High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way

Ah, "High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way"! Imagine, if you will, a tome that unlocks the secrets of a legendary bodybuilder's revolutionary approach to fitness. This book, penned by the illustrious Mike Mentzer, is like a map to a hidden treasure trove of strength and muscle. Within its pages lies the essence of High-Intensity Training (HIT), a method that defies the norms of traditional bodybuilding. Mentzer's philosophy is simple yet profound: shorter, less frequent workouts that push muscles to their limits, yet allow ample time for recovery. It's a dance of intensity and rest, a balance that promises results without the weariness of endless gym sessions. The book is not merely a collection of exercises; it's a journey into the mind of a visionary. Mentzer, the first man to achieve a perfect score in the Mr. Universe competition, shares his wisdom on training to failure, the importance of recovery, and the psychological aspects of bodybuilding. His words are like a coach's encouraging whisper, guiding you through each rep and set. With fascinating biographical details and striking photos, the book paints a vivid portrait of a bodybuilding icon, inspiring readers to strive for excellence. It's a blend of science and art, a guide that transforms the way one views fitness and strength. So, dear reader, let this book be your guide to a new realm of bodybuilding, where efficiency meets effectiveness, and where the pursuit of muscle is both logical and magical.

Great book! Mike Thoroughly explains the scientific and driving principles to muscle building as it pertains to high intensity training. I love Mike's rational approach to body-building because it makes sense! His rational approach makes his book counter cultural to the modern body-building paradigms, and I'm all for it because it means I don't have to spend hours in the gym each session or stuff my face with food 24/7. Mike's high instensity, low volume/low frequency regimen is something that I've actually been able to consistently implement and truely understand the scientific principles and outcomes of every movement and exercise I do. I highly recommend this book if you want to both learn about and get results from a scientifically proven training methodology.

If you are curious about high intensity training, this book is a great starting point. I was very skeptical at first as I only ever knew the high volume approach to weight training, but as I've started training with this method, I can definitely feel and see a difference and I no longer feel drained from marathon workout sessions. This type of training would benefit almost anyone I think but can be especially helpful if you have low recovery ability, are a slow gainer, or are even pressed for time (what led me to try it eventually). The first part or so of the book may be boring and slow for some readers, but I would say bear with it because you really need to grasp the principles Mike taught to get the full effect of the workouts. Anyone who says they didn't see results with his program, I believe either they never tried it or they did try it but weren't doing it correctly. As others have said, I appreciate how Mike also emphasized building character. I was very surprised to read how well he spoke about Arnold after their rivalry. It made me respect him even more. Give this book a shot if you are into bodybuilding or weight training. Even if you don't fully subscribe to Mike's school of thought, there is still a lot of good information in this book.

This book has a lot of good information. For new lifters, it will help you avoid wasting time on fad ideas. Some of the information is outdated, and science has proven otherwise. But there is no bad information here.

I am actually quite excited to try out this "new" system. I say new because it is new to me, the info here is back from the 80's / 90's. I have been working out pretty regularly for about 10 years, I am more a fitness enthusiast than bodybuilder. I don't have any desire to get as big as possible, but more so to have a muscular physique and be in good general shape. I have been following the normal sets x reps for pretty much the entire time I've been working out with decent results. I definitely look better and am stronger than 10 years ago. The reason for looking into this was more of a time-saver. A normal workout is pretty short for me right now, say 20-30 minutes but I'm always looking for a better way to get the same if not better results in shorter time. This system focuses around really taxing the muscle in 1 set, through very slow reps up and down versus the traditional way of larger volume. It also suggests longer resting periods between workouts to really focus on recovery as we know your muscles actually grow during recovery, not training. Will this work? I believe so, it's just science. Once you really tax a muscle out to the point another rep is not possible, give adequate time to recover and then increase the intensity in the next workout through more reps or more weight, why wouldn't it? It's simply following the break it down, let it repair, and then challenge it again harder philosophy that forces muscles to change, and grow. This system just does it in a compressed manner, with more intensity. I figure worst case scenario, even if my gains are the same I am still saving time versus the longer marathon workouts some people do, and that's more time for me to focus on life. UPDATE: I got to try these principles last night as I am in the stage of figuring out which excercises / poundages to start with. I haven't been this sore in a while! This experimental workout lasted about 20 minutes only during which I tried these principles with pullups, behind the neck shoulder presses, preacher curls and side lateral raises for shoulders. Took each set to failure as recommended...what a difference. You must make an honest effort and go to true failure i.e. you cannot lift another rep, which is hard...but then boom! You're done with that exercise and on to the next....This seems to have a lot of promise! UPDATE 2: I am about 2 weeks into this new approach, and I am getting stronger every week. The key is really finding exercises you can perform under perfect control, with little to no sloppiness. That way you can really focus on the movement / intensity vs. the number of reps. I am now more sore after a singe set of this high intensity exercise than I was from 2-4 sets of the regular reps, the key being the much longer reps (4 seconds up / pause 2 seconds / 4 seconds down). It boils down to much more intensity, in much lesser time. I'm a believer!

I recently (after 10 yrs :) ) got back into fitness and love this book. I bought this book in 2019 but didn't read all the way through till 2024 and that's when I implemented it and have seen very good results in 3 months! Prior to this book, I spent close to 10 yrs following workout routines found every where including Arnold's book which recommend working out 4-5 times a week and doing 8-12 sets per body part! I hardly ever made progress using those workouts. When I got back into fitness recently, I decided to do a very deep dive into Mike Mentzer. I watched every interview of his on YouTube TWICE and read all other of his books such as Heavy Duty 1 and 2. This book was written as the last book and Mike died before this book was finished. But this book has all the stuff you need to know about Mike and his famous HIT workouts. Mike's approach is very opposite to what you hear being talked about every where. He promoted 1 workout every 4-6 days in which you do ONE set per body part.....Yes you read that right...ONE set! If you are looking to validate Mike's theory then i recommend that you watch some of his interviews on YouTube to get a sense why he recommended such a low volume and why that is the right way to go. While you are at it, you might as well look up Arthur Jones who invented HIT and inspired Mike. God bless Mike and may his soul RIP!

The book is in good shape and contains the information it’s advertised to have.

Excellent book. Completely changed my perception on lifting weights. Been following the Mentzer routine and I make progress with every workout. It is an adjustment going from gym trips 5 days a week down to 2, but the results speak for themselves.