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Bodybuilder Mike Mentzer’s Workout Routine And Diet Plan
It's a known fact that professional bodybuilders like Mike Mentzer's workout routine and diet can be pretty intense. Scroll to find what it actually involves.
Mike Mentzer's workout routine has influenced a lot of bodybuilders. His physique was living proof that High-Intensity Training (HIT) yields impressive results. He started bodybuilding at the young age of 11 and won the Mr. Lancaster contest in 1971. Although he passed away at the age of 49, his bodybuilding workouts continue to impact countless individuals worldwide each year. His training courses offer a range of motions that can be found in books and magazines. They gained massive popularity after he achieved a perfect 300 score in the Mr. Universe contest, which is a remarkable accomplishment for a bodybuilder. What's even more fascinating is that he challenged various training principles and norms of both dieting and workout. Scroll to take a deeper look at his fitness philosophy that shaped his remarkable physique.
Who Is Mike Mentzer?
Mike Mentzer is a professional bodybuilder from the USA. He began his journey at just 11 years old after being inspired by muscle magazines. He started working out three times a week with a weight set and a training guide. By 15, he weighed 165 lb and could bench press 370 lb. At that age, his aim was to resemble his idol, Bill Pearl.
After several years of training and an amateur bodybuilding career, he served in the Air Force for 4 years. Later he became a professional bodybuilder and won his first Mr. Universe (Mexico) in 1978 and Mr. Olympia in 1979 (heavyweight division) with perfect 300 scores. But he lost the overall in 1979 and was placed behind Frank Zane, Chris Dickerson, and Arnold.
Profile & Stats
- Real name: Michael John Mentzer
- Place of birth: Philadelphia, U.S.
- Date of birth: November 15, 1951
- Died: June 10, 2001 (age 49)
- Height: 5 feet 7 inches (173 cm)
- Weight: 225 pounds (102 kg)
What Is Mike Mentzer's Workout Routine?
During his time in the United States Air Force, Mike Mentzer had long shifts and followed traditional lengthy workouts. He met Casey Viator, a bodybuilding contest winner, who practiced a high-intensity training routine with short sessions using Nautilus machines like pec deck. This training philosophy intrigued Mentzer and he explored it further.
Arthur Jones pioneered high-intensity training, emphasizing proper form, controlled movements, and muscle exhaustion. Mentzer modified this approach over the years, reducing working sets per body part and increasing rest. He thus introduced his 'Mike Mentzer’s Ideal Routine' with fewer sets and emphasized recovery. He believed intensity, not duration, led to constant muscle growth (1).
Mentzer's muscle-building principles revolve around 7 key aspects:
- Identity
- Intensity
- Specificity
- Adaptation
- Duration
- Frequency
- Progression
In essence, it's crucial to comprehend your body's physiology and anatomy before commencing workouts. Engaging in exercises longer than necessary is counterproductive and potentially harmful (2). Thus gradually increasing effort as you advance, combined with sufficient rest for recovery, is essential. The emphasis also lies in performing fewer intense sets and steering clear of high-volume training to prevent overtraining and muscle loss.
Mentzer's approach challenged the notion that more exercise is always better.
Mike Mentzer’s Heavy-Duty Workout Routine
Mike Mentzer made a strong impact on bodybuilding, much like his contemporary Arnold Schwarzenegger. He introduced his distinctive Heavy Duty training method, which stood out from traditional routines. His strategy centered on shorter, intense sessions with heavy weights. The customary 20-rep sets were substituted in this workout session with sets of 6 to 9-rep range, and the weights were heavier. Here, you should perform that many reps until you reach absolute failure. Also, he believed that focusing on quality rather than quantity through High-Intensity Training (HIIT) led to the best outcomes by minimizing muscle damage (3).
Instead of hitting the gym multiple times a week, Mike Mentzer followed a 2-split routine for 4 days that mostly focused on his arms, shoulders, and leg density.
Mike Mentzer’s 4-day split:
- First split: Chest, legs, and biceps (2 days a week).
- Second split: Back, shoulders, and biceps (2 days a week).
Chest Workout Routine:
- Incline dumbbell flyes: 5 sets of 8 repetitions
- Flat dumbbell fly: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
- Bodyweight dips: 5 sets of 6 repetitions
- Incline barbell bench press: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
- Flat barbell bench press: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
Mike Mentzer’s Back Workout:
- Straight arm pulldown: 5 sets of 5-8 repetitions
- Barbell bent-over row: 5 sets of 5 repetitions
- Close grip cable pulldown: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Standing barbell shrug: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Barbell upright row: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
Mike Mentzer’s Shoulder Workout:
- Bent over dumbbell raise: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Seated machine press: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
- Dumbbell side lateral raise: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Front barbell raises: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Behind the overhead neck press: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
Leg Workout Routine:
- Single leg extension: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Single leg hamstring curl: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Leg press: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
- Standing calf raise: 5 sets of 10-15 reps
- Barbell squats: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
- Walking dumbbell lunges: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Mike Mentzer’s Arm Workout:
- Supinated chin-up: 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions
- Bodyweight dips: 5 sets of 10 repetitions
- Standing dumbbell curl: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Barbell preacher curl: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Cable triceps pushdowns: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
- Overhead cable triceps extension: 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Mike Mentzer’s Consolidation Workout
In his later years, Mike Mentzer's HIT program became even more intense to make the perfect form of HIT. He streamlined training and extended recovery time between workouts, thus condensing workouts to a minimum. He claimed impressive results, adding 50 pounds to a trainee in a few months using workouts as short as 2 to 4 minutes, with 4 to 7 days of recovery between.
Workout 1
- Deadlifts: 1 set of 5 to 8 reps
- Dips: 1 set of 6 to 10 reps
Workout 2
- Squats: 1 set of 8 to 15 reps
- Lat Pulldowns: 1 set of 6 to 10 reps
The advantages are clear - enhanced recovery with ample rest time. Simplified workouts enable more focus and energy on exercises, effectively utilizing compound exercises like deadlifts, dips, and squats.
However, the downside is that specific muscle groups might not receive enough direct attention. The limited volume of the consolidated workout is a drawback, and some struggle to generate the needed intensity in a single set. Research indicates that multiple sets are superior for muscle gains compared to single sets, which are better for maintenance than significant gains (4). Despite this, the consolidated approach yielded positive results for some of Mike's clients.
Mike Mentzer’s Slow And Steady Training Method
Mike Mentzer's approach to training involved focusing on slow reps and suggested his clients use a rep speed of 4 seconds up and down to complete each repetition. According to him, slow reps were important to maximize the intensity of a workout and reduce the risk of putting a lot of stress on the body. Moreover, when following the slow and steady training method, he insisted everyone maintain control over the weights and avoid giving any jerks to the body.
Mike Mentzer’s Ideologies on Pre-exhausting the Big Muscles
Mike Mentzer workout routine included pre-exhausting the biggest muscles to reap all the benefits of a workout. In this training method, isolation exercises are used to fatigue a specific muscle group before a trainee moves on to another compound movement.
Mike Mentzer’s Diet Plan
Even though Mike Mentzer's workout routine was strict, his approach to diet was quite different. He wasn't overly focused on his kitchen choices compared to his intense HIT philosophy. He didn't completely avoid paying attention to his diet, but he didn't limit carbs like many other bodybuilders of his time.
Mentzer believed that carbs should be the main source of calories, around 50–60%, unlike the protein-centric approach of others (5). His logic was simple: to gain 10 pounds of muscle in a year, 6000 extra calories were necessary, as a pound of muscle requires 600 calories. That averages to just 16 more calories per day, with only four from protein, since muscle is about 22% protein.
He didn't advocate the typical high-carb strategy. Instead, he recommended four servings of quality grains and fruit, along with two portions of dairy and protein.
Mentzer's muscle-building foods include:
- Oatmeal & whole grains: Complex carbs for energy and satiety.
- Eggs: Convenient protein source.
- Chicken breast: Lean protein for various dishes.
- Fish (salmon and tuna): Omega-3 fatty acids for health benefits.
- Fruits: He liked apples, oranges, strawberries, apricots, grapes, blueberries, and bananas.
- Lentils: Fiber-rich legumes for fullness and digestion.
- Vegetables: He loves green salad with broccoli, green beans, spinach, zucchini squash, and onions.
- Juice: Orange and grape juice combined with a protein shake.
- Plus, options like bread, granola, poultry, low-fat milk, and ample water intake.
Despite differing from common ideas, this approach seemed effective for him. While his diet was balanced overall, he emphasized hitting calorie goals more than tracking macros. He recommended keeping a food diary, especially for beginners, to refine their diet plans.
Mentzer also had his version of intelligent cheating. He enjoyed an extra meal once a week with whatever he wanted, like pizza or ice cream. Even though he indulged, he kept his calorie intake under 2000.
Mike Mentzer & Steroids
Mike Mentzer came from a time in bodybuilding when using steroids was considered normal, and he openly acknowledged using them. An old interview resurfaced where he talked about steroids, showing his knowledge of the topic. He mentioned that steroids were prevalent among competitors and discussed their effects. He also debunked myths about steroids causing infertility and roid rage (6). He tried to educate people on the real risks.
Looking beyond steroids, let's explore some better supplement options for modern-day bodybuilders.
- Whey protein - It is great for building muscles and has important elements that are easy to take (7).
- Creatine - It is safe and boosts energy during intense workouts. Using it improves muscle strength and performance (8).
- Branched-chain amino acids - BCAA support muscle growth and are found in many protein-source foods. Their benefit as supplements isn't much if you already get enough protein from your balanced diet (9).
- Beta-alanine - It enhances exercise performance. It might also help build muscle mass, but more research is required. Most of these supplements aid muscle recovery too (10).
Conclusion
Mike Mentzer's workout routine emphasizes short but intense exercises. He believed in high-intensity training with heavier weights, requiring ample recovery time for steady muscle development. While this might not suit everyone, especially beginners, it highlights the potential of pushing boundaries in workouts and recovery. Many fall into the 'more is better' trap, especially when quick gains happen. But for long-term growth and avoiding plateaus, a balanced blend of suitable workouts, proper nutrition, and a fitting lifestyle is essential.
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