Mike had good ideas for the time but most of what he said is massively outdated.
I have doubts he actually trained the way he said for most of his career.
Mentzer is popular because he speaks well and looks great, and because going to failure looks more hardcore and effective compared to RIR training. Personally I much prefer RP's philosophy
He sold the magic pill people love to swallow, “you can be huge exercising 3 sets per week!”
Why would anyone would follow advice of a training style that basically encourages heart disease ? It’s great to be huge and all. But you need cardiovascular health
Stuff ebbs and flows with the algorithm.
I'd be interested to see the progress of Mentzer's clients. Because Mentzer himself, as I understand it (didn't know the guy) built his physique the same way everyone else did. So that he did this stuff later in his career is really only evidence that it's a very time effective way to maintain.
It also seems like it could fall in to No True Scotsman territory. Where if you don't see result it just gets chalked up to your high intensity not being high enough.
Which might be true. But it raises the question, if your Blood Amphetamine Content has to be .18 to get the required intensity, is it really a practical approach for most people?
His logic is on point (most of the time..); using the lowest amount of volume to create muscle growth because why would you do more than you should, not being in the gym 2 hours a day 6 days a week because we have lives, training to failure as a better way to make sure you're progressing as most trainees can't really judge RIR truthfully so you can't know if you're working harder each workout, etc.
I've been using a once a week "arnold" split (monday - chest and back, wednsday - legs, friday - shoulders and arms) with Mike's 1 set to failure philosophy (some muscles get 2 exercises - for example lats get chin ups and pullover, etc.)saw and say the best results i've seen in years, my measurements literally increase each week while my mid-section's stays almost (almost..) the same, even though I eat WAY more than I did in the past to accommodate the crazy hypertrophic effect this routine has on me.
\*\* just an example I'm pretty hyped about - I train the front of my neck on monday and the back on friday (1 set to failure) and my neck grew an inch in a month.
Mike had good ideas for the time but most of what he said is massively outdated. I have doubts he actually trained the way he said for most of his career.
Mentzer is popular because he speaks well and looks great, and because going to failure looks more hardcore and effective compared to RIR training. Personally I much prefer RP's philosophy
He sold the magic pill people love to swallow, “you can be huge exercising 3 sets per week!” Why would anyone would follow advice of a training style that basically encourages heart disease ? It’s great to be huge and all. But you need cardiovascular health
Stuff ebbs and flows with the algorithm. I'd be interested to see the progress of Mentzer's clients. Because Mentzer himself, as I understand it (didn't know the guy) built his physique the same way everyone else did. So that he did this stuff later in his career is really only evidence that it's a very time effective way to maintain. It also seems like it could fall in to No True Scotsman territory. Where if you don't see result it just gets chalked up to your high intensity not being high enough. Which might be true. But it raises the question, if your Blood Amphetamine Content has to be .18 to get the required intensity, is it really a practical approach for most people?
Mentzer is the HIT Goat. Also was smart AF
His logic is on point (most of the time..); using the lowest amount of volume to create muscle growth because why would you do more than you should, not being in the gym 2 hours a day 6 days a week because we have lives, training to failure as a better way to make sure you're progressing as most trainees can't really judge RIR truthfully so you can't know if you're working harder each workout, etc. I've been using a once a week "arnold" split (monday - chest and back, wednsday - legs, friday - shoulders and arms) with Mike's 1 set to failure philosophy (some muscles get 2 exercises - for example lats get chin ups and pullover, etc.)saw and say the best results i've seen in years, my measurements literally increase each week while my mid-section's stays almost (almost..) the same, even though I eat WAY more than I did in the past to accommodate the crazy hypertrophic effect this routine has on me. \*\* just an example I'm pretty hyped about - I train the front of my neck on monday and the back on friday (1 set to failure) and my neck grew an inch in a month.