who JOE WEIDER was. 💪🥇🏆👑🌎🤙😊
I switched to High Intensity just a couple weeks ago and the results are hard to believe if I weren't experiencing them myself. In one week, I increased my flat bench dumbbell press limits from 3 reps with 110 pounders to 9 reps with 110 pounders followed by 3 reps with 120s, which I've never been able to even get 1 rep with before. That does not count the two assisted reps done after total muscle failure, with those assisted reps being the ones that are responsible for the explosive increase in strength. Going up 10 pounds in a week? Sounds like a made-up fantasy. But it happened. I've had other rapid gains that are comparable. My gym's largest dumbbells are 150s. I expect to be pressing them before very long.
I was reminded of an article Arthur Jones wrote a while back on the importance of negatives in the workout while watching this. It was clear that many (then and now) don't realize how much they give away by not at the very least focusing on that part of the exercise. Even using Nautilus machines you can see Boyer reverting back to ingrained training practices which using nautilus or conventional equipment produces very little of the potential gains you could get from the workout. From what I remember in Arthurs example you might use say 100 units in the positive part of a rep, but only about 14 on a properly executed negative. This means even if you doubled the weight to something beyond what you could physically lift in a positive rep you would still only be using up to 28 units on the negative which would not only be producing more stimulus, but of greatest importance to the subject of this video you use way less of the energy your body would need to recover before it even began to work on building any muscle on top. Impossible for Traditional bar & Dumbbell work I'm aware, but if you have access to Nautilus or most fixed weight machines (By which I mean like smith machines chest press machines, any brand that may allow you to do a positive with two hands, then negative work with just one) as opposed to say hammer strength which mostly are single unilateral based equipment then people should make full & proper use of them.
A few factors for me is I work a twelve hour night shift I have a family and I am not a professional. So training more than three times a week doesn't fit. I have found high intense training to the absolute best form of training
@@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlawIntensity and Frequency. You are not applying one or both of those concepts perfectly. That's why you think more volume is needed which is almost never the case
@@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw about a month now. As long as you are eating the same and tracking your workouts, you should be fine. It's also good to figure out why you're not getting stronger (too much/little rest, not actually pushing yourself hard enough, etc.)
With HIT, if you aren’t able to push it to absolute failure while keeping good form and slow eccentric reps, you won’t get the best results you could be getting. That 1 set is everything, push yourself
Hi John, thank you for all you do. I’ve just found Mike and I’m blown away by him! I am 27 and only just getting into this (I know it’s a tad late), I am trying to find a copy of Mike’s Heavy Duty II Mind and Body to buy, but I can’t find a copy anywhere! I don’t suppose you know of anything? I am UK.
@@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE Thank you for the reply! Ah that’s a shame! What book/s would you recommend if I were to buy one for training using Mike’s knowledge?
I was on a PPL every three days split (ppl all in the same day then two days off). I skipped a workout and switched over to once every 5 days or once a week. I thought I was just being lazy. Also reading Mentzer's stuff. I'm making gains even faster now...😄
@@AbdulGhani-vm6oq I meant to say was working out once every three days (PPL is just my workout order of exercises). Menzter is saying you are still growing on the 4th and 5th days off. I think hes right cuz I'm growing faster like that.
Hey John it’s clear everybody got different recovery tolerance for muscle growth but how we know our nervous system is recovered ? From the stress of the intensity and growth
You will have to go by your progress chart. If you are progressing in repetitions and weights, then you are recovering and adapting. If you are staying the same in repetitions and weights, then you are merely recovering, but not allowing enough time for adaptation. If your repetitions and weights are going down, then you are not even recovering in between workouts and need to add more days off.
no, it wasnt ok with mentzer's method. mentzer advocated not doing any cardio when trying to build new muscle. however he did say that if you really felt you had to do cardio, you should jog very lightly not intensely for no more than 8 minutes twice a week on days you were not lifting weights.
Hey John. How can I know if I am fully recovered from my previous workout? As the weights get heavier and heavier I’ll need to be increasing the days between workouts. But how can I know when to be increasing the days? It seems a waste of time if I am going to be doing my workouts and when I didn’t improve since the previous one I take 2 weeks off and then add a day or two at the end next time. Is the weights progressively getting heavier and seeing no increase in weight since the previous workout really the only way to accurately gauge how long I need to recover?
Boyer find himself weak in doing nautilus workout compare to free weights. Nautilus equipments are good for high intensity training coz of it's strict movement you can't cheat thus a one set workout is become productive & has great effect
Yes. Beginner lifters will be spending the first few months building up their central nervous system. You’ll see gains within this time by only working each muscle group once per week. Concentrate on proper form, diet and rest and after 6 months of consistent training you can look to introduce a second workout for a muscle group if you really want to. Best way to introduce it would be to take your current volume and spread it over 2 workouts, 3 to 4 days apart. For example: if you do flat bench and cable crossovers for chest in one workout, do flat bench in workout 1 and crossovers on workout 2. It will allow you to increase the intensity of those workouts and after a few weeks, if you’re recovering well, you can add in extra chest exercises such as an incline press on workout 2. Do it gradually and take your time and you’ll keep seeing improvements
2-5 minutes but also depends how hard you’re training if your going to 15 reps with high difficulty to reach that number then I’d suggest 4 minutes if you try the same exercise with the same weight and only did half of the reps you did prior then you need to rest more for the next set more or less is also instincts listen to your body if your still out of breath just rest a little longer
It’s not about number of reps or weight, it’s about what you’re trying to do to the muscle. The most valuable reps of a set are the last 2 or 3 where you’re near to or at failure. You can achieve more reps the longer you rest but these extra reps and rest times are just a longer route to the valuable last 2 or 3 reps of a set.
@@davian_l Nicely put. Most people are under the same misconception that "I could have done more" like doing more is better. You need to do what you need to do to get to the point of stimulating the muscle to grow and in the shortest time using the least amount of resources. If you do more reps, more sets, then yes you "may" reach that point eventually, but you will use way more of your bodies resources in doing it. The body will always prioritize putting back those resources before it even thinks about adding additional muscle in the supercompensation phase thereafter. Even then that's an issue because your body will spend so much time and resources in doing that, A: there will be little currency left to convert and B: you will probably have already gone back to the gym for your next session stopping the whole process and starting again at the recovery phase.
It’s funny to imagine what these guys would look like as if it was the year 2023. I wonder if they’d have the tik tok boy haircut while wearing some gay ass leggings like you see in the gyms today
@@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE im reading Heavy Duty (1980) and mike says at that time, the entire rep should take at least 4 seconds, anything less would compromise productivity.
does anyone know what mike did for enhanced athletes? ive been off now a good 11 months and im really enjoying this but im considering hopping back on gear now that im not in and out of different countries all the time .
mentzer's system is designed for nattys however mentzer was never against using steroids if training for competitions. training with mentzer's system while on steroids will have you see phenomenol growth. just look at dorian yates for evidence. it was mentzer who said to flex wheeler that he looked great but if he let him[mentzer]train him using his system he guaranteed him he would win mr olympia. wheeler never trained with mentzer the rest is history.
![Quando Rondo - Life Goes On [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eIf3fhMXAow/mqdefault.jpg)
ever since I found mike mentzer I will never see arnold the same
HDC, whoever you are, thanks for putting these together. I am 42 and have been training since my 20's, and with that, absorbing as much knowledge as possible.
How I never heard of Mike until this year, thanks to you, I do not know. But it took about 5 seconds of listening to know that Mike is speaking at the most rational level of understanding of what works and what does not. It so rational, it seems like he is the Gandalf of BB.
Thanks for the kind words - and for your post.
HIT is king. I been getting gains with less volume and more intensity I workout every 3 days
im loving these Mike Mentzer videos
Since hitting the body builder scene a couple of years ago, Mike is a legend.
Mike is way superior than arnold when it comes to body and mind !
Cant even watch pumping iron now. Mike changed my whole perspective, i truly believe in this method.
I've adopted Mike's method and I've broken a pb twice in two weeks. less is more
True
@@kennywright88arnold did say, its the 10th, 11th, 12th rep that makes the muscle grow, which is true. but why do 15 sets to reach failure??
And speech
I feel that most bodybuilders who have been training for any length of time should at least understand what is involved in the process of recovery. Mike does a terrific job in helping to explain this process. I also feel once this recovery process is completely understood, it is then up to each individual in how much intensity he cares to put forth for the exact result he is striving for. There is always going to be a fine line between painful training and downright straining. I do not believe anyone who works out should need to be in agony during any type of training. It's one thing to be able to tolerate pain, but who needs to take it to those extremes. Look what's happened to some of the most intense trainers in bodybuilding, they ended up with torn muscles, overly strained tendons, not to mention injured shoulders,elbows, knees, as well as spinal injuries which required surgeries. Train, don't strain is still a good safe rule of thumb to follow. Sure, it may take a little longer to obtain worthwhile results but what the hells the rush anyway. Bodybuilding is something to be forever enjoyed and it's in the journey we follow that fulfills us. Dam, I sound like some darn philosopher. Just go ahead and MUSCLE UP! And just don't forget who JOE WEIDER was. 💪🥇🏆👑🌎🤙😊
Mind blown 🤯 I love this.
Mike gives you information to make you rethink how you are training and to really understand how the muscle grows.
I switched to High Intensity just a couple weeks ago and the results are hard to believe if I weren't experiencing them myself. In one week, I increased my flat bench dumbbell press limits from 3 reps with 110 pounders to 9 reps with 110 pounders followed by 3 reps with 120s, which I've never been able to even get 1 rep with before. That does not count the two assisted reps done after total muscle failure, with those assisted reps being the ones that are responsible for the explosive increase in strength.
Going up 10 pounds in a week? Sounds like a made-up fantasy. But it happened. I've had other rapid gains that are comparable.
My gym's largest dumbbells are 150s. I expect to be pressing them before very long.
What's your split like?
Could you please, give us your workout planning?.
I was reminded of an article Arthur Jones wrote a while back on the importance of negatives in the workout while watching this. It was clear that many (then and now) don't realize how much they give away by not at the very least focusing on that part of the exercise. Even using Nautilus machines you can see Boyer reverting back to ingrained training practices which using nautilus or conventional equipment produces very little of the potential gains you could get from the workout. From what I remember in Arthurs example you might use say 100 units in the positive part of a rep, but only about 14 on a properly executed negative. This means even if you doubled the weight to something beyond what you could physically lift in a positive rep you would still only be using up to 28 units on the negative which would not only be producing more stimulus, but of greatest importance to the subject of this video you use way less of the energy your body would need to recover before it even began to work on building any muscle on top. Impossible for Traditional bar & Dumbbell work I'm aware, but if you have access to Nautilus or most fixed weight machines (By which I mean like smith machines chest press machines, any brand that may allow you to do a positive with two hands, then negative work with just one) as opposed to say hammer strength which mostly are single unilateral based equipment then people should make full & proper use of them.
You're right about Boyer. I noticed that too. Surprised that Mike didn't call him out on it.
This channel is a friggin gold mine .. thanks! 💪🤓
A few factors for me is I work a twelve hour night shift I have a family and I am not a professional. So training more than three times a week doesn't fit. I have found high intense training to the absolute best form of training
Keep the protein high and you shall grow greek god
Golden knowledge. Praise Mike!
Good ole Mike and Boyer.
Thanks for posting these videos!
Always knew that one day this gonna be the most relevant information in fitness!
Boyer Coe off cycle by the looks of it but nonetheless still training with maximum intensity. Great video John.
Glad you liked it. Thanks for your post.
Boyer Coe went to hell and back with that set of Decline presses lol
Lmfao.
4 days off really does well for me and about an hour or less depending on the workout and rest time
How long have you been doing it?
i'm having a negative result so far in the first 2 months. I'm not progressing.
@@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlawIntensity and Frequency.
You are not applying one or both of those concepts perfectly.
That's why you think more volume is needed which is almost never the case
@@b_geranis I do one set exactly like Mike stated in his book.
@@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw about a month now. As long as you are eating the same and tracking your workouts, you should be fine. It's also good to figure out why you're not getting stronger (too much/little rest, not actually pushing yourself hard enough, etc.)
@@jasonm42 I do the 4 second raise, hold for 2 secs, lower 4 seconds, I train to failure. Doing everything the guy says in his book.
Going to try Mike's routine tomorrow let's see if I can push myself.
With HIT, if you aren’t able to push it to absolute failure while keeping good form and slow eccentric reps, you won’t get the best results you could be getting. That 1 set is everything, push yourself
Hi John, thank you for all you do. I’ve just found Mike and I’m blown away by him! I am 27 and only just getting into this (I know it’s a tad late), I am trying to find a copy of Mike’s Heavy Duty II Mind and Body to buy, but I can’t find a copy anywhere! I don’t suppose you know of anything? I am UK.
Sorry, it went out of print years ago. I've only seen copies on eBay.
@@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE Thank you for the reply! Ah that’s a shame! What book/s would you recommend if I were to buy one for training using Mike’s knowledge?
I was on a PPL every three days split (ppl all in the same day then two days off). I skipped a workout and switched over to once every 5 days or once a week.
I thought I was just being lazy. Also reading Mentzer's stuff.
I'm making gains even faster now...😄
You're not making any sense whatsoever. PPL all on the same day is a whole body workout.
It's not a PPL split workout.
@@AbdulGhani-vm6oq I meant to say was working out once every three days (PPL is just my workout order of exercises).
Menzter is saying you are still growing on the 4th and 5th days off. I think hes right cuz I'm growing faster like that.
Hey John it’s clear everybody got different recovery tolerance for muscle growth but how we know our nervous system is recovered ? From the stress of the intensity and growth
You will have to go by your progress chart. If you are progressing in repetitions and weights, then you are recovering and adapting. If you are staying the same in repetitions and weights, then you are merely recovering, but not allowing enough time for adaptation. If your repetitions and weights are going down, then you are not even recovering in between workouts and need to add more days off.
Sry John What u mean with „time for adaptation“ ?
@@Scndzr6 recovery and growth (adaptation) are two distinct physiological processes and each requires time to complete.
Is doing cardio(elliptical, stair climber, rowing, etc.) on off days ok with Mentzer's method?
no, it wasnt ok with mentzer's method. mentzer advocated not doing any cardio when trying to build new muscle. however he did say that if you really felt you had to do cardio, you should jog very lightly not intensely for no more than 8 minutes twice a week on days you were not lifting weights.
Does heavy Lifting and this traiing to Failure which will above the Potential will cause to arteries/heart risks.
Thats more a diet issue. Heavy duty still adheres to the "ying yang" way of life - heavy sets till failure but plenty of rest.
Hey John. How can I know if I am fully recovered from my previous workout? As the weights get heavier and heavier I’ll need to be increasing the days between workouts. But how can I know when to be increasing the days?
It seems a waste of time if I am going to be doing my workouts and when I didn’t improve since the previous one I take 2 weeks off and then add a day or two at the end next time. Is the weights progressively getting heavier and seeing no increase in weight since the previous workout really the only way to accurately gauge how long I need to recover?
Boyer find himself weak in doing nautilus workout compare to free weights. Nautilus equipments are good for high intensity training coz of it's strict movement you can't cheat thus a one set workout is become productive & has great effect
Do i have to put my phone down to do high intensity training ? .
yes, unless it is to track sets and reps. No distraction.
how does cardio mix in with the rest?
Would training every muscle group 2x a week bad then? As a beginner
Yes. Beginner lifters will be spending the first few months building up their central nervous system. You’ll see gains within this time by only working each muscle group once per week. Concentrate on proper form, diet and rest and after 6 months of consistent training you can look to introduce a second workout for a muscle group if you really want to. Best way to introduce it would be to take your current volume and spread it over 2 workouts, 3 to 4 days apart. For example: if you do flat bench and cable crossovers for chest in one workout, do flat bench in workout 1 and crossovers on workout 2. It will allow you to increase the intensity of those workouts and after a few weeks, if you’re recovering well, you can add in extra chest exercises such as an incline press on workout 2. Do it gradually and take your time and you’ll keep seeing improvements
Is there an optiml time fore recovery between sets?
2-5 minutes but also depends how hard you’re training if your going to 15 reps with high difficulty to reach that number then I’d suggest 4 minutes if you try the same exercise with the same weight and only did half of the reps you did prior then you need to rest more for the next set more or less is also instincts listen to your body if your still out of breath just rest a little longer
He could do more reps, at more weight if he rested 5 minutes more between each set. What am I missing?
It’s not about number of reps or weight, it’s about what you’re trying to do to the muscle. The most valuable reps of a set are the last 2 or 3 where you’re near to or at failure. You can achieve more reps the longer you rest but these extra reps and rest times are just a longer route to the valuable last 2 or 3 reps of a set.
@@davian_l Nicely put. Most people are under the same misconception that "I could have done more" like doing more is better. You need to do what you need to do to get to the point of stimulating the muscle to grow and in the shortest time using the least amount of resources. If you do more reps, more sets, then yes you "may" reach that point eventually, but you will use way more of your bodies resources in doing it. The body will always prioritize putting back those resources before it even thinks about adding additional muscle in the supercompensation phase thereafter. Even then that's an issue because your body will spend so much time and resources in doing that, A: there will be little currency left to convert and B: you will probably have already gone back to the gym for your next session stopping the whole process and starting again at the recovery phase.
It’s funny to imagine what these guys would look like as if it was the year 2023. I wonder if they’d have the tik tok boy haircut while wearing some gay ass leggings like you see in the gyms today
Man look at this sloppy joker if i had the chance to train with Mike my heart ll pump out of my chest and ready to lift a car too😂 R.i.P Legend
Why isnt boyer using the right cadence though?
The "right cadence" didn't exist in 1983 (when that video was filmed). That came into being during the next decade.
@@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE im reading Heavy Duty (1980) and mike says at that time, the entire rep should take at least 4 seconds, anything less would compromise productivity.
@@SonsOfThunder229 That was Heavy Duty. Mike and Boyer were in Florida in 1983 and the protocol used was the one advocated by Arthur Jones, not Mike.
does anyone know what mike did for enhanced athletes? ive been off now a good 11 months and im really enjoying this but im considering hopping back on gear now that im not in and out of different countries all the time .
mentzer's system is designed for nattys however mentzer was never against using steroids if training for competitions. training with mentzer's system while on steroids will have you see phenomenol growth. just look at dorian yates for evidence.
it was mentzer who said to flex wheeler that he looked great but if he let him[mentzer]train him using his system he guaranteed him he would win mr olympia. wheeler never trained with mentzer the rest is history.