Throughout the history of bodybuilding and fitness, many forms of workout have been classified as fat-loss techniques. However, Mike Mentzer once clarified the same about cardiovascular exercises. Fat loss involves the loss of calories. Therefore, the veteran focused on that.
In a resurfaced interview, Mentzer talked about the link between cardio and fat loss and how one could approach the goal. The interviewer asked the bodybuilder if cardio contributes in any form to assist weight loss. To this, he shook his head, no, and explained why performing cardiovascular exercises didn’t affect body fat.
An individual could consume calories through any kind of food, be it fats, protein, or carbs. Therefore, Mentzer’s philosophy surrounding dietary practices for bodybuilding has always been that a calorie is a calorie. It didn’t matter where it came from, but once consumed, it contributed to body weight.
However, cardio wouldn’t be much use when the consumption of calories didn’t change. Controlling one’s weight depended more on balancing the intake of calories and the intensity and amount of exercise done to burn it off.
“You could do two hours a day of aerobics and if you’re eating too many calories, still be getting fat.”
However, there was a way to build muscles, grow in size, increase conditioning, and still reap the benefits equivalent to a cardio workout. Mentzer recommends strength training for this purpose. Provided that you do not rest in between sets for too long, it acts as a cardiovascular workout.
“If you’re not resting too long between sets and you’re sustaining… age adjusted pulse rate uh, you will develop a cardiovascular training effect and improve your heart and lungs along with your skeletal muscle tissue.”
Diet and nutrition were some of the important subjects that Mentzer used to focus on, apart from his heavy-duty training techniques. He once even gave an ideal distribution of elements of food, such that one could easily calculate calories and achieve optimum gains.
Mike Mentzer devised an efficient fat-loss system as a diet plan
Exercise wasn’t the only way one could lose fat. It has to be combined with a diet plan that works together with the workout. Mentzer once revealed a distribution between protein, carbs, and fats in one’s meal plan.
To start things off, Mentzer suggested maintaining a journal dedicated to one’s nutritional habits. This would contain a record of every caloric intake, and the average per week would give the fitness enthusiast a better picture of their weight loss journey. Diving into the specifics, he revealed that an individual must consume a well-balanced meal containing 60% carbohydrates, 25% proteins, and 15% fats. If one combines this with his heavy-duty training plan, it ensures the best results one can physically achieve.
