“Erroneous, Illogical, Nonproductive”: Mike Mentzer Once Slammed Critics Hating on His Signature Training Method

As much as he preached about high-intensity training, Mike Mentzer was equally proud of his innovation. And rightfully so, since he is responsible for a wave of change in the way bodybuilders choose to train. High-intensity training focuses on exerting more force until one reaches peak levels of intensity.

In an old lecture, Mentzer once explained the difference between his approach and the norm: ‘More is better’. While he drew on the differences, he also used logical reasoning to explain how high-intensity training worked. Along with that, the icon also dismissed the go-to training technique of following a set number of repetitions to grow muscles.

When a bodybuilder sets out on their fitness journey, one of the main goals is muscle growth. The regular approach to it would have been isolating a certain set of exercises and repetitions and religiously following them while gradually increasing volume. However, Mentzer was against this practice for the sole reason that it didn’t make sense.

“There’s a build-in guarantee. If 20 sets are good, i.e., yields satisfactory results, then 40 sets would be even better, and 80 better still, and 120 sets better still, and so on into infinity. And that’s where we find ourselves. There it is the obvious tenuity.”

With this, the late bodybuilder slammed the entire notion of ‘more is better’. The truth is, there is no limit to the ‘more,’ and therefore, it doesn’t take into account muscle failure or injury.

“The monumental absurdity of the volume argument, all wrapped up in a singular childlike notion that more is better, is erroneous, illogical, nonproductive, and even counterproductive.”

So how does high-intensity training play a part in muscle growth? Mentzer explained with a simple example of a person curling a 100-pound barbell with 10 reps. The first rep was not going to demand a lot of force or strength. However, the last rep would require 100% intensity and strength. It is therefore necessary to challenge yourself and your body to utilize all the strength so it is forced to grow.

Mike Mentzer even made bold claims about his proposed method

In a similar interview setting, Mentzer once described the high-intensity method as the ‘One and Only Scientifically Valid Approach’. This was because of the sheer volume of research and logic that went into devising the technique.

The idea behind the HIT method was not only the intensity of the exercise performed but also the time taken to perform it in its entirety. Since increased intensity meant that the subject reached an optimum level of muscle fatigue quickly, it reduced the time taken to train. Mentzer was a pioneer for various reasons, but the face of bodybuilding truly transformed with his principles and ideas.