Forced negs had the same effect. After another 30 minutes had passed, all the seats in the lobby were overflowing with people, and we had little to do but keep kneeling and nodding. It was the essential basic Heavy Duty routine consisting of four to five sets per bodypart and broken into two workouts. Ray completely overlooked the fact that he had to show up for his renal dialysis treatment amid the chaos that day. If you have any questions about Mike Mentzer or High Intensity Training email us and we'll get back to you with an answer as quick as we can. If you can press two partners into service, there will be hardly a break in your breakdowns, make this a very advanced principle. Make no mistake Ken Hutchins was one strong, Texas teenager. Ellington Darden: Arnold spent a week with Jones in November of 1970 and, unfortunately, I wasnt around then. Ray went to bed after a long and demanding day at work, but Mike continued to work late. Ray had massive 20-inch arms and 30-inch thighs. Ray Mentzer Bodybuilder Part of the reason for his success was he prescribed to his brother's concept of heavy duty training which involved very high intensity 45 minute workout sessions. Lateral Raise This is something I will be covering in the book, with references. Ray had no choice but to have a replacement kidney due to the severity of the illness. My first response is to say that intensity is more important when youre younger (from 15 to 40 years of age), and form is more important when your older (over 40). Shoulder presses, declines, inclines, pull-downs, curls, etc. I was a bit worried. And yet, Ellington Darden, Ken Leistner and Peary Rader have watched hundreds of men and women gain real muscle that was impossible for them to build before training harder and briefer. His triceps, in particular, when viewed from behind, reminded one of two large watermelons hanging out of a T-shirt. Squats - 1 x 16 reps In 1978, at Sean Harringtons Nautilus club in Los Angeles, I witnessed Mike go through a true HIT workout. Tag: Ray Mentzer. Family, Partner, Biography, How to make Garlic Dressing? Chin DB shoulder press - 1 x 8 reps For your next workout, I want you to increase the resistance by 25 percent (which is 75 percent of your normal resistance for 10 repetitions). Drew Baye: In chapter 9 of your new HIT book, you talk about meeting and working with Mike Mentzer. Drew Baye: Ken Hutchins, the architect behind the SuperSlow philosophy, and you grew up in the same town in Texas. Ellington Darden: Great question, in fact, I could make a winning case for each one, or the idea that they are equally important. Not-to-failure (NTF) workouts: Several chapters and a detailed chart illustrate precisely how to integrate NTF workouts into your standard HIT routines for best-possible results. Drew Baye: Are you saying that you absolutely have to have help in applying high intensity training the Arthur Jones way? The reason his workouts were referred to as HIT (High-Intensity Training). Today, if you walk into any serious gym in the United States (or in the world), doing negatives is a regular part of a lifters vocabulary. He admitted to spending three hours a day in the gym as a young man while serving in the United States Air Force. With Mike and Ray Mentzer's tragic deaths, our visitors would like to know about last days of the legendary brothers. His greatest asset was his physical strength. Mike Mentzer. Mike and his girlfriend, Julie McNew, came over to my home several times for dinner and we had some far-reaching conversations, none of which had much at all to do with bodybuilding. Mike's younger brother Ray Mentzer (Mr. America 1979) discovered Mike's dead body. And his size increase is all the more impressive for having been accomplished while getting leaner. What would a split routine do for his calves, abs and arms, which he feels need three workouts in a week? His first scheduled contests under Joness guidance were Teenage Mr. America, during the last week of July, followed a month later by Mr. USA. Drew Baye: How about a little word, or phrase association test that relates to the bodybuilders youve trained or seen? A careful look will reveal that your arms are actually worked hard on all three days, even though it's not always direct isolation. Furthermore, he was generally thought of as being anti-strength training, anti-HIT, and anti-Nautilus. Of course Grimek and Reeves stood out, but so did Steve Stanko, Mr. America 1944, who was more massive than Grimek. Homemade Salsa, Fresh Toppings, Make Mango Ginger Rice Bowl, Tasty And Delightful, How To Make Caramelized Onions, Sweet, Delicious, How to make Reuben Egg Rolls at home? . I also read that much of his depression was related to Arnold Schwarzenegger defeating him in the 1980 Mr. Olympia, a contest Mike thought he should have won. Ray won the title of IFBB Mr. USA in 1978. Then, he discusses how he merged his experiences into his latest publication, The New High Intensity Training. You take your normal weight or resistance and instead of going to failure or beyond, you simply quit two reps short of your previous best effort. It happened to me, to Flanagan, to Boyer Coe, to Ray Mentzer. Arthur told Ray to put on his brightest, horizontal-striped shirt (he didnt want Martina to miss him) and be sure and drive the old, unwashed, company car, which had a broken air-conditioner (that meant hed have to roll down all the windows so air could circulate). 2. Try this routine and let the detractors claim you do 'roids, sneak in extra sets after the gym closes or you're naturally muscular. The stronger he is, the more a set of exercise can make an inroad into his existing abilities. Drew Baye: Can you tell me more about this NTF workout. Jones trained Casey 41 times, which was equal to approximately 4 months at the rate of 2.5 workouts a week. !,especially now that hes dead and kept on raving about Casey Viator. It will be reintroduced under the name of DrDarden.com, and it will include a lot of new and old stuff related to HIT. Ellington Darden: I was a fan of Mikes books, especially the ones that chronicled his training for the 1978 Mr. Universe and the 1980 Mr. Olympia. Surely, with the correct instruction and motivation, we can turn a reasonable percentage of them into HIT believers. That question will go down in history with Who really killed JFK? He also has several bars and 400 pounds of free weights. How were they to work with? And when an almost unbelievably muscular Mentzer materialized in 1979, once again it was due to another application of increased intensity. Ive modified my own workouts and training schedule considerably after reading the book, and am already noticing improvements in my progress. Now, youll experience some of the reasons why this is my least favorite routine. Didnt Jones measure and compare all of their arms? The exact physiological processes aren't completely clear, but what happens on a muscle-training level is clear. Between 1979 and 1980, Mr. Olympias, high intensity training, got on the peak and Mike Mentzer (Born on 15th November 1951 - Died on 10th June 2001) even seemed to be on the verge of giving transformation to the realms of bodybuilding. What I see is experimentation and progression in both methods and teaching them over time refinement. Viators arms reminded me of Popeye, because his hanging forearms appeared disproportionately large and impressive. A. We bid him good night and invited him to visit us the next day at the Nautilus headquarters, if time allowed. Ray too, died within 48 hours of Mike's passing. Ellington Darden: I certainly think timed static contractions have value. He seldom even trained again. The 18-1/2 pounds of muscle occurred in 11 days, not 14. Ellington Darden: The last Mr. Olympia contest that I attended was in 1995 in Atlanta. Ellington Darden: Now were talking about a probable world record for muscular growth, but as I point out in chapter 3 of my book, Viator had been in a disabling accident and his muscles had atrophied. This was largely because of his new training regimen, Heavy Duty Training, which was developed by Mike Mentzer, his older brother by 21 months. Exploiting indirect effect can become the key to excellent, even startling, gains. . The sad story does not end here. Why? Andy McCutcheon and High Intensity Training. In 1970, when Hutchins graduated, the high school was five times larger and Ken was the strongest male in school. When Ray had the Muscle Mill in Redondo Beach, there was a guy named Ross who worked for Universal Studio as a stage man-an experienced machinist. Rodale also is behind a number of magazines, such as Mens Health and Prevention. Drew Baye: In part IV of your book, you devote a chapter to each of eight different specialized routines. Ray Mentzer who was the brother of Mike Mentzer was born in Pennsylvania on August 2, 1953. Also, pushing the forearm down into a flat surface, like a table-top, and applying tension via controlled bodyweight to perform very slow gruelling triceps extensions (with equal emphasis in the negatives in both exercises). Born: Crenshaw inspired me to work my neck. Over the last 30 years, Ive been around Arnold four or five times. Proper strength training, we felt, was more than an adequate way to work the muscles and heart. The Mentzer family, unfortunately, has a history of heart disease. If you have not developed the metabolic conditioning to follow these routines, then back off. The legacy he left to those in the Iron Game is his controversial workout program, Mike Mentzer's Heavy Duty. Who is he? He had a lot of questions for me and I had to dig pretty deep for some of the answers. Stage Reps - Here you have a way in which to work around both the sticking points in an exercise and the lockout. Bodybuilding Titles Won Mentzer died on June 10, 2001 in Rolling Hills, California. Staying off stages for most of the rest of the decade, Viator worked for Jones at Nautilus until 1978. Ellington Darden: Ray did have a sense of humor and he often had a joke up his sleeve. And what growth isn't created by direct arm work is induced by the indirect effect of torso work. I once read about Ray Mentzer training legs once a month! If on Monday, for example, you performed 200 pounds for 10 repetitions on the bench press with a barbell, then on Wednesday, you still take 200 pounds, but you stop the set after repetition 8. As you can see, my book is distinct from the others. Casey could make his biceps, in a series of three distinct contractions, grow more massive as he moved his forearm closer to his shoulder. First off, if I may say, what an exceptional interview, Drew: you clearly went out of your way to make the most of the opportunity. But in my experience, sooner or later, youre going to have to train alone and youre going to have to push yourself. "Many bodybuilders sell themselves short. Arthur Jones frequently said that when he trained Viator, Casey got bigger and leaner, by the day. At about the same time, he hired Kim Wood to take charge of the Quonset Hut workout room at DeLand High School, where all the training occurred. As HIT decreased its following from 16 to 8 percent, high-volume training (HVT) increased its numbers from 16 to 24 percent. According to Ray, he got more attention at the airport than Martina did, the dirty car turned her off, and the ride back to Lake Helen was hot, both in temperature and in conversation. Joe Weider rehired Mike in the fall of that year, but after six months, Mentzer left to assume the editorship of Workout, a newly launched magazine. Who is Paul Johansson? Ray would throw Saturday night squat parties every Saturday night. Mike Mentzer split What was the Mike Mentzer's training split? After years of competition, Mike decided to quit his competitive career and concentrate on new projects in 1982. Wood supervised Viator for six weeks and reported back to Jones that he had trouble getting Viator to give him his best effort. To compound the loss of Mike, on June 11th, at approximately 9:00 PM, Ray died in his sleep. There is nothing wrong with repeating things other people have said if those things are right, if you give credit where credit is due, and if you are adding value to it or making it accessible or understandable to a new group, and Ell accomplishes all of these with his books. In late 1967, Alexander invited Hutchins and me to his wedding and at the reception afterward, Ken began talking to me about strength training and bodybuilding. And there was Marvin Eder, who never achieved Mr. America, but it was clear from the film that he should have won in the early 1950s. Is that correct? None of the suggestions (including exercise, diet, products or services) mentioned should be performed or otherwise used without clearance from your physician or health care provider. Here is where indirect effect comes in. Olivas arms were round like a couple of bowling balls and Viators were massive and rock hard. Ray was able to develop his body significantly during this time. In my new HIT book, I note that Arthur Jones personally trained Casey Viator for 10 months prior to the 1971 Mr. America contest. Ray used the same Heavy Duty Training training regimen as his brother Mike. They would send me various items, including tiny photos of themselves. In the summer of 1979, if you had viewed an upstart, 27-year-old philosopher and former pre-med student with the alliterative name Mike Mentzer as he prepared to make his Olympia debut by trading sets with his youngest brother Ray (who won that year's Mr. America), it would've looked like some sort of madness. Stiff-legged Deadlift Ive heard Hutchins blast Coopers philosophy, but I never knew he had an influence on the Aerobics Center in Dallas purchasing Nautilus. In a local physique contest, however, Hutchins would have been pressed to finish in the top 10 (just kidding, Ken). Ray handled the entire weight stack, 500 pounds, on the Nautilus duo-squat machine with ease. Come on, Im not that daft!!!!! Barbell Curls - 1 x 10 reps Who is that muscular guy? I thought to myself. Ken was sitting next to me and we began sorting through our strength-training slides, since we had both given talks using a 35mm-slide projector earlier in the day. Drew Baye: When Jones trained someone, was he a stickler for form? A couple of years earlier, at one of the industrys annual fitness conventions, Hutchins had been involved in a panel discussion that included Cooper. Studies since then have confirmed much of what Jones believed concerning negative work. Squats 1 Set x 6-8 Reps. iii. In this interview the author of the best-selling Nautilus book series retraces his early training days with Arthur Jones and Casey Viator and talks about some of the golden-age bodybuilders who inspired him. Pullover Because organized properly, you get better results. Mike Mentzer High Intensity Training Full Body Workout | 3 Day Split Routine HIT Bearer 2.81K subscribers Subscribe 297 7.7K views 4 months ago #mikementzer #bodybuilding #2022 In this. Ellington Darden: Yes thats precisely what we were thinking. Or a training partner with a watch can talk your through each phase. It felt like we were in the middle of an old-fashioned tent revival. Undergrip row Bodybuilder Ray Mentzer was Mike Mentzer's younger brother and training partner. Mike Mentzer (1951-2001) was a brilliant professional American bodybuilder, businessman and fitness writer. Use about half the weight (50 percent) that youd normally use. Jones had driven from his home in Lake Helen, Florida, to Los Angeles and on the way back he stopped by Red Lerilles gym in Lafayette, Louisiana, and reassembled some of his initial Nautilus machines that he had displayed in California a week earlier. Incline dumbbell fly (5 sets, 8 reps) 2. Nice interview Drew. Incline Flye Delts, Biceps & Triceps. Being 32, super busy, getting little sleep and working so much did not help. A situation of increase and decline Less than 48 hours after Mikes passing, he passed away, leaving the bodybuilding community in complete darkness. His triceps, in particular, when viewed from behind, reminded one of two . Drew Baye: Who were some of the bodybuilders that you admired when you began training? Viator had never experienced a workout like Jones put him through and Jones had never exercised anyone with Viators genetic potential. He started competing in the most prestigious competitions all over America, establishing himself in the process. Sorry for the humungous post Drew; hope it is useful. Here we can see Mike mentoring Markus Reinhardt on the heavy duty stuff. Bill Pearl was a major influence on Rays bodybuilding. Drew Baye: In your book, you discuss the importance of negative work in building muscle. In peak condition, Caseys right arm was 19-5/16 inches, Olivas was 20-1/8 inches, and Coes was 18-7/16 inches. Mentzer preached high-intensity exercise once a week or once every five to seven days and stressed that 20-30 minutes were ideal for achieving maximum muscle stimulation. Seriously, I know that most people will have great difficulty even locating a knowledgeable trainer, much less ever getting a personal training session from Arthur Jones. So long as full effort can be engendered, 100% of strength and endurance capabilities can be exhausted with isometric exercise. He quickly competed in and won the Junior Mr. America and IFBB Mr. America competitions. Increase The Bar, (Workout) Ray won the title of IFBB Mr. USA in 1978. When Jones asked him to flex his arm, his forearm mass seemed to jettison his biceps into a much higher than anticipated mound of muscle. Flat barbell bench press (5 sets, 6-8 reps) 3. I had a tremendous pump throughout my upper body. For 90 percent of his exercising, he never used an Olympic barbell. Ellington Darden: Hes Andy McCutcheon and hes been using HIT principles since 1988, when he trained at Dorian Yatess gym in Birmingham, England. They favored lower reps so it was different than the way someone like Platz and Casey generated intensity. It was portable so they used it from station to station on a Marcy Multi-unit (similar to a Universal Machine). Each set lasted more than 20 seconds longer as a result of the stutter reps. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Again, he was judged an easy winner. # posted by Paul @ 10:00 AM. The information contained within is not intended to provide specific health advice, or any other advice whatsoever, for any individual or company and should not be relied upon in that regard. This would require a weight that would take you to failure in between 6 and 9 reps. Then, once you hit failure, keep going. At the contest, he weighed 215 and blew away the competition. Created by Mike Mentzer (1951 - 2001)as much philosopher as he was bodybuilderthe Heavy Duty method is one that incorporates high-intensity training along with lower rep ranges and heavier weights. . All rights reserved. Learn how to use high intensity training to build muscle! Since they were a few of the forerunners of High Intensity Training, one question I get about them is: How intense was their training? Has a great fear of ocean swimming because he doesn't "want to become filet mignon for some shark!". After graduating from high school, he worked in United States Air Force and started working out 3 hours a day and 6 days a week. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The man seemed to project a mesmerizing spell on us and we soon found our heads nodding to concepts that were directly against what we believed. (Creamy, Classic Taste), How to make Brown Sugar Grilled Peaches? As a general rule I dont recommend stopping an exercise short of momentary muscular failure and instead recommend allowing extra days for recovery or doing a workout just focused on smaller muscle groups which wont affect recovery as much. Ellington Darden: When I became interested in bodybuilding in 1959, I naturally started reading the muscle magazines. It was starting to become a sideshow then. Weight loss without dieting: the new trend to remove excess flab! I found out in 2001, when Andy was selected to demonstrate the exercises for my book, The Bowflex Body Plan. But trainees have found overall strength and size increases as a result of squatting - even when it is the only exercise performed for long periods. I told Ken that compartmentalizing exercise and recreation was on-target and I thought his new concept was going to help our cause. Who took a cookie from the cookie jar? Mike and Ray are genetic oddities, and I never imagined theyd turn out the way they did. Mike Mentzer Photo Album. However, Ray used a variety of techniques to up the ante on his training. Family, Partner, Biography, Easy easy to make Popcorn Shrimp (Perfectly Tender and Crispy), Who is Tiya Sircar? Published in the October 1971 Ironman, Viator's routine hit the bodybuilding world like a tsunami: three whole-body workouts per week, 20 all-out reps per set, sometimes only one set of an exercise and always very few working sets per bodypart. Best arms: three-way tie among Casey Viator, Sergio Oliva, and Boyer Coe Best chest: Arnold Schwarzenegger Best shoulders: Scott Wilson Best back: Dorian Yates Best thighs: Tom Platz Best calves: Chris Dickerson Best forearms: Casey Viator Best abdominals: Frank Zane Most muscular: Sergio Oliva Best overall first impression: Boyer Coe at the 1965 Mr. Texas contest Strongest during multiple workouts: Ray Mentzer Best consistent workout form: Robert Berg, a bodybuilder and a medical doctor from Stuart, Florida. Remember, this was on an advanced bodybuilder, the hardest specimen to realize real muscle growth because of being so close to his genetic potential. Part of the benefit of negative training is the greater load that can be managed during this phase of movement, but static contraction can also accomplish this. Net Worth, Partner, Biography, Who is Paris Berelc? Much of the credit goes to its nature as a big, three-joint exercise (hips, knees and ankles are all involved). Bench press - 1 x 8 reps Calf raise - 1 x 12 reps Sadly, Ray passed away just two days after skipping his kidney dialysis appointment. Coes arms, because of their unusual shape, always looked bigger than they measured. Mike Mentzer helps brother Ray go beyond failure on machine shoulder presses. As a result, I gave him some articles by Arthur Jones to ponder. This can be carried to a logical extreme. Hutchins and I both has access to weights through the school system. A goal of 160,000 for The New HIT seems reachable. Surprisingly, he moved them around his body as he talked and listened with an unassuming, childlike glee. Triceps ExtensionSuper-slow When Ken started high school he became a friend to one of my Conroe classmates, Philip Alexander, who was in medical school in Houston. Ellington Darden: Yes he was. McCutcheon placed high in a few contests in Great Britain and relocated in 1992 to Portland, Oregon, where he became an engineer for Novellus Systems. I know a lot of people believe that adding that much muscle so quickly is impossible. A few years later, a significantly more muscular Mentzer emerged in the IFBB and began an incredible career, climbing the ladder of national and international physique titles, growing gigantic in the process. How much of an effect an unexercised muscle receives from an exercised muscle depends mainly on two things - the size of the worked muscle and its proximity to the unworked muscle. Then, perform slowly paced reps in the hardest one-third (or stage), first; the second hardest, next; and the easiest thirst, last. I never witnessed anyone else get a single rep with the entire stack and there were a lot of big, strong athletes who tried. The website's content is not a substitute for direct, personal, professional medical care and diagnosis. One deals with a follow-up to my 1995 book, Living Longer Stronger, which was written for men between the ages of 40 and 60. He would exert himself to the point of muscle failure because of this. Bodybuilding was a lot healthier then.