What Do Ya'll Think About Mike Metzer Workout Routine?

[Grizzly]

You've got to to be fucking kidding me. 'Sub-par physique'? He's the only person ever to get a perfect score at the Olympia. Oh, but he was so popular among the bodybuilding elite...that must explain it. And again, to spout complete shit about a subject about which you know nothing does not speak well to your critical faculties. Have you tried Mentzer's workouts? If not, your opinion is less than worthless. I'm not going to say either way, as I've never used them himself. I find his obsession with Ayn Rand and pseudo-philosophical conceits tiring but I think there's a great deal of worth in what he says.

No, I'm not kidding at all. I don't think his physique was that great. I can think of atleast ten bodybuilders who I think had a much, much, much better physique. Really, I can think of a lot more, but I'm just thinking of the ones who blow him away.

It's not that I know nothing about the subject at all. I've read some of his stuff. Nothing earth shattering if you ask me. I haven't tried a lot of people's workouts. It's basically because I know what works for me and why fix something when it's not broken. I don't see how that would disqualify my opinions. You are a HIT trainer. So, most likely, you're not going to try German High Volume training. Would that be because you don't think high volume is any good and, therefore, you would consider it a less than efficient training method compared to HIT? That's pretty much how I've come to these conclusions about Mentzer.

Actually, I kind of like the fact that he likes Ayn Rand. She's one of my favorites. My two favorite books are the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. To me, that's the one redeeming quality that Mentzer had.

 

[mattcanning99]

HIT depends on a few things, for one your body type, as well as your training experience. not all beginners, for example, will be able to push themselves to the intensity levels necessary to succeed at hit training. and you may find that if you are not naturally mesomorphic and able to readily build muscle mass, that HIT may not work as well for you as some of the more well known pros to use it...both mike mentzer and dorian yates were classic mesomorphs, and HIT worked incredibly well to help them make gains.

i personally use HIT principles to shock my muscles into new growth. they are not part of my regular routine, which is just your regular, conventional 6 - 12 rep bodybuilding.

my advice to you would be to try out HIT for a bit, maybe about a month, and ask yourself if you like the results, if you do, keep training with HIT until you can no longer get results from it, then switch things up. it might work really well for you, it might not, the best thing to do is get some experience with it and decide from yourself. everyone is different, so there is no set answer to the effectiveness of HIT.

 

[DaCypher]

Do you use enough weight where you can only get four reps or so? Also how many different exercises do you do per body part? And thanks for replying.

Well, I did some research on HIT style training (mainly from cyberpump.com) and came up with a routine I thought would be appropriate. From there I continue to tweak it as my body adapts and as I figure out what I find more effective. I would recommend you try something similar, don't just follow a program blindly because it worked for someone else, everybody is different.

Anyways, to answer your questions:

I keep my weight adjusted so I reach concentric failure within the 5-8 rep range. This isn't necessarily true for all exercises, however. For squats and deads I like to do a bit more reps (sometimes up to 10) and I don't always take these exercises to failure for safety reasons.

I do approximately 4 exercises for larger muscle groups (chest, back, legs), and maybe only 2 exercises for bis/tris.

Some of my preferences aren't true HIT style, but so far this is what I have found works well for me. Remember, try out different routines and see what works for you. Good luck bro...

 

[USMC_Devildog]

You've got to to be fucking kidding me. 'Sub-par physique'? He's the only person ever to get a perfect score at the Olympia.

Not the Mr. Olympia contest, the Mr. Universe contest. I know what you're thinkin', "yeah huge difference.....(sarcasm)" but it is a difference. Don't get the Mr. Universe title mixed up with the Mr. Olympia title. He never won the Mr. Olympia title, he was only good enough to win the Mr. Universe. A perfect score in the Mr. Universe contest is a huge achievement.

 

[Blood&Iron]

You've got to to be fucking kidding me. 'Sub-par physique'? He's the only person ever to get a perfect score at the Olympia.

Not the Mr. Olympia contest, the Mr. Universe contest. I know what you're thinkin', "yeah huge difference.....(sarcasm)" but it is a difference. Don't get the Mr. Universe title mixed up with the Mr. Olympia title. He never won the Mr. Olympia title, he was only good enough to win the Mr. Universe. A perfect score in the Mr. Universe contest is a huge achievement.

He also had a perfect score in the 79 Olympia--for his weight class--but lost to Zane who won the under 200lb class. The score sheets are in Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding.

 

[Blood&Iron]

No, I'm not kidding at all. I don't think his physique was that great. I can think of atleast ten bodybuilders who I think had a much, much, much better physique. Really, I can think of a lot more, but I'm just thinking of the ones who blow him away.

Okay, fine, this is your opinion. His physique has never been my favorite. But 'sub-par'? That's ludicrous.

It's not that I know nothing about the subject at all. I've read some of his stuff. Nothing earth shattering if you ask me. I haven't tried a lot of people's workouts. It's basically because I know what works for me and why fix something when it's not broken.

And because something works for you, it MUST therefore work for everyone, and additionally, it must therefore be ideal. Quite shoddy reasoning in my opinion. How do you know Heavy Duty wouldn't produce even better results? That's like saying "Well, I've been digging this hole with my hands, and it seems to be working fine. I don't trust that shovel of yours."(Try to ignore the qualitative aspect of this analogy, as I don't konw that HD will work better than your current approach. Until you try it, however, you won't know either.)

I don't see how that would disqualify my opinions. You are a HIT trainer.

Uhh, I thought I established in my rather long-winded post that I'm not anymore. Low-volume? Yes. HIT? Kinda, but not really.

So, most likely, you're not going to try German High Volume training.

Actually, as I've written previously, I plan to give GVT a try, and I certainly won't make any pronouncements that "GVT is shit" before doing so. And even if it doesn't work for me I will limit my comments to "GVT didn't work for me but if you want give it a try."

Would that be because you don't think high volume is any good and, therefore, you would consider it a less than efficient training method compared to HIT? That's pretty much how I've come to these conclusions about Mentzer.

Yes, I do think HIT is more efficient than almost any other type of training. More effective? Maybe. Maybe not. For some, HIT is less than ideal, but of all schools of lifting I think it is the closest to being universally applicable.

Actually, I kind of like the fact that he likes Ayn Rand. She's one of my favorites. My two favorite books are the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. To me, that's the one redeeming quality that Mentzer had.

I find it tiresome. It's his greatest flaw(Well, actually his complete dogmatism is his greatest flaw, but it's his next greatest flaw...)

 

[Blood&Iron]

That seems like he may have lied just a tad. It's highly unlikely that he/those of the time only used d-bol while skipping such wonderful additions such as a good oil based testosterone.

Yes, he admitted to using small amounts of injectables as well. But again, nothing like pros today.

 

[Grizzly]

Okay, fine, this is your opinion. His physique has never been my favorite. But 'sub-par'? That's ludicrous.


And because something works for you, it MUST therefore work for everyone, and additionally, it must therefore be ideal. Quite shoddy reasoning in my opinion. How do you know Heavy Duty wouldn't produce even better results? That's like saying "Well, I've been digging this hole with my hands, and it seems to be working fine. I don't trust that shovel of yours."(Try to ignore the qualitative aspect of this analogy, as I don't konw that HD will work better than your current approach. Until you try it, however, you won't know either.)

Well, it's like this. I figure that you've got outstanding and blah. Perfect and shit. The best and not worth anything. I think it has something to do with my perfectionism or my desire to dominate and be the best. I just figure that if something isn't the greatest then it isn't anything. Just my take on the matter.

The reason that I answered the way I did is because he fucking asked, alright? He said "If you think it sux then say so." So, I did. Get off of my fucking back! I wasn't even going to reply to the thread because I knew no one wanted to hear what I think about it, but then he begged for some answers so I did. Nor did I ever imply that my methods are the greatest for everyone. Actually, I couldn't give a fuck as to what works for you or him or her because I really only care about developing my own body. I'll tell someone what I think is best but I don't care if they use it or not.

Just out of curiousity answer me this question. If you were using a workout system that produced consistent gains all the year round, would you try something else in the hopes that maybe it might be better? I wouldn't. That's why I won't. Ok, let me amend that. If I thought that it made a lot of sense then I would try it. But, that's not what I think about Mentzer's crap. So, then, why the fuck would I try it? Why would I waste a month of time trying something new and possibly not growing any when I could continue doing what I know to work and make some gains? That could be a month that has been completely lost. Not my cup of tea at all.

 

[Grizzly]

Yes, he admitted to using small amounts of injectables as well. But again, nothing like pros today.

Hey, I've heard that Lee Priest only uses primo and anavar with a little d-bol here and there. This is what he's told people. Highly doubtful. I guarantee that Mentzer didn't use nearly as many drugs, but he probably downplayed what he did just a little bit. No one wants to hear "You only look like that because you use a ton of drugs." So, you admit to using a tiny bit and then you can say "Sure, I use, but not that much." I'd say that to get an accurate picture one should probably double whatever it is that he said he used. 15mgs/day of d-bol my ass!

 

[transplant]

He had a great body!

Did you see his video he made, days before he died?
It starts off with a some brief posing of mentzer.................he had a fucking outstanding body for that era! Video is great.....will explain any questions you could have about Heavy Duty!
He methods are great, but you must apply them to your own body! He states this in his book! If his idea or way of training sucks so bad................how about Dorian Yates!
You use Heavy Duty as a base and adjust to your own bodytype.
I am 5'8 and 220 ........ without touching juice! I have recently start a cycle though! So.............it does work! I graduated high school at 5'8 and 132 lbs......and now a few year later, I am amost 90 lbs heavier!
Good luck, Curling!
P.S. You can get the video at www.dpsnutrition.com