Mike Mentzer grew to be one of the most iconic bodybuilders in history. He shone brightly as a participant in championships and as a mentor, with some groundbreaking ideas that changed the course of fitness training. He pioneered the high-intensity training technique that even modern-day bodybuilders swear by for muscle growth.
In a resurfaced video, Mentzer spoke about the key to optimum muscle growth. This process was very different from getting a pump. While many bodybuilders tend to fixate on pumping up their muscles, the late bodybuilder explained the difference between the two phenomena.
Mentzer simplified the difference with logic. Had getting a pump been a sure-shot technique to getting growth, senior bodybuilders in the industry would’ve naturally grown 22-inch biceps or bigger. But that wasn’t the case.
“The pump is only temporary. The pump is nothing more than the mechanical pumping of the blood and fluids into the muscle.”
Instead, a good pump offers temporary growth. It does aid in blood flow to the muscles, hence the perception of an increase in size. However, it fades away just as quickly. So, what does Mentzer recommend for long-term muscle growth?
“There’s something that goes on neuromuscular-ly on the last rep of a set carried to failure, which is very special. There’s something that goes on physiologically once again in that particular phenomena that is responsible for flipping on that growth machinery inside the muscle cell.”
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Once again, Mentzer stands by his theory that the last rep of the set does more work for muscle growth than any other activity. His philosophy on training till failure incorporates this idea and builds on the principle that more intensity, less time taken to train, and going to failure towards the end is the formula for growth.
Mike Mentzer elaborates on how the last rep works
Painting a picture of the situation, Mentzer explains with an example of a bodybuilder who has a set of 10 reps to curl a heavyweight. Something to keep in mind is to work with weights that one’s body is used to exercising with. The first rep vs. the last rep is always going to be poles apart in feeling.
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Tying it up with muscle growth, Mentzer reveals that in such sets, the first rep is always going to be easy, manageable, and impressive to look at. But it won’t contribute to muscle growth. However, the final rep of the set is where one struggles, puts their full force, and makes the body part work hard to achieve the goal. That enables the muscle to grow. This is why Mentzer’s ideas and principles are still relevant in the current day and age for fitness enthusiasts to practice more optimally.
