The high-intensity training program has been a fan favorite for many, and Mike Mentzer carries the credit for that. Pioneering the innovation and theory behind this bodybuilding training method, the late icon introduced the method as a sure-shot medium to guarantee muscle growth. While he did face critics who didn’t believe in his theories, Mentzer stood his ground and championed his techniques as one of the most efficient ones.
In a resurfaced interview with T.C. Luoma, Mentzer spoke about a surprising connection between his method and strength training. Heavy-duty training is meant to increase the size of muscles, thus inducing hypertrophy. However, the late veteran admitted that it was also responsible for increasing strength.
With a simple example, Mentzer explained how heavy-duty training worked both to increase strength and gain muscle. Take a person suffering from a fracture on their hand. After having the arm inside of a cast for weeks, muscles go through atrophy and shrink. That’s when a physiotherapist comes in and helps build strength and muscles using the same heavy-duty training principles.
“If you want to get bigger, you got to get stronger. Yes, heavy-duty training is essentially a strength training program, but you cannot get bigger without getting stronger.”
Atrophy in muscles indicates weakness, whereas hypertrophy indicates strength. And the strengthening of muscles induces growth. In countless theories and live examples, Mentzer has explained this phenomenon using the relationship between reps and the amount of force they need.
In simple terms, a set of 10 reps of dumbbell curls requires various levels of force from one’s muscles. The first rep is always going to be easy, and therefore, it won’t stimulate the muscle growth system of the physique. However, the last rep of the set demands that one push beyond their perceived limits. At that point, a person pushes till the muscle fails. That induces growth.
But all of this begs the question: What exactly in an entire workout session is directly responsible for muscle growth? Mentzer made quite bold remarks about this.
Mike Mentzer once slammed a misconception about muscle growth
The idea of muscle growth takes us to the image of a fitness enthusiast sweating it out in the gym. However, the late bodybuilder debunked all of this, claiming that the workout in itself did not induce growth. Even the most intense sets would not directly contribute to growth. What they did, though, was start the system of muscle growth.
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The actual hypertrophy process kicked in when the body was in a stage of recovery. The greater the intensity of the exercise, the more rest it requires. Ample recovery time ensured that the muscles grew in size. However, Mentzer warned that if, at any given stage, the growth was hindered or muscles suffered from fatigue injury, the body wasn’t given adequate time to recover. The late bodybuilding veteran was ahead of his time with his ideas and theories. That’s why bodybuilders look up to his methods as a guaranteed road to success.
