| His impressive frame, combined with his idea that bodybuilders didn't have to train seven days a week for an hour or two at a time, created shock waves in the industry. |
Hello dear friends. Today I have the honor of
interviewing a man that wrote history in
bodybuilding, either as a competitor or as a trainer.
I am talking, of course, about Mike Mentzer. He won
the 1978 Mr.Universe with the first perfect score in
history - 300 points. He did so using brief and
infrequent high-intensity workouts, which he has
popularized over the years through seminars, books,
and his innumerable magazine articles.
"Healthy mind in a healthy body". That's what the
ancient Greeks used to say and Mike Mentzer was the
first who applied this wise saying to bodybuilding.
The interview he gave to me is very interesting since
he talks more about HIT training, as well as about the
1980 Mr. Olympia. Read on...
1. Q. I have read many articles of yours and
you always advise bodybuilders that they should train
with high intensity, once every 5 - 7 days, and every
training session should not last more than 20 minutes in
order to achieve
maximum muscle stimulation.
My question to you is, if 20 years ago you had the knowledge
that you have today, would you train with
the same frequency and duration for a bodybuilding
competition or might you change something?
M.M. Given the knowledge I have today, I certainly wouldn't train in the
same fashion I did
20 years ago. In fact, I wrote in my book "Heavy Duty I, "Despite having
been the arch-advocate of lesser training [20 years ago] I, too, was still
overtaining."
What I have learned over the last 11 years, since taking up personal training,
is that weight resistance is much, much more stressful than the average
bodybuilder
might fathom.
Lifting weights places stresses on the body that might be best illustrated
by the following. Imagine a flat, horizontal line drawn on a piece of paper
from
left to right,with the flat line representing zero effort. Now imagine a
squiggly sine
wave come off the zero effort flat line, the sine wave representing efforts
of various sorts.
You get out of bed each morning, shower, brush your teeth, walk to your
car, drive to work and so forth.
These are small efforts causing the sine wave to barely move above the
flat line.
Then, all of a sudden, you come to that point in the day where you do a
heavy set of Squats to failure. All of a sudden the sine wave departs straight
up off the paper
and across the street! The distance from the flat line to the apex of that
spike represents not only the
greater intensity with the Squats but, also, the much greater inroad into
recovery ability than our usual, daily little efforts.
I wrote in my book "Heavy Duty II: Mind and Body" that the
idea is not "more is better" or "less is better"
but "precise is best"; and as I learned from training close to 2,000 people
plus myself that the precise amount of exercise required to induce optimal
growth stimulation isn't nearly as much as you've been led to believe or
would like to believe.
Remember, the idea is not to go into the gym to discover how many sets
you can do or how long you can mindlessly endure. Instead, the idea is to
go into the gym as
an informed, rational individual and do only the precise amount of exercise
required to stimulate growth
and no more; then get the hell out of the gym, go home and GROW! A bodybuilding
workout, by God, is not an endurance contest!
Last year I was in 80 percent of my shape, and my leg workouts lasted
six minutes and upper body workouts 15 minutes, training once every four
to seven days.
2. Q. After so many years of experience and your long time efforts to perfect
the HIT system, do you think that you have reached a final point and it
is
impossible to make it even better, or do you believe
that you might find some new theories in the future and you might revise
some of your theories that you
have already said?
M.M. I firmly believe that, in terms of practical necessity, I've "perfected"
high-intensity training theory and application. I started out training my
clients using Arthur Jones' application of 12-20 sets per bodypart with
my clients. No one made progress,
and many regressed. I knew the problem wasn't undertraining; it had to
be overtraining. So
I cut the sets back to seven to nine sets three days a week and some made
minimal progress for while, but hit a plateau soon thereafter. At this point,
I was in a
quandary. Again, I knew the problem wasn't undertaining, but, how could
it be that less training was required?
It actually kinda scared me for a brief time. How could it be that I was
discovering a radically different application of high-intensity than Jones
and everyone
else?
At one time I actually thought Jones was infallible, that he was so incredibly
smart,he had to be
right. He was basically correct with the theory: To be productive, exercise
must be intense, brief and infrequent. Where he was wrong was on the application
of
the theory. I kept reducing the volume and frequency of my clients training
until, finally, they were
performing only two to four sets per workout once every four to seven,
and in some cases every 10 - 14 days. The volume and frequency requirements
of any given
individual depend on his innate recovery ability, with individual recovery
ability, like all
genetic traits, being expressed across a very broad range.
To understand this better, I suggest the reader purchase my book "Heavy
Duty II: Mind and Body" from my Web site at mikementzer.com.
For those who would like personalized instruction might strongly consider
a phone consult. For rates and info on consults, call 310-377-2615. My success
with my phone clients has been remarkable. I must say that my
ability to communicate ideas via the spoken word is outstanding. Consider
a phone consult. I guarantee results!
3. Q. I would like to turn back 20 years and ask you
about the most controversial Mr. Olympia in history. I
am talking, of course, about the 1980 Mr. Olympia that
took place in Sydney. Everybody thought at that time
that the winner would prevail after a strong battle
between you and Frank Zane, as it had happened exactly
1 year before in the 1979 Mr. Olympia. Surprisingly, you
finished 5th
and Mr.Zane finished 3rd. What do
you believe really happened that day?
M.M. The 1980 Mr. Olympia was definitely fixed. The promoter of that contest
was Paul Graham, a very, very close friend of Arnold's. As it turned out,
while the rules stated that individuals had to officially enter their application
to compete one month before the
contest, the IFBB bent the rule and let Arnold enter the day before! He
waited that long because by that point he knew who the judges were. CBS,
who was there to
film the event for future televising, was convinced it was fixed and discovered
that a
majority of the judges had either close personal or financial ties with
Arnold. Well, so convinced
- and pissed off - was CBS Sports that, despite the time, money and effort
required to send a film crew half way around the world to Australia to film
a sporting event, they refused to air that contest. As further evidence,
I suggest you view the video of the 1980 Mr. Olympia, which
can be purchased from my Web site.
4. Q. Everybody knows that you were Dorian Yates mentor
and you helped him alot with HIT in order to reach
his genetic potential and to become one of the best
bodybuilders in history. Who of today's bodybuilders do
you think has the right genetics and would be able
to take the Mr.Olympia with your guidance?
| M.M. Given the nightmarish quantity of drugs that the competitors are
using today, anyone with decent genetics might win the contest. Keep in
mind that steroids,
growth hormone and many other drugs they're taking are extremely potent
recovery ability enhancers, which
explains why they can get away with what otherwise would constitute gross
overtraining. |  |
5. Q. This is my last question for you Mr. Mentzer. A good bodybuilder should
train with HIT, should have plenty of recuperation, and should also eat
right. But what about his supplementation part? What supplements do you
currently trust and would advice athletes to use?
M.M. The most important thing regarding nutrition is that a bodybuilder
obtain a well-balanced diet. This can be accomplished by getting the daily
compliment from each of the Four Basic Food Groups:
1) fruits and vegetables
2) cereals and grains
3) meat, fish and poultry and
4) milk and daily products.
Doing so will
give you the proper ratio of nutrients - 60 percent carbs, 25 percent protein
and 15 percent fats.
Don't underestimate the value of a well-balanced diet. Think about it.
What could possibly be better than a well-balanced diet, which covers all
of your nutritional
needs?
The only other possibility is an unbalanced diet.
There are "nutritionals" that help enhance recovery ability.The two best
ones are human growth hormone (HGH) and DHEA. Go to my Web site and read
up on these substances. I strongly recommend you try them for at least three
months in conjunction
with a properly conducted Heavy Duty, high-intensity training program.
I would like to thank Mr. Mentzer very much for the
time that he spent giving this interview. And for
everyone that wants to learn more about HIT
training, I would highly recommend reading his books.
These books are not only going to make you a better bodybuilder, but a
better person as well.
I hope you enjoyed his interview, and I also hope some
time in the near future I will again have the honor
for another interview with him.
Till my next interview, take care all!
John Stamatopoulos
 | Mike Mentzer's HIT Exercise VideoBodybuilding.com is proud to present a New Original HIT Exercise Video by legendary Mike Mentzer, master of the art of bodybuilding, best selling author and Mr. Universe Bodybuilding Champion. This is the video made hours before Mike's untimely death.
[Order This Video] | |
Mike and Ray Mentzer tragic deaths. Full Report.
ATTENTION!
Check out his web site at: www.mikementzer.com. You can contact Mr. Mentzer at:
Mike Mentzer Co.
P.O. Box 2219
Venice, CA 90294
Don't miss out on the opportunity to get two photos of him for only $12.95
(plus $4 shipping), as well as his video production "Mentzer Outdoors"
for only $39 (plus $8 shipping).
Also, don't miss out on the opportunity to get his Audio Tapes (Mike
Mentzer's new advanced high-intensity training), for only $34.95 (plus
$8 shipping), as well as his books:
"Muscles In Minutes" for only $19.95 (plus $6 shipping),
"Heavy Duty I" for only $24.95 (plus $6 shipping),
"Heavy Duty II" for only $29.95 (plus $8 shipping), and
"Heavy Duty Journal" for only $14.95 (plus $4 shipping)
Check out his site for more information!
Learn more about Mike Mentzer by clicking here.
OTHER EXCITING INTERVIEWS:
giannis@bodybuilders.com
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!  Back To John Stamatopoulos' Main Page
Back To The Articles Main Page.
Related Articles
An Interview With Fitness Pro & High Flyer, Karen Patten!
Interview With Reem Khashou - Mediterranean Splendor!
An Interview With Mat Duvall!
|
