TIMESTAMPS 0:47: Why a book about Mike Mentzer? 6:05: Significance of the title Mr. America 14:00: Mike at the confluence of bodybuilding’s key events. 19:35 - Why choose a novelized approach to Mike’s life. 28:20: Did Mike build his muscular foundation with HIT? 37:55 The book’s discussion of Arnold 44:40 - Joe Weider’s relationship with Mike vs Arnold 54:00 - The 1980 Olympia: Positives & Negatives 1:02:45 - Mentzer and Mishima’s Philosophy 1:15:50 - Which actor would best play Mentzer in a biopic based on the book? 1:20:00 - The book’s Spotify track list 1:26:12 - Lessons or takeaways from the book for readers? 1:35:00 - Future projects or bodybuilding icons to write about?
Excellent interview! I saw the original Heavy Duty small ad in M & F years ago .. my old man said “ phone it and order it “ I phoned and got Ray ! For 30 minutes he answered every question a teenager could think of ! Ordered it , gave up the bro split and hit it hard ! Despite their unfortunate demise they remain fascinating figures in our sport . Thank you both !
@@ericb8888 oh wow that's amazing mate! Getting to actually speak with one of the Mentzer's would have been a great experience. From your use of HIT, which version worked "best" for you - the older version more in line with Arthur Jones' recommendation's or Mike's latter very infrequent split?
Ray said he only did the Arthur Jones version at this stage … the non sensationalist version He recounted his leg focused day .. leg extensions, vertical leg press THEN squats… he could squat 900 lbs for a single he said …. Couldn’t do 4 plates … a drop set from 3 to 2 to 1 plate each side for AMRAP Jones was a genius he said … the eccentric side was used to build the “ myth “ he said … a very , very focused man . Maybe the real reason for the success ? “ what do you eat ?” Was my last question…. “ meat ….”he said …. “ lots and lots of meat …. “ Word for word;)
Personally the Arthur Jones meets 20 Rep squats worked best for me from a HIT POV … then the dark side of Powerlifting drew me in … 12 mins between sets of 3 … talking rubbish with 5 other old and fat guys …23 mins to get into an Inzer Leviathan suit … 23 seconds lift …. 35 mins to get out of it … Etc ..
Great interview. A touch of My Antonia vibes perhaps. I stumbled across Mike Menzter when I was 17, one of his books was in the Amazon top 10 for bodybuilding and offered something different to arnolds bodybuilding encyclopedia so I bought it immediately. I was training 6 days a week at the time and making good progress but without knowing it I was intuitively cycling intensity and volume. Anyways, when I discovered Mentzer I was convinced HIT had to be the way to go for a natural trainee. I immediately switched training regime. I started to convince myself I wasn't training heavy enough or intense enough as my muscles started to feel flatter. I could not bring myself to question the theory and the same thing happend with Ayn Rand. I read most of her books around the same time and only really enjoyed The Fountainhead, but as someone naturally intuitive as opposed to "rationalist" I always struggled with this sort of absolutist notion that if you didn't follow this you were rrational or a mystic. Now it seems evident enough to me that like Rand Mentzer's personal life betrayed his philosophy. Mentzer did an interview with an Australian podcaster called prodos before he died they yarned about objectivism, and Mike still seemed bitter when it came to Arnold. There is rumour Mike and Arnold made peace before he died I don't know if this can be verified? As the good author recalls Mike had a density to his muscles that looked unique, there was rumour that he was one of the first to use human growth hormone taken from dead bodies. In the behind the scenes from the HIT dvd the Mentzers brothers did with Markus R, Ray talked about supplying human growth hormone. I bought this DVD when I was about 17 or 18. I was working in a newsagents part time at the time earning peanuts and I think the DVD cost about 40 usd. I was completely disappointed. Going by his writing I assumed Mike was a pillar of health. I didn't know about all the stuff after his bodybuilding career at that time. But I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the behind the scenes of the DVD Mike always looked like he was nodding off and he always looked hunched over when stood up. Mike was a similar age to my Dad and I thought omg my dad that swigs a crate of Budweiser every weekend looks better. As a naive teenager I was shocked to see he chain smoked. The training part shocked me more a lot of the poundages Markus was doing I could do but I was completely flat. It was also clear that despite the claim Markus was training once every 7 days the dvd was shot over the same day or few consecutive days. As per the line in the movie 24 hour party people if it's a choice between the truth and the myth always go with the myth.
What a great interview...!..Such a nice guest...!...And such a contrasting juxtaposition to Jamie Lewis´ comment, " good riddance..!", about the death of the Mentzer brothers
Frank Zane once told a story about Arnold when he spoke to other competitors. No matter who it was, Arnold would always say "if I had your body I'd win". The competitors often got pissed off because they knew that Arnold said this to everyone. Frank, who had a brain, understood the real meaning behind Arnold's words and intentions He knew that no matter THE HEIGHT, THE WEIGHT, THE SHAPE, Arnold would find a way to F'KN WIN.
Shawn I’m only an hour in but this has been a great listen. The topics covered, the knowledge and the ambience is right up my alley. As someone who appreciates the philosophical aspect of bodybuilding I love you delve into these topics. Just a question for you Shawn, I didn’t know Joe and Mike had a relationship like that. If Mike had played the social game do you think Joe would’ve pushed him more than Arnie in the bodybuilding scene? The point you make about Mike fitting Joe’s ideal of what bodybuilding should strive to be and encapsulate puts his relationship with Arnold in a new light. I know they were doing well with Arnold but it must’ve been a bit soul crushing for Joe knowing Arnold did not share that same understanding or appreciation of the sport the he had shared with Mike.
@@BigV24 @BigV24 yes and the book really brings this to light I feel. When he arrived in the USA, Arnold, according at least to Butler and Gaines was very provincial and bordering on (exceeding) the boorish. He was a quick study and learned some refinement, but he always remarked in regards to classical European art and music "I hate that old shit". Mike on the other had an appreciation for the intellectual, the philosophical and the artistic whereas Arnold was more grounded in the pragmatic (what Nicholas also expands on in the interview as a creature of context.) Joe similarly appreciated taste in fine art and intellectual discussion. Joe envisioned Mike as "the future" of bodybuilding, because he encapsulated the Greek ideals of a sound mind in a sound body. It also didn't help that Arnold around this time was also completely disavowing Joe in many ways - distancing himself from the world of bodybuilding while still keeping one foot in as it's benevolent-fortunate-son when it suited his agenda. Joe also saw Mike as future editor of his magazines, but...I won't spoil it, read the book!! 😂 I really thank you for watching the interview and for appreciating the approach I took with the questions. I knew from reading Nicholas' book that he went deep with this project so I wanted to show my gratitude with the quality of my questions.
i think it,s great that nicholas has turned mike mentzers book as a novel for me it makes this book all the more intresting otherwise we would have had just another autobiography which in my opinion i would not have any intrest in so thank you nicholas and i will definately be purchasing.
An incredible interview. Really enlightening as you dive into the Mentzer Mystique. Having consumed his books, seeing the Mentzer Brothers during the Filming of the DVD featuring Markus Reinhardt made me think of the adage, ‘Never meet your heroes'. Nevertheless, Mike in his prime was a formidable presence on the scene. When I discovered that most articles by Bodybuilders were ghost written, it all seemed a sham. Mentzer was the rare bodybuilder who wrote his own stuff. Bombastic as it was, at least it was a genuine voice. Mike Mentzer was great, flawed and immensely interesting. Suicide as a possibily made me think of Steve Michalik. Both extremists at opposite ends of training philosophy. Both men of will. Both suffering with their health in their latter years. Both finding a way out.
Regardless of one’s choice, where one stands, I think MM illustrated how every facet of reality is an aspect of the “totality”, nothing stands apart in a vacuum. Those who say bodybuilding or hockey or golf, the olympics… are somehow apolitical, neutral, nothing to do with all the “shit of ages” are either stupid or trying to sell something to the stupid. I will keep it brief, but nothing is above or outside the “totality” for want of a better word to say it briefly.
@@carvedouttastone Hi. Perhaps you read a little more into it than I intended, and perhaps you disagree, but I think there is no separating phenomena as if they existed in isolation. So everything is connected, and has to be understood in context. Mike, as I understood it, tried to view bodybuiding, like any other phenomenon, through the lens of his overall view of the world, which again as I understand it, was deeply influenced by the philosophy of objectivism. Perhaps slightly more controversial (slightly ) is my contention that there is no neutral, apolitical perspective when we are looking at these social phenomena. I have my perspective, it is not neutral, some will agree, some will disagree.
@@Marc-Ezy oh wait you can also buy the book at this address on Amazon Australia - I just checked www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DFK22JCH/ref=cbw_us_au_dp_ags?smid=A4XRJ8S0WXSO0&dplnkId=f2428812-ec8f-41ee-b5a3-3ca324608fde
I asked Nicholas the same thing since no one reads anymore. Issue with audible is that they pay their independent booksellers nothing. The cost of masking and audible book would far outstrip any potential profit
@@Mr---mr4ll yeah it's awful. He does all the work. They reap all the rewards. I jokingly said I'd narrate the book for free...listeners would just have to contend with my aussie accent 😂
@@carvedouttastone Young people are pretty clued in on accents nowadays. A lot of popular youtubers have thick Irish, or... shudder... Newcastle accents.
I can understand why Arnold didnt like what Mike was putting ot there in terms of HIT system. At the end of the day a musxle will rwspond if it has to adapt to a new steess. In HIT training you are bery limited in terms of vilume so hiw can you generate more intensity every time you train with such low volume. It makes no sense. High volume training allows a trainer to be as creative using as many exercises,.sets a d rep ranges as you want. You dd 3 sets of 12 last workout,, 6 sets.of 20 next workout. Next workout do 5 sets of 40 reps. With HIT its like you only do 3 or 4 exercises per workout and only one set. How does your body get a new adaption?
@stefanosprokopis6974 I think the issue Mike had with volume is the irrational and arbitrary approach to set/rep/volume recommendations. The premise of the volume approach was akin to "follow the leader" and quite often these "leaders" weren't being truthful about their reported workouts in the fictional magazine articles to begin with. It's also what I like about the HIT philosophy - you start with the logical bare minimum and work your way up incrementally - pulling the levers of volume, intensity, workout density or rest where needed. HIT advocates might argue that creativity has no place in the physiological application and response of the training stimulus in hypertrophy /strength equation - and that the "romantic idealization" of the entire process being equated to an "art" is foolish. I'm somewhere in the middle - but I'd lean in favour of the HIT crowd in this sense. In regards to HIT based adaptations it's achieved through the only known stimulus of mechanical tension applied via progressive overload with sets taken to failure (or close to it as possible). Rear, recover, repeat.
I respect your in depth comment but I think both Arnold and Mike were too extreme. Arnold lied a lot too and didn't do these 2×2 hour workout a day 6 days religiously. According to Jerry Brainum he wouod train an just over an hour once and sometimes twice a day. Mike did practice what he preaches though. Interestingly Jerry said he did Mike's HIT training and gained more muscle than ever and Arnild told him he woukd burn out where Jerry said no way and sure enough he did burn out. This is why both systems are flawed. The other day I must have done 30 sets on calves in around 25 minutes. High reps , slow reps, partials heavy, ligh5 whatever i could think of. Today they are killing me. Now I'll wait till they stop hurting and next tine I'll do something similar but different exercises. Again it's not one set or every 2 or 3 days it's when I feel I'm recovered. That's how tom platz would train. High volume with a lot of intensity but plenty of rest between workouts but different rest periods for different body parts.
@stefanosprokopis6974 I agree - Arnold was a liar and Mike was too rigid in his understanding and application. I oscillate along the spectrum of training modalities, choosing whichever tool fits my needs or context. HIT isn't the hammer suitable to every nail in the bodybuilding toolbox Intuition and auto regulation is the art of recognizing the cues when the science doesn't broadcast the feedback. Sometimes volume works until it doesn't - so rather than doing more for some arbitrary number of sets, a suggestible approach would be to pull back on the volume and drive the intensity for a while And vice versa. Rinse, repeat.
@@carvedouttastone yeah you mentioned this in the Serge nubret video about training approaches need to be temporary. I agree. High volume for a while, than cut back for a while, than a bit of your own version of HIT for,a while. Yeah definitely. The same boring ass routine year after year won't do anyone, uch good.
@@carvedouttastone Yeah but even Arnold said a good big man will beat a smaller man,Frranco, pumping iron Arnold is taller and that is an advantage for him
@@anjinsanx44 was having a similar conversation with my girl earlier today regarding CBum's and other guys from the younger generation not being able to pull off the moustache look like the 70s guys did - not sure what it is exactly - the facial structure? Just doesn't look right. Somebody below said Henry Cavill and that would be my favorite pick for someone to play Mike
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
TIMESTAMPS
0:47: Why a book about Mike Mentzer?
6:05: Significance of the title Mr. America
14:00: Mike at the confluence of bodybuilding’s key events.
19:35 - Why choose a novelized approach to Mike’s life.
28:20: Did Mike build his muscular foundation with HIT?
37:55 The book’s discussion of Arnold
44:40 - Joe Weider’s relationship with Mike vs Arnold
54:00 - The 1980 Olympia: Positives & Negatives
1:02:45 - Mentzer and Mishima’s Philosophy
1:15:50 - Which actor would best play Mentzer in a biopic based on the book?
1:20:00 - The book’s Spotify track list
1:26:12 - Lessons or takeaways from the book for readers?
1:35:00 - Future projects or bodybuilding icons to write about?
I spoke with Mike Mentzer; he was a genius; he was destined to be great; he chose to be kind. Great interview. Thank you.
Oh nice one - thanks for relating. Glad you enjoyed the interview. You'd love the book I think
Excellent interview!
I saw the original Heavy Duty small ad in M & F years ago .. my old man said “ phone it and order it “
I phoned and got Ray ! For 30 minutes he answered every question a teenager could think of !
Ordered it , gave up the bro split and hit it hard !
Despite their unfortunate demise they remain fascinating figures in our sport .
Thank you both !
@@ericb8888 oh wow that's amazing mate! Getting to actually speak with one of the Mentzer's would have been a great experience. From your use of HIT, which version worked "best" for you - the older version more in line with Arthur Jones' recommendation's or Mike's latter very infrequent split?
Ray said he only did the Arthur Jones version at this stage … the non sensationalist version
He recounted his leg focused day .. leg extensions, vertical leg press THEN squats… he could squat 900 lbs for a single he said …. Couldn’t do 4 plates … a drop set from 3 to 2 to 1 plate each side for AMRAP
Jones was a genius he said … the eccentric side was used to build the “ myth “ he said … a very , very focused man .
Maybe the real reason for the success ?
“ what do you eat ?” Was my last question….
“ meat ….”he said …. “ lots and lots of meat …. “
Word for word;)
Personally the Arthur Jones meets 20
Rep squats worked best for me from a HIT POV … then the dark side of Powerlifting drew me in …
12 mins between sets of 3 … talking rubbish with 5 other old and fat guys …23 mins to get into an Inzer Leviathan suit … 23 seconds lift …. 35 mins to get out of it …
Etc ..
Brilliant interview mate !
Thank you mate. Hopefully you got something from the discussion.
@@carvedouttastone absolutely !
Great interview. A touch of My Antonia vibes perhaps. I stumbled across Mike Menzter when I was 17, one of his books was in the Amazon top 10 for bodybuilding and offered something different to arnolds bodybuilding encyclopedia so I bought it immediately. I was training 6 days a week at the time and making good progress but without knowing it I was intuitively cycling intensity and volume. Anyways, when I discovered Mentzer I was convinced HIT had to be the way to go for a natural trainee. I immediately switched training regime. I started to convince myself I wasn't training heavy enough or intense enough as my muscles started to feel flatter. I could not bring myself to question the theory and the same thing happend with Ayn Rand. I read most of her books around the same time and only really enjoyed The Fountainhead, but as someone naturally intuitive as opposed to "rationalist" I always struggled with this sort of absolutist notion that if you didn't follow this you were rrational or a mystic. Now it seems evident enough to me that like Rand Mentzer's personal life betrayed his philosophy. Mentzer did an interview with an Australian podcaster called prodos before he died they yarned about objectivism, and Mike still seemed bitter when it came to Arnold. There is rumour Mike and Arnold made peace before he died I don't know if this can be verified?
As the good author recalls Mike had a density to his muscles that looked unique, there was rumour that he was one of the first to use human growth hormone taken from dead bodies. In the behind the scenes from the HIT dvd the Mentzers brothers did with Markus R, Ray talked about supplying human growth hormone. I bought this DVD when I was about 17 or 18. I was working in a newsagents part time at the time earning peanuts and I think the DVD cost about 40 usd. I was completely disappointed. Going by his writing I assumed Mike was a pillar of health. I didn't know about all the stuff after his bodybuilding career at that time. But I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the behind the scenes of the DVD Mike always looked like he was nodding off and he always looked hunched over when stood up. Mike was a similar age to my Dad and I thought omg my dad that swigs a crate of Budweiser every weekend looks better. As a naive teenager I was shocked to see he chain smoked. The training part shocked me more a lot of the poundages Markus was doing I could do but I was completely flat. It was also clear that despite the claim Markus was training once every 7 days the dvd was shot over the same day or few consecutive days.
As per the line in the movie 24 hour party people if it's a choice between the truth and the myth always go with the myth.
What a great interview...!..Such a nice guest...!...And such a contrasting juxtaposition to Jamie Lewis´ comment, " good riddance..!", about the death of the Mentzer brothers
Just got through this Shawn, outstanding interview, you know exacly the right questions to ask! Thanks mate!
If Mentzer had been 6ft 2 tall and Arnold 5 ft 8 inches tall...different story
"If things had been different they would have been different".
People that have met Arnold in person said that when he was his tallest he was only 6'0", 6'1" max.
That is a good point.
Frank Zane once told a story about Arnold when he spoke to other competitors. No matter who it was, Arnold would always say "if I had your body I'd win". The competitors often got pissed off because they knew that Arnold said this to everyone. Frank, who had a brain, understood the real meaning behind Arnold's words and intentions
He knew that no matter THE HEIGHT, THE WEIGHT, THE SHAPE, Arnold would find a way to F'KN WIN.
Shawn I’m only an hour in but this has been a great listen. The topics covered, the knowledge and the ambience is right up my alley. As someone who appreciates the philosophical aspect of bodybuilding I love you delve into these topics.
Just a question for you Shawn, I didn’t know Joe and Mike had a relationship like that. If Mike had played the social game do you think Joe would’ve pushed him more than Arnie in the bodybuilding scene? The point you make about Mike fitting Joe’s ideal of what bodybuilding should strive to be and encapsulate puts his relationship with Arnold in a new light. I know they were doing well with Arnold but it must’ve been a bit soul crushing for Joe knowing Arnold did not share that same understanding or appreciation of the sport the he had shared with Mike.
@@BigV24 @BigV24 yes and the book really brings this to light I feel.
When he arrived in the USA, Arnold, according at least to Butler and Gaines was very provincial and bordering on (exceeding) the boorish.
He was a quick study and learned some refinement, but he always remarked in regards to classical European art and music "I hate that old shit".
Mike on the other had an appreciation for the intellectual, the philosophical and the artistic whereas Arnold was more grounded in the pragmatic (what Nicholas also expands on in the interview as a creature of context.)
Joe similarly appreciated taste in fine art and intellectual discussion. Joe envisioned Mike as "the future" of bodybuilding, because he encapsulated the Greek ideals of a sound mind in a sound body.
It also didn't help that Arnold around this time was also completely disavowing Joe in many ways - distancing himself from the world of bodybuilding while still keeping one foot in as it's benevolent-fortunate-son when it suited his agenda.
Joe also saw Mike as future editor of his magazines, but...I won't spoil it, read the book!! 😂
I really thank you for watching the interview and for appreciating the approach I took with the questions.
I knew from reading Nicholas' book that he went deep with this project so I wanted to show my gratitude with the quality of my questions.
@@carvedouttastone thanks for always taking the time to respond mate, and with a thoughtful answer as well. I’ll definitely check out the book.
@BigV24 you're welcome. I like chatting with the folks that get something out of the vids and enjoy bantering about the topics. Thanks again
Top Notch Interview, good one Shawn.
i think it,s great that nicholas has turned mike mentzers book as a novel for me it makes this book all the more intresting otherwise we would have had just another autobiography which in my opinion i would not have any intrest in so thank you nicholas and i will definately be purchasing.
Sad to see how the Mentzer bros. Went out.
Indeed. Elements typical of a Greek tragedy
An incredible interview. Really enlightening as you dive into the Mentzer Mystique. Having consumed his books, seeing the Mentzer Brothers during the Filming of the DVD featuring Markus Reinhardt made me think of the adage, ‘Never meet your heroes'. Nevertheless, Mike in his prime was a formidable presence on the scene. When I discovered that most articles by Bodybuilders were ghost written, it all seemed a sham. Mentzer was the rare bodybuilder who wrote his own stuff. Bombastic as it was, at least it was a genuine voice. Mike Mentzer was great, flawed and immensely interesting.
Suicide as a possibily made me think of Steve Michalik. Both extremists at opposite ends of training philosophy. Both men of will. Both suffering with their health in their latter years. Both finding a way out.
Regardless of one’s choice, where one stands, I think MM illustrated how every facet of reality is an aspect of the “totality”, nothing stands apart in a vacuum. Those who say bodybuilding or hockey or golf, the olympics… are somehow apolitical, neutral, nothing to do with all the “shit of ages” are either stupid or trying to sell something to the stupid. I will keep it brief, but nothing is above or outside the “totality” for want of a better word to say it briefly.
Can you expand/clarify what you mean.
@@carvedouttastone Hi. Perhaps you read a little more into it than I intended, and perhaps you disagree, but I think there is no separating phenomena as if they existed in isolation. So everything is connected, and has to be understood in context. Mike, as I understood it, tried to view bodybuiding, like any other phenomenon, through the lens of his overall view of the world, which again as I understand it, was deeply influenced by the philosophy of objectivism. Perhaps slightly more controversial (slightly ) is my contention that there is no neutral, apolitical perspective when we are looking at these social phenomena. I have my perspective, it is not neutral, some will agree, some will disagree.
@@carvedouttastone Oh, you asked for it now.
How can you purchase the book in Australia ??
@@Marc-Ezy I ordered the kindle version and will buy the hard copy when it's available
@@Marc-Ezy oh wait you can also buy the book at this address on Amazon Australia - I just checked
www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DFK22JCH/ref=cbw_us_au_dp_ags?smid=A4XRJ8S0WXSO0&dplnkId=f2428812-ec8f-41ee-b5a3-3ca324608fde
@@carvedouttastone thanks for the quick reply at the moment it’s only available on the American kindle
@@Marc-Ezy no I provided a second link with direction to the Australian store. I'm in Australia and purchased it from that link
I hope the book goes to audible
I asked Nicholas the same thing since no one reads anymore. Issue with audible is that they pay their independent booksellers nothing. The cost of masking and audible book would far outstrip any potential profit
@@carvedouttastone I didn’t know that… ahh the wonderful world of capitalism…. Stomp on creators and rake in all the profits while handing out peanuts
@@Mr---mr4ll yeah it's awful. He does all the work. They reap all the rewards. I jokingly said I'd narrate the book for free...listeners would just have to contend with my aussie accent 😂
@@carvedouttastone You should do that (or I'll read and record it for him).
@@carvedouttastone Young people are pretty clued in on accents nowadays. A lot of popular youtubers have thick Irish, or... shudder... Newcastle accents.
I can understand why Arnold didnt like what Mike was putting ot there in terms of HIT system. At the end of the day a musxle will rwspond if it has to adapt to a new steess. In HIT training you are bery limited in terms of vilume so hiw can you generate more intensity every time you train with such low volume. It makes no sense. High volume training allows a trainer to be as creative using as many exercises,.sets a d rep ranges as you want. You dd 3 sets of 12 last workout,, 6 sets.of 20 next workout. Next workout do 5 sets of 40 reps. With HIT its like you only do 3 or 4 exercises per workout and only one set. How does your body get a new adaption?
@stefanosprokopis6974 I think the issue Mike had with volume is the irrational and arbitrary approach to set/rep/volume recommendations.
The premise of the volume approach was akin to "follow the leader" and quite often these "leaders" weren't being truthful about their reported workouts in the fictional magazine articles to begin with.
It's also what I like about the HIT philosophy - you start with the logical bare minimum and work your way up incrementally - pulling the levers of volume, intensity, workout density or rest where needed.
HIT advocates might argue that creativity has no place in the physiological application and response of the training stimulus in hypertrophy /strength equation - and that the "romantic idealization" of the entire process being equated to an "art" is foolish. I'm somewhere in the middle - but I'd lean in favour of the HIT crowd in this sense.
In regards to HIT based adaptations it's achieved through the only known stimulus of mechanical tension applied via progressive overload with sets taken to failure (or close to it as possible). Rear, recover, repeat.
I respect your in depth comment but I think both Arnold and Mike were too extreme. Arnold lied a lot too and didn't do these 2×2 hour workout a day 6 days religiously. According to Jerry Brainum he wouod train an just over an hour once and sometimes twice a day. Mike did practice what he preaches though. Interestingly Jerry said he did Mike's HIT training and gained more muscle than ever and Arnild told him he woukd burn out where Jerry said no way and sure enough he did burn out. This is why both systems are flawed. The other day I must have done 30 sets on calves in around 25 minutes. High reps , slow reps, partials heavy, ligh5 whatever i could think of. Today they are killing me. Now I'll wait till they stop hurting and next tine I'll do something similar but different exercises. Again it's not one set or every 2 or 3 days it's when I feel I'm recovered. That's how tom platz would train. High volume with a lot of intensity but plenty of rest between workouts but different rest periods for different body parts.
@stefanosprokopis6974 I agree - Arnold was a liar and Mike was too rigid in his understanding and application.
I oscillate along the spectrum of training modalities, choosing whichever tool fits my needs or context. HIT isn't the hammer suitable to every nail in the bodybuilding toolbox
Intuition and auto regulation is the art of recognizing the cues when the science doesn't broadcast the feedback.
Sometimes volume works until it doesn't - so rather than doing more for some arbitrary number of sets, a suggestible approach would be to pull back on the volume and drive the intensity for a while
And vice versa. Rinse, repeat.
@@carvedouttastone yeah you mentioned this in the Serge nubret video about training approaches need to be temporary. I agree. High volume for a while, than cut back for a while, than a bit of your own version of HIT for,a while. Yeah definitely. The same boring ass routine year after year won't do anyone, uch good.
If Mike Mentzer 6 ft 2 tall and Arnold only 5 ft 8 different story, just imagine Arnold barely taller than Franco EG. no movie star etc...
@@rob345 Arnold became Arnold by virtue of who he is and was. Had nothing to do with his height and/or weight.
@@carvedouttastone Yeah but even Arnold said a good big man will beat a smaller man,Frranco, pumping iron Arnold is taller and that is an advantage for him
Gee Shawn the author isn’t short of a word lolol
I love it when the guest is enthusiastic and shares their knowledge. I can kick back and listen! Thanks for watching
Henry Cavill to play Mike.
Cbum
Uncrowned champ
The mike mentzer story
Staring cbum in theaters near you....🎉
@@anjinsanx44 was having a similar conversation with my girl earlier today regarding CBum's and other guys from the younger generation not being able to pull off the moustache look like the 70s guys did - not sure what it is exactly - the facial structure? Just doesn't look right. Somebody below said Henry Cavill and that would be my favorite pick for someone to play Mike
Get cbum to play mike!