As you can see, my book is distinct from the others. Why? Bodybuilding Titles Won My initial contact with Rodale occurred 5 years ago when Ken Hutchins introduced me to a Bill Stump, an editor from Mens Health (a Rodale magazine), who was in Orlando interviewing Ken. Ellington Darden: Negative work (eccentric muscle action) was kicked around haphazardly in the physiology world before Jones came on the scene. Miller cant understand why anyone interested in lifting and bodybuilding would want to get involved with drugs. There are a few in that category today, but there werent any in 1983. Fred, But his well-documented progress is nonetheless directly attributable to his well-organized increase in intensity and the attendant diminishing of exercise volume. Get ready for an incredible pump. Dip Binges on spoonfuls of butter straight from the carton. High-intensity training (HIT) is a form of strength training popularized in the 1970s by Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus.The training focuses on performing quality weight training repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure.The training takes into account the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the amount of time the muscle is exposed to tension in order to . After years of competition, Mike decided to quit his competitive career and concentrate on new projects in 1982. He won both the AAU Mr. America and the IFBB Mr. America and year later in 1978. What muscular biceps and full triceps he possessed. Mentzer is a man of enormous natural talentpotential no less notable than other bodybuilders who know little of high intensity. Thats why I had Hudlows resting metabolic rate checked before and after the 14 days. Of course Grimek and Reeves stood out, but so did Steve Stanko, Mr. America 1944, who was more massive than Grimek. Drew Baye: I also think that the bodybuilder you use to illustrate your HIT exercises has an outstanding build. So, during the experiment, he was rebuilding previously existing levels of muscular size. Hey Fred, glad you like the interview. "The secret, if there is one, is high intensity. Similar things can be said of delts, calves and abs based on the same principle. Some of the football coaches, who encouraged me to lift weights from 1958 to 1962, also encouraged Hutchins in the late 1960s. To this day, Im a firm believer in strength training the neck, for both athletes and nonathletes. Drew Baye: What did you think of Mentzers Heavy-Duty books? In his first bodybuilding contest, he met the winner, Casey Viator. If you have ever made a new year fitness resolution as a bodybuilder, you can attest that keeping your new years Hormones are chemical substances released by glands in the body to regulate various functions. Maybe it was Martinas tone of voice, or maybe she forgot to say please, whatever it was, it didnt set right with Jones. That question will go down in history with Who really killed JFK? In early 1971, because of business and travel commitments, Jones stopped personally training Viator. It would be impossible to sell a book to each of those existing, 1.6 million trainees. Mentzer was inducted in the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2002. Also, my soreness from deadlifts lasted an entire 7 or 8 days! My original Nautilus book, initially published in 1980 and revised five times, sold more than half a million copies. Ive never taken Drews writings, comments as disdain for slow rep training. . I have read before that Mike and Ray Mentzer were really into using amphetamines to train harder. Mike Mentzer's brother, Ray, put three-eights on an inch on his presumably larger upper arm in six weeks, performing no more direct arm work that chins and dips. We remain great friends and I try to see him once a month. Today, he weighs a lean 220 pounds and has muscular forearms, thick wrists, and a vise-like grip. Remember, this was on an advanced bodybuilder, the hardest specimen to realize real muscle growth because of being so close to his genetic potential. Exploiting indirect effect can become the key to excellent, even startling, gains. 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. When I was around Mike, we got along fine. His conclusion was to accept exercise for what it is, hard work, and not try to make it recreation or fun. But first, the medical professionals had to determine whether Mikes kidney was compatible with Rays. Also make sure to increase the weight in a particular exercise whenever possible. 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. 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. I think it would be a great boon if it were discovered that it is possible to achieve optimal or near-optimal strength-training without equipment. They have a New York City office, but the majority of their publishing house in located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, which is a quaint community in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. When I went to Baylor University in 1962, there was a guy on the football team named Bobby Crenshaw. The reason his workouts were referred to as HIT (High-Intensity Training). 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. Drew Baye: Whats your take on the current Mr. Olympia competitors? No one could motivate Casey the way Arthur could. Use about half the weight (50 percent) that youd normally use. Who is Paul Johansson? I once read about Ray Mentzer training legs once a month! I followed Mentzer's prescribed routine in his Heavy Duty 2 Mind and Body book. He registered no weight gain during days 12, 13, and 14, so I just called it two weeks to keep it in line with the other two-week plans in the book. Or a training partner with a watch can talk your through each phase. Here we have a sound explanation for recommending multiple joint exercises for bodybuilders seeking muscle size increases. All rights Reserved. It was during this project, which continued for four years, that Hutchins tested and applied the initial SuperSlow protocols. How were they to work with? Ray used the same Heavy Duty Training training regimen as his brother Mike. 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). The results in his book, The New HIT, used slow rep training with great results any reason why you passed on asking these questions? Drew Baye: In your book, you discuss the importance of negative work in building muscle. He would exert himself to the point of muscle failure because of this. I met Mike seven years ago in Gold's Gym in Venice, when I was one of his numerous in-gym clients. Thus, I spend about half of my 272-page book relating the stories and experiences of Jones. I told Ken that compartmentalizing exercise and recreation was on-target and I thought his new concept was going to help our cause. Ellington Darden: Joness specialty was intensity. "A LOOK AT HIGH INTENSITY BODYBUILDING" is a professionally made film featuring the legendary MIKE MENTZER, one of bodybuilding's most massive physique champions and world renowned expert and teacher of HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING. Drew Baye: Ive read that Ray Mentzer was somewhat of a comedian. My hamstrings seem very stubborn that way, and isometric exercise produces virtually no soreness there, as if Ive done next to nothing despite willing a 100% exertion. We then expected some locking of horns to occur. He quickly competed in and won the Junior Mr. America and IFBB Mr. America competitions. Drew Baye is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Ray would subsequently go on to become a legend in the bodybuilding world with his vascular 20+ inch arms and then-unimaginable weight of 275 pounds. Arthur Jones frequently said that when he trained Viator, Casey got bigger and leaner, by the day. And Whitley achieved that without the help of creatine. 8/2/53 Died: 6/12/01 We read the sarcastic and bitter attacks of strength coaches and naturally gifted weightmen who try to tell us that everyone knows that one-set-to-failure is an exercise philosophy that never really worked. Not surprising to me, the addition of 18-1/2 pounds of muscle increased his resting metabolic rate by 530 calories, or 28.6 calories per pound of added muscle per day. Sorry for the humungous post Drew; hope it is useful. If any nontheoretical, real-life example will serve to prove the efficacy of indirect effect. 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. Ellington Darden: When I became interested in bodybuilding in 1959, I naturally started reading the muscle magazines. When Hutchins was a senior in high school, Conroe had one of the best football teams in Texas. So, be prepared to train alone. DB shoulder press - 1 x 8 reps Mentzer wrote several books about weight training. He was so big that all he could wear to work were stretchable Ban-Lon shirts and Bugle-Boy pants. When I visited Rodales main photography studio in Emmaus, I met with my editor, Lou Schuler, who also is the fitness director for Mens Health. 06-08-2013, 11:15 AM Ray Mentzer Workout Here are some excerpts, from a 1979 interview where Ray talks about his workouts leading up to his Mr. America victory. With the plan in mind, Hutchins hurried over but just as he approached, an older woman took the seat beside Cooper. Out of curiosity, which one do you like the best? Ray made at least one appearance at the Ephrata Rec Center, signing autographs for fans. The next morning he instructed Ray Mentzer to meet Martina at the airport and escort her back to Lake Helen. I think the major limiting factor to true isometrics is the lack of negative work which appears to be the most important part of the exercise for stimulating strength and size gains, and the lack of full-range strength improvement. This would require a weight that would take you to failure in between 6 and 9 reps. Then, once you hit failure, keep going. Then, he discusses how he merged his experiences into his latest publication, The New High Intensity Training. He built a super, heavy duty hydraulic with a control that a training partner could operate. (Creamy and Flavorful), Who is Luna Blaise? Drew Baye: In your book, you also mention Mikes younger brother Ray. I know a lot of people believe that adding that much muscle so quickly is impossible. Today, I live approximately 25 miles from Ken. Theres a lot of the interesting stuff concerning Arnold and Arthur in chapter 5: How HIT Humbled Schwarzenegger. Arnold, for perhaps multiple reasons, couldnt get the hang of high-intensity training the Arthur Jones way. 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). All the other HIT books eventually have you performing split routines. Drew Baye: In Joness 1973 Colorado Experiment, how much muscle did Casey Viator gain during the first two weeks? That stated, Casey Viator gained 39.87 thats right, just 0.13 shy of 40 pounds of muscle in two weeks. Because thats now my age and someone needs to write sensibly for this group of men. What I see is experimentation and progression in both methods and teaching them over time refinement. In the middle of the Nautilus compound was a non-descript, 30- by 50-foot, metal building, which was the home of 40 large crocodiles that Jones had brought in from Jamaica. Advertised in Muscle & Fitness and Ironman magazines (November and December 2004 issues). Ray Mentzer Stats I had a tremendous pump throughout my upper body. Although systemic recovery is still affected by each workout more time is allowed for local recovery. Some people accuse him of writing the same book over and over, with just a different twist to the training method, or geared towards a different audience. He stood only 5'8 yet packed 215 pounds of rock-solid muscle on his frame. Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty Workout Is One of the Hottest Topic in Bodybuilding. Since they involve no movement and have no potential for negative work, which hypothetically would produce little microtrauma, what do you think of their value for stimulating muscular size increases relative to full-range exercise? The only possible mechanism I can see working against isometrics is if the load is needed to shock the muscles into contracting more strongly than is possible voluntarily, even where the isometric trainer is very experienced and determined. Workouts one and three are the ones that stress your largest muscle masses in the upper and lower body, with the first emphasizing the legs, while the torso is hammered in the third. It works. 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. After working with McCutcheon for week, I knew hed be ideal to use for The New High-Intensity Training. The stronger he is, the more a set of exercise can make an inroad into his existing abilities. Bodybuilder Ray Mentzer was Mike Mentzer's younger brother and training partner. 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. I want to focus my query on the Timed Static Contractions section because I have been dabbling in isometric & isokinetic exercises due to lack of access to equipment. Take the hips and thighs as an example. The three techniques Heavy Duty prescribed most were forced reps, negative reps, and rest-pause. If Mike would have won the Olympia, the world of professional bodybuilding might now be significantly different. 1976 Jr. Mr. America (Tall) Overall, Im very pleased with whats happening with the book. When I found out that Dr. Darden had a new bodybuilding book coming out I was very excited. Divide the movement into thirds. Mike and Ray are genetic oddities, and I never imagined theyd turn out the way they did. The Ray Mentzer story is one of success, but also tragedy. Drew Baye: Who were some of the bodybuilders that you admired when you began training? And youre correct, youd have thought that with his devotion to hard training, hed have been on cloud nine. Ken and I, for several years, had tried various approaches during Nautilus seminars to debate people who believed they needed daily aerobic activity to be healthy. 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.