Mike Mentzer
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Image:Mikementzer.jpg Mike Mentzer (November 15, 1951 to June 10, 2001) was a former IFBB professional bodybuilder, businessman, author and philosopher.
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Bodybuilding philosophy
Mentzer took the bodybuilding concepts developed by Arthur Jones and attempted to perfect them. Through years of study, observation, knowledge of stress physiology and the most up-to-date scientific information available, and careful use of his reasoning abilities, Mentzer tried to devise and successfully implement a theory of bodybuilding. Mentzer's theories are intended to help a person achieve their full genetic potential within the shortest amount of time.
Mentzer was an Objectivist, and he insisted that philosophy and bodybuilding are one and the same. He said "Man, is an indivisible entity, an integrated unit of mind and body." Thus, his books contain as much philosophy as they do bodybuilding information.
High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way was Mentzer's final work. In it, he detailed the principles of high intensity weight training. Weight training, he insisted, had to be brief, infrequent, and intense, in order to attain the best results in the shortest amount of time. Heavy Duty II also espouses critical thinking. In this book, Mentzer shows why people need to use their reasoning ability to live happy, mature, adult lives, and he shows readers how to go about doing so.
Mentzer was also known for his adoption of the approach that "a calorie is a calorie", and would often torment bodybuilders who were strictly dieting, by freely eating Danishes and other off-limit foods close to competitions.
Mentzer's training system
Mentzer was originally an advocate of pre-exhaustion weight training. For example, leg extensions are done before squats, side delt raises before shoulder presses, flyes before bench presses, and stiff-arm pulldowns before standard lat pulldowns. Mentzer was also famous for going "beyond failure" with forced reps, negative reps, static holds, and forced negatives.In general, one only used 1-2 sets per movement, with no more than five movements per muscle group.
After renewing his training business in the 1990s, Mentzer became convinced that even the relatively low-volume routines advocated by Arthur Jones and himself were, in fact, too exhausting for average trainees. Mentzer later advocated a build-up routine involving two leg workouts, one pec-delt workout, and one lat-bicep workout every 10-14 days.
After the trainee' results plateau, he switches to an advanced system involving a very brief full-body workout, to be followed once every 6-10 days. Some Mentzer pupils report training each muscle group only once every 21 days.
Mentzer and advocates of "high intensity" training believed that one must train very hard, using the heaviest weight one can manage in good form and without injury. In general, high intensity trainers eschew the use of Olympic lifts, Olympic lift derivatives, explosive or ballistic lifts of any kind, and plyometric drills.
In general, high intensity advocates believe the opinion of Jones, that while strength can be increased by 400% in an average individual, recovery capacity can only be increased by 50%. Therefore, the stronger one becomes, counterintuitively, the less one must train.
Below is a sample powerlifting routine inspired by Mentzer priciples:
- Monday: Bench press- five singles, or one set of 8 to failure
- Side raises or overhead presses- one set.
- Thursday: Deadlift- five singles or Dumbell shrugs- one set
- Pulldowns or chins- one set
- Tuesday: Squats- 10-6-4-2 working up to a heavy weight.
- Frontal squats or leg presses- one set.
Begin again on the third Monday.
Competitive history
- 1971 Mr. America - AAU, 10th
- 1971 Teen Mr America - AAU, 2nd
- 1975 Mr. America - IFBB, Medium, 3rd
- 1975 Mr. USA - ABBA, Medium, 2nd
- 1976 Mr. America - IFBB, Overall Winner
- 1976 Mr. America - IFBB, Medium, 1st
- 1976 Mr. Universe - IFBB, MiddleWeight, 2nd
- 1977 North American Championships - IFBB, Overall Winner
- 1977 North American Championships - IFBB, MiddleWeight, 1st
- 1977 Mr. Universe - IFBB, HeavyWeight, 2nd
- 1978 USA vs the World - IFBB, HeavyWeight, 1st
- 1978 World Amateur Championships - IFBB, HeavyWeight, 1st
- 1979 Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, 2nd
- 1979 Florida Pro Invitational - IFBB, 1st
- 1979 Night of Champions - IFBB, 3rd
- 1979 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, HeavyWeight, 1st
- 1979 Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, 2nd
- 1979 Southern Pro Cup - IFBB, 1st
- 1980 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 5th
Bodybuilding career
Mentzer started competing in local physique contests when he was eighteen. His first contest was in 1969. In 1971 he suffered his worst defeat, placing 10th at the AAU Mr. America, which was won by Casey Viator. Mentzer considered his presence at this contest important later on as it was here that he met Viator who gave Mentzer the contact information for his trainer Arthur Jones. (Mentzer would contact Jones in later years to learn the latter's theories which he would then incorporate into his own training system.) After a layoff of a few years, he returned to competition in 1975 at the Mr. America placing third behind Robby Robinson and Roger Callard. Mentzer went on to win that competition in 1976. He won the 1977 North America championships in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1977 and competed a week later at the 1977 Mr. Universe in Nimes, France placing second to Kal Szkalak.
In 1978, Mentzer won the Mr. Universe in Acapulco, Mexico with the first and (thus far) only perfect score. He became a professional bodybuilder after the 1978 Universe win. In late 1979, Mentzer won the heavyweight class of the Mr. Olympia but lost in the overall to Frank Zane who was awarded the title for a third time that year. Some in the bodybuilding community believe that Mentzer should have won the 1980 Mr. Olympia even though he placed fourth (in a tie with Boyer Coe) behind Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Dickerson and Frank Zane. The title went to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made a one-off return to competition after a 4 year hiatus from the sport. Many felt Arnold was not in shape for the contest. Mentzer quit bodybuilding after the show at the age of 29.
Final years and death
Following the loss at the 1980 Mr. Olympia, Mentzer reportedly ran into numerous problems. In the late 1970's Mike is was reported to have begun using amphetamines, claiming he only took them as an ergogenic aid to help facilitate a hectic lifestyle. Mentzer left his position at Weider Publications shortly after his loss at the Mr. Olympia contest, and suffered financially as a result. He did land a job in 1985 as editor of the newly launched Workout Magazine, however when that failed and that same year his father died, Mentzer reportedly suffered a mental breakdown. According to Peter McGough, editor-in-chief of FLEX Magazine, stories began to surface of Menzter exhibiting some very erratic behaviour. Stories of him running naked through the streets, directing traffic, telling prophecies about the end of the world, being arrested by the police numerous times and even waiting for aliens to land were all published in magazines at one point or another. Popular bodybuilding writer Dan Duchaine even suggested that Menzter was drinking his own urine at the time. Mike denied this in a 2001 interview with Iron Man magazine. Nonetheless, according to McGough some of these stories are true.[1] Menzter was also regularly institutionalized between 1985 up until 1990, when he finally kicked his amphetamine habit. Drug free, Mike returned to training bodybuilders and writing for Ironman Magazine, and spent much of the 1990s regaining his stature in the bodybuilding industry.
Mentzer died on June 9 2001. He was found dead in his apartment by his younger brother and fellow bodybuilder Ray Mentzer due to heart complications. Mentzer was reportedly a heavy user of methamphetamine for about a decade, and this was thought of as a contributing factor in his death. Tragically just two days later, his brother Ray also died in his sleep after complications from his long term battle with Berger's disease.
See also
List of professional bodybuilders