Freak-Physique Factoid: While riding on public transportation, Mike Mentzer always carried a dumbbell to work his delts (tank top by Arrogant Activewear).
As you can see, back in the 1970s, Mentzer’s grainy thickness was jaw dropping,
While he never won the overall Mr. Olympia, he did place second to Frank Zane in his first attempt in 1979. The following year he placed fifth as Arnold made his stunning comeback in Australia.…
Mentzer prematurely retired from bodybuilding after the ’80 Olympia—mostly because he was so pissed that Arnold won in less-than-stellar condition. Mr. Heavy Duty’s anger lasted for years after, but he eventually pulled out of it and got his high-intensity training business back on the fast track.
Unfortunately, he died in 2001 of a heart condition at the age of 49. But his training methods live on…
Mentzer considered himself a student of scientific hypertrophy protocols, and his brief, intense workouts quickly stimulated growth in multiple muscle-fiber types. When he was training for the ’80 Mr. Olympia, he used a modified Pre-Ex method.
For example, for chest he did a higher-rep set of Nautilus flyes (isolation), rested only briefly, then did a heavy lower-rep set of Nautilus decline presses.
Yep, one set of each exercise only—higher-rep isolation followed by lower-rep compound, both with slow, controlled repetitions to failure. Did it work? Check out this gym shot of him in his prime…
So Mentzer was essentially doing progressive muscle-fiber loading, a higher-rep slow-twitch set followed by a lower-rep fast-twitch one—STX as outlined in the new ebook; see the bottom of this newsletter.
That type of scientific-minded detail is one reason Mentzer’s workouts were short—less than an hour.
Like Mentzer, we strive for precise, efficient hypertrophy stimulation. It’s why our workouts are only 35-minutes three days a week, alternating upper-body and lower-body sessions (see the ebook below)…
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
3 Workouts a Week, 35 Minutes Each for Jacked Mass
The Efficient, Safe Way to Grow
No Matter What Your Age
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