Mike Mentzer’s training concepts work for many bodybuilders. Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates trained in that style…
Again, you must account for genetics and drugs. You may want to train close to the Heavy Duty high-intensity style as I do because of a few variables…
Time. Most of us don’t want to spend hours in the gym; it’s not worth it if we aren’t competitive bodybuilders. As my friend and elite trainer Vince McConnell calls it: sustainability—you need to train in a way that will keep you consistent without dreading your workouts or you’ll quit.
Age. Older trainees will need lower volume in order to repair and recover before their next workout. It’s the inevitable nature of geezer bodybuilding. You can experiment with a bit more volume than in the Old Man, Young Muscle workout, but if you feel drained, cut back.
Lifting experience. The longer you’ve been lifting consistently, the more developed your nervous system and mind-to-muscle connection. That means you can generate more intensity—and more damage—with each individual set.
If you’re under 45—or don’t have a lot of experience in the gym, you may want to train with more sets and exercises. You won’t know the effects until you try.
But again, you want to be able to sustain your style of training to keep gaining—at least for four to six weeks. Make sure it’s compatible with your mindset and time contraints….
At week 6 or 7, you should use a low-intensity downshift week. That will allow your body to repair, regroup, and grow if you’re near peak-stress accumulation, a.k.a. overtraining. You’ll also rekindle your motivation, stoking your hunger for another round of intense workouts.
To be honest, a downshift week is one of the harder things to do. Most bodybuilders are terrified of losing even an ounce of muscle; however, studies show that seven to 10 days of no training does not cause a loss of muscle mass.
Even so, if you lean toward OCD as I do, a downshift week is harder than choking down a large glass of Bob Hoffman’s Protein from the Sea (older bodybuilders will remember that nasty stuff).
Schedule that week. Write it on your calendar—and keep in mind that you may grow more during your downshift week than you did in the previous month of hard training. It’s happened to me.
Note: There is a Mentzer-based pre-ex high-intensity workout in Old Man, Young Muscle, Chapter 9, pages 71-72.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For complete mass workouts that include Speed Sets, the ideal exercise for each muscle, and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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