“If You Do Anything for 4 Hours a Day…”: Mike Mentzer Once Revealed How Lifting Weights Is Not the Only Possible Way to Get Ripped

If there was one person who knew every single detail of high-intensity bodybuilding, it was none other than Mike Mentzer. Among many veterans who contributed to the sport, it was the iconic bodybuilder who introduced change. The pioneer of High-Intensity Training and intense workout routines was much adored in his time and even now.

His teachings live on as a legacy, and he ensured to impart all his learnings before leaving the world. Mentzer, who endorsed HIT, diet routines, and muscle growth, introduced a theory on achieving a ripped physique. In a lecture that recently resurfaced, Mentzer details that lifting weights isn’t the only potential method for getting ripped.

In the video, he began by giving the example of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold was a powerlifter in Austria. He had just about as much muscle mass when he came to America as he had in Germany. Menzter says the reason for this was because Arnold was successful in getting “rid of all the baby fats.” And this was possible only through a sheer dent of dedication and physical activities.

He further mentioned that if anyone does any sort of activity for a couple of hours a day on a reduced diet, they will eventually get ripped. “You don’t have to lift weights to get ripped.”

“If you do anything for 4 hours a day on a reduced-calorie diet, chopping down trees, jumping up and down—you’re going to get ripped.” 

In addition, Menzter said that he has come across ripped athletes who have never lifted weights. This is because of their high metabolic rates and reduced food intake. Those athletes never carried any subcutaneous fat, which gave the impression that they were ripped. With this in mind, if anyone wants to lose body fat, Mentzer has the ultimate hack for it.

Mike Mentzer disclosed the ultimate hack to lose body fat

Menzter, during his time, always stuck to a proper routine when it came to diet and workout. However, Menzter’s main aim was to plan a wholesome diet for people who train intensively. In an old video of the icon, he discussed a cluster of theories around HIT. The major concern was a person’s food intake while performing intense workouts.

Mentzer has always encouraged body fat loss while balancing other macro-nutrients. A well-balanced diet includes elements like proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and more. However, a common factor that may be present among all of these is calories.

“A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, no matter what the source. To lose fat, you must reduce your intake below your daily maintenance need of calories.”

Therefore, the late bodybuilder invented a unique yet simple way to encourage calorie reduction. Hence, Mentzer also recommended his fellow enthusiasts maintain a journal dedicated to monitoring their calories and nutritional habits, along with multiple workout routines.