Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN num: 9781889462028
ISBN number: 1889462020
Label: Acess Publishing houses Network
Manufacturer: Acess Publishing houses Network
Quantity: 4
Printing Date: 1997-12
Publishing house: Acess Publishing houses Network
Sale Popularity Level: 2140028
Studio: Acess Publishing houses Network
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Rated by buyers 
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I had the privledge of working with Mike Mentzer back in 1977. Mike guest posed for me at the IFBB Teenage & Junior American Bodybuilding Championships that I promoted back then. Mike also replaced Franco Columbu as the lead guest power and seminar trainer when Franco was injured in the world's strongest man competition.
Using Mike's training protocall, I went from 190 to 205 at 5'4 1/2 in six weeks, gained muscle, lost fat and got incredibly strong. I went from doing inclines with 275 to 325 for six reps, heavy DB flyes with 45's to 90's preexhuasted with dips, leg ext ext with 100 lbs to 200 lbs pre-exhausted with squats from 300 to 400 lbs for 10 reps, straight arm pulldowns from 110 lbs to 175 lbs preexhausted with T-Bar rows from 125 to 215 lbs. Side DB laterals from 20 lbs to 40 lbs preexhausted with seated press behind the neck from 130 to 190, from 275 on bb shrugs to 425 preexhausted with upright rows from 125 to 195, preacher curls from 90 lbs to 145 lbs preexhausted with curl grip pulldowns from 125 to 200 lbs, 130 to 185 for 8 reps on standing curls using a wide grip on a olympic set and up to 225 lbs for cheat curls and negatives. Mr arms actually broke the 20 inch mark with this program. I also went from 115 on lying tricep presses to 185 preexhausted with close grip bench presses. On calf raises I went from 400 lbs to 800 lbs, going up on two feet and down on one (Mikes secret weapon for great calves) Mike used 500 lbs for one legged calf raises! What I really appreciated was being able to get these kind of gains using free weights, not nautilus machines. At the seminar that Mike did for me, he explained and demonstrated the free weight counterparts to nautilus exercises.
Wayne Demelia saw me at George Snyders IFBB show when I was 4 weeks into the program and couldn't believe the transformation in me from my contest. He wanted to know what steriods I was taking. I told him that I was clean and was following Mike Mentzer's heavy duty system. Even Arnold who hadn't seen me in a year told me that I had gotten so big he didn't recognize me. A female reporter from a a local Phildelphia tv station asked me if I was a contestant. I wasn't. I was a judge and a IFBB official as well as VP for Pennsylvania for the IFBB at the time. Needless to say, this program worked better for me that anything I ever tried before. People who hadn't see me in a while noticed not only increased size with reduced fat but also improved muscle shape and my waist dropped several inches as well while I gained weight which never happened before.
I believe the program has more value for non competitive bodybuilders though. In my opinion, competitive bodybuilders need to do more volume work, more cable and db work, isolation exercises and so on. Mike didn't believe in working the front or back deltoids or the forearms. He felt that compound movements works these areas enough. I respectfully disagree.
When I knew Mike he was one of five bodybuilders using this system the others being his brother Ray, Dave Mastorakis, C.F. Smith and Casey Viator. And they were all, as far as I knew, products of volume training or at least started that way.
My only real problem with this program is that it is on cassette and Mike spends a little too much time on philosophy. Having heard Mike at seminars, including the one he did for me, I felt as though he could have included a lot more meat than he did with this and should have included perhaps a workbook with illustrations. Mike has a strong, clear voice and is articulate.
If you are unfamiliar with his system, this cassette program is a great start.
In any event, it is a great system for people who want results and want them fast and don't want to spend a lot of time in the gym. The only other thing I would recommend is to warm up a little more than what Mike suggests. I also recommend the newest book about Mike Mentzer and his HIT System written by John Little.
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The late, great Mike Mentzer sure made his mark in the bodybuilding world. Not only as a competitive bodybuilder buut as an independent thinker for bodybuilding as well.
Mentzer's hit system is well worth a try for anyone who wants to stimulate muscle growth, get maximum results and without having to spend your life in the gym.
I am not so sure that it is the ideal training program for competitive bodybuilding, especially pre-contest training. To me, HIT has more value as an off season method of training.
Rated by buyers -
There's nothing tremendously original about Mentzer's work. All he really did is take the work of Arthur Jones and modify it in that he cut way down on the number of sets that Jones advocated, and also cut the frequency of the workouts. That being said, it's a good way to train, but don't cut the frequency down too much. Make sure you're working your whole body over 7-8 days and don't try to make progress doing less than that. A few people might be able to get away with it but most probably can't.
And you do have to go to at least positive failure. I mean real positive failure, where the weight isn't moving forward at all. Just avoid squatting or deadlifting to failure. Everything else should be fine.
You shouldn't burn out on the program if your frequency is not too high. And these criticisms that people make about HIT being bad for the joints is silly. It makes me wonder who thee people are and if they actually ever tried HIT. Let's see, which is worse for your joints, doing 5 work sets to failure a week or doing a typical volume routine and doing 50-100 work sets a week not to failure? Duh.
Try this way of lifting for 4 months and see how you do. If one set isn't enough try two. If that's not enough try increasing your frequency a bit. If that's not enought then HIT isn't right for you, and you need to move on. But, I think most people will do fine with a Mentzer type of program. Just give it time and don't jump from routine to routine.
Rated by buyers -
Mr. Mentzer finally addresses why the average person fails to make progress like the pros. For those who failed in trying his routines and implementing his rest suggestions, i can only say you did not work out hard enough. As a doctor with a background in exercise physiology, i recommend this book %100 to those who want to build muscle mass. However, if you are not willing to go "all out" on your working sets, you will not gain on this or any other program. Intensity is the key to mass building, not duration. To those who dont believe his methods are scientific, do you know what science really is? Just because Mr. Mentzer did not wear a lab coat and have a PhD. does not mean he was not practicing good science. Bravo Mr. Mentzer
Rated by buyers 
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I have nothing against Mike and felt saddened when I heard of his death, but, did Mike really train this way?My understanding is that Mike was already a world class star before he started the HIT system. Some folks have said that the MM HIT System was just a ripoff of Arthur Jones Nautilussystem.I tried the system, it seems okay for a short time, but not for contest preparation. If in fact Mike did train this way, perhaps this is why he lost important contests like the '77 Mr. U to Kalman Szkalak and the '79 Mr. O to the sculpted Zane and finished 5th in the 1980 Mr. O.In defense of Mike and in regards to the individual who made wise cracksabout Mentzer's vocabulary and that Mike must have had a dictionary nearby, as anyone who knew Mike can attest, he was extremely intelligent.Perhaps that individual needed a dictionary and probably still didn't understand what Mentzer was talking about.Mike was a great champion and a nice guy. His HIT system is okay, but not a be all and end all. Arnold, Sergio, Zane, Columbo and others tried this system and gave it up in favor of conventional training. Casey Viator was also a product of traditional training and was blessed with superior genetics.Good luck!
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