When we think of high-intensity training, Mike Mentzer is always the one bodybuilding legend that comes to mind. He pioneered the technique for getting bigger and stronger – two of the many important goals of bodybuilding. Yet, one might wonder if the routine came with its own set of drawbacks.
Mentzer gained the knowledge of training and developed his style of high-intensity routine, courtesy of his mentor and good friend Arthur Jones. Apart from inventing the popular Nautilus machine, Jones sincerely believed that the technique was a scientific answer to all bodybuilding questions.
Yet, one cannot deny the sheer amount of stress and power required to get through a single session of the style. While high intensity calls for mostly single-set exercises, it demands the athlete to push to their capacity and beyond, leading to muscle failure.
In a resurfaced video posted by Heavy Duty College, Mentzer’s words resonated as an audio clip, along with footage of him working out. Speaking about his thoughts on high-intensity training, Mentzer remarked.
“We know with absolute certainty that high-intensity of effort is a requirement for building size and strength…”
However, this form of training also leads to sapping out one’s energy, thus demanding more time for recovery. Mentzer continued, comparing how the time taken to train and the volume of sets determine the amount of energy reserves consumed. However, since high intensity focuses on less time spent in the gym, it will only consume a minimum amount.
“Since a high-intensity routine must be brief, it will deplete a minimum of the body’s reserves…the less time you spend engaged in training, the less reserves or resources you use up.”
Therefore, high-intensity training was a superior form of bodybuilding routine according to Mentzer. Eventually, he coined his own term for his style of training, borrowing principles from his older form and adding to that more recovery time. This led him to make an incredible discovery.
Mike Mentzer found out how recovery was responsible for muscle growth
Being ardent followers of Jones’ high-intensity training routine, both Mike and his brother Ray Mentzer never intended to deter from the path charted out to them by their mentor. But one day, when fatigue got the best of them, they decided to sit it out for a while till they felt strong enough to exert the same amount of intensity again.
That’s when Mike observed a change in their build and strength when two days of rest made a huge difference. Eventually, he tweaked their workout plan to include four days of rest between a nine to ten-day split. This gave them the optimum amount of recovery period to grow in size and power.
