Although Mike Mentzer lived a tragically short life, he inspired several bodybuilders on their fitness journey. With his signature heavy-duty methods, he made sure to put logic and science into building an ideal physique. He did all of this while enrolling in a pre-med course.
In a resurfaced interview, Mentzer admitted his true feelings on the sport of bodybuilding, its growth amongst various communities, and how he managed to balance competitions and studies simultaneously. Since he had been attending the University of Maryland as a pre-med student in 1975, he walked the rope between academics and his passion.
However, his subjects of studies weren’t too far from what he did for a living. Mentzer studied genetics and physical and organic chemistry, and those topics would often tie up with bodybuilding. Speaking about how prolific the sport had been amongst various fitness enthusiasts, he believed in a successful future for himself and the sport.
“This is the third pro show of this year, and there are seven more slated. That’s a big improvement since 1975, when Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Olympia. That year, there was only one pro show, with a total of $1,000 cash prize.”
Meanwhile, although his studies played a significant role in shaping his ideologies, Mentzer’s USP was his heavy-duty training method. Inspired by Arthur Jones’ high-intensity training technique, he interspersed intense workout sessions with extended periods of rest. This routine helped him balance both studies and work.
“With my training methods, which stress short brief intense workouts as opposed to the marathon type workouts…I can go to school get my training in three times a week and still get my studying done.”
Apart from this, Mentzer had also taken a brief hiatus from school for a year to pursue professional bodybuilding. His technique and break, combined with some earnings from competitions, helped him sustain. Eventually, the late legend grew popular for his no-nonsense attitude.
Over the years, Mentzer made many discoveries during workouts that enhanced his routine and mindset. One of the key discoveries he made while developing his style of training was how muscles grew and what factors they depended on.
Mike Mentzer linked recovery with muscle growth
Once, while performing a high-intensity set with his brother, Ray, Mike Mentzer realized that they eventually got too tired to train further. They couldn’t exercise with the intensity they originally set out with since they did not get enough rest.
After the duo decided to take a day or two to recover, Mentzer soon observed significant changes in their bodies. He saw muscle growth and linked it with the time taken to recover. That’s how the heavy-duty training method was born, where the late legend stressed the importance of taking breaks and keeping workouts short and intense.
