As I age, my recovery ability lessens. Mike Mentzer was a legendary bodybuilder who won the 1978 Mr. Universe, becoming the first bodybuilder ever to get a perfect score from the judges. for 7 years which was very minimal or miniscule to say the very least and I thought I was going to was totally wrong about that I never knew the amount of muscle gains I was capable of achieving. Derek: What made you decide to try Heavy Duty? Mike Mentzers Perfect Consolidated Workout Day 1. Mentzer began lifting when he was only 12 years old, and by the age of 15, he could bench over 350 pounds. Enjoy! Incline barbell bench press (5 sets, 6-8 reps). Dorian Yates uses this program and he was Mr. Olympia. So carve out a little time to isolate and properly stimulate these smaller muscle groups. Observe how this differs from the "typical" chest routine you'll see in most gyms. Copyright 2013-2022 Jacked Gorilla All Rights Reserved | Owned & Operated by Wealthy Gorilla Limited | Our Brands: Jacked Gorilla | Gaming Gorilla | Wealthy Gorilla. The workouts will be conducted once every seven days, starting today. I think you can effectively gain mass with a consolidated routine if youve been doing higher frequency and/or higher volume training for awhile. All I know is my waist size has gone down freedom to become a more productive individual and enrich all areas of life. Mentzer always pushed one set to muscular failure. 4 sets of flat bench, 3 sets of inclines, 3 sets of flyes and 2-3 sets of cable crossovers. the top bodybuilders said to do--ultra marathon routines. ANALYSIS: Finally, no pre-exhaust supersets for biceps. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The important thing is when you make the switch "Has Anyone Gained Mass from Mentzer's Consolidation Routines?" Melatonin (only when I have trouble sleeping) Nowadays HIT enthusiasts often perform fewer reps, preferring the 6-10 range. 1. For the record, you can read about my entire experience on the aforementioned program here: https://wildyakathletics.com/2020/12/27/review-of-my-last-8-weeks-of-training-october-22-december-22-2020/. Keep in mind, the goal was mass gains, so I ate at about a 500 calorie surplus daily. Met-rx meal replacement drink I plan to carry this out for a minimum of six months or until lack of progress or something unforeseen, such as an injury or illness, takes place. Workout 2 Squats 8-15 reps Reverse-grip lat pulldown 6-10 reps . like anything if you are not going to see some progress you'll do whatever it takes, Less volume in reps and sets and more effort. That was the most result-producing routine that I ever used. I asked Mike why he thought that such a split routine was more productive than the three-days-per-week whole-body program that had carried him through to victory in the Mr. America contest. ), there's a routine called The Consolidation Routine, which consists of the following: Workout A One set Squats One set Close-grip, Palms-Up Pulldowns rest 5-7 days Workout B One set Regular Deadlifts One set Dips rest 5-7 days You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, I thought I was your typical This is, and isn't what high intensity heavy duty training is all about. Mike smiled, knowing that it was the question all aspiring bodybuilders wanted the answer to and, indeed, the very question he himself had posed to his idols, like the great Bill Pearl, when he was starting out in bodybuilding. Mike Mentzer's Real Workout Routine & Diet Plan Many people who comment on questions like this simply speculate without ever doing the program themselves. If you just care about general health, maximal strength, and maximum size (with the absence of symmetry), minimalist routines (such as Mike Mentzers consolidation routines and similar such routines) with intentionally few exercises performed throughout the week will work just fine. Do your last warmup with approximately 75% of your working weight and stop before reaching failure. Toe presses 1 x 6-8, Chest On the other hand, the younger bodybuilders who reduced both the number of sessions per week (from 3 to 1) and the exercise volume (from 3 sets to 1) maintained their muscle size, while those who cut down to exercising once a week but maintained the exercise volume (3 sets) managed to increase their muscle size. Close-grip pulldowns 2 x 6-8 mentioned training systems. For instance, some muscles only obtain secondary stimulation, if that. She is a young Swedish girl from Uppsala, who is currently traveling around the world. Standing dumbbell curl (5 sets, 8-10 reps), 6. Also, dont be afraid to alternate different exercises from time to time for the bigger muscle groups the back, delts, legs, and chest. I readily accepted, for I knew that it would afford me an opportunity to talk not only bodybuilding but philosophy, a passion that Mike and I shared for more than two decades. When you The techniques Heavy Duty prescribed foremost were forced reps, negative reps, rest-pause, and pre-exhaust, especially pre-exhaust supersets. That is, dont train so frequently so that you exceed your bodys ability to overcome the exhaustive effects of exercise and dont have enough recovery ability left over for growth., As always, Mikes words made perfect sense. Legs are given a. little more reps than the upper body. Behind the neck overhead press (5 sets, 6-8 reps), 3. From there Mike moved on to the routines advocated in the various muscle magazines that espoused 20-sets-per-bodypart training, even at one time extending that to 40 sets per bodypart. His father would regularly test and encourage his academic knowledge using many rewards, such as cash to ensure he excelled. Pre-Exhaust Supersets Do a set of an isolation exercise before a set of a compound exercise for that same body part without resting. As men and even women for that matter age our hormone levels drop as we age making it harder and harder to do the things we once did say in our 20s as compared to my age now which is 64. Your email address will not be published. Mikes forearms rippled as he carefully placed a pen on his desk and answered, That would be back, shoulders and biceps. Squats 18-15 Keep in mind, the goal was mass gains, so I ate at about a 500 calorie surplus daily. Recovery always precedes growth, and growth was our ultimate goal. The discussion was very good, but you could see a divide between the minimalist versus anti-minimalist crowd. Super greens. I asked him if perhaps exhaustionsuch as that experienced on the whole-body routinewas, then, truly a requisite for growth stimulation, bearing in mind Jones adage that unless you were made nauseous from a set of barbell curls, you didnt know what hard training was. Heavy Duty, indeed. Vitamin C We werent worried about localized recovery of a particular muscle. I assumed stronger pulls, presses, and squats would develop the rest of my body, as is often preached by the minimalist crowd. Glutamine ANALYSIS: Note that Mike Mentzer, who was noted for his tremendous trapezius development, did more sets for traps (4) than biceps (3) and the same amount as for triceps (4). It wasnt the long-term recovery that was required. So, if balance, symmetry, or any sort of general body building goal is your aim, then the consolidation routine is not ideal long term. Maintaining a healthy weight as a bodybuilder becomes increasingly essential, especially after age 40. I saw this question on the web recently followed by some interesting answers in the comments section. 1. Nautilus machine pullovers were also a favorite of fellow HIT-man Dorian Yates. Mike Mentzer's Perfect Consolidated Workout - Day 1 Please, In fact, apart from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Id argue that hes probably made the largest impact on the bodybuilding community to date, followed by several other successors and his predecessor Arthur Jones. Chest. Derek: What kind of advice would you give to others that are in the position you Train with more intensity and you will need less volume. Force yourself to go beyond failure using forced reps and negatives. 2. type of anabolic in existence using outrageous quantities and this I've learned greatly It was so that his nervous system could repair itself. Or do you spend hours sitting at Have you ever considered the significance of grip strength in your overall fitness journey? Superset Dont forget to share this article with your friends and family. I found Ali's story similar to mine and I hope some readers will not have to waste years training, Body Contract-Duchaine's, Arnolds, Weider, POF, Periodization, non Periodization, 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. Mike Mentzer Consolidation Routine: Workout A - YouTube scientific approach. ANALYSIS: A pre-exhaust superset for chest: flyes before presses. Dips 16-10. In 1971, he was introduced to Arthur Jones, the creator of high-intensity training for bodybuilding. Close grip supinated cable pulldown (5 sets, 8-10 reps), 4. Little is now available for phone consultations regarding Mentzers revolutionary Heavy Duty Training System. New Cognizant jobs added daily. Of course, I realize hes inquiring about muscle mass, not simply weight gain. Once you get adjusted with the weight you're lifting, try to increase it within this rep range. Mike Mentzer's Workout Routine. Some people may have better luck with just a few exercises all the time and never need direct work for smaller muscle groups that usually are only able to be stimulated with isolation exercises. The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer: The Art, Science and Philosophy of a Bodybuilding Legend, High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way, Group Coaching Through Subscription toMy Substack Newsletter. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Most everybody seems to be training multiple Mike could as he had years of training behind him, and he could also train others this way. Look at The pros of this type of training are obvious more time off to allow the body to rest and recover. He tightened up the training and lengthened the time period for rest and recovery, in effect consolidating the training down to a very bare minimum. The gym opens in 45 minutes. Other than that, I will drink them when Im pressed for time. That three-days-a-week program left me so exhausted that when I did another full-body program on Monday, I was so shot afterward that all I could do was go home and sleep for a while.. He does the same reps (6-8 to failure + 1-3 after-failure) for even body parts like calves, for which many bodybuilders do higher reps. Dumbbell Flye or Pec-Deck Flye 2 sets x 6-8 reps, Incline Barbell Press 2 sets x 68 reps. You havent mentioned Intensity. Its fine to speculate and have an opinion on whether you THINK something would be true or not, but keep in mind this particular poster specifically asked if anyone had made mass gains while using a Mike Mentzer consolidation routine. Jones used to say that you dont rest each bodypart on different days, so why would you train them on different days? The main legs workout is repeated. Mike Mentzer said of his workout routine, "The routine I followed was the essential basic Heavy Duty routine consisting of four to five sets per body part and broken into two workouts - The first workout would be legs, chest, and triceps; the second workout was back, shoulders and biceps.