# H.I.T the mike mentzer way



## Scrappy (May 5, 2008)

hi i bought the book and have just finished reading it. He realy makes alot of sence, but i can get my head round of doing just 2 excercises and 1set to failure each. He also says rest is very vital, to avoid overtraining. He suggests to train 4 times in 20days. Just wondering if anyone has done his routine? Or made any adjustments but applyd the same principles. Thanx


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## Slamdog (Jun 11, 2007)

i have read the book too and it makes sense in a way. although i do try and go heavy i tend to stay 'safe' as i don't have a training partner and am normally in the lonely end of the gym...


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## brickhoused (Mar 12, 2008)

Used his theory so to speak with slight adjustments - i usually do to 1 warmup, then 1 all out set per exercise and usually2 or three exercises per muscle group and train day on day off hitting everything every 9-10 days.

What one must realise is that it takes alot of time to mentally be able tp approach training in this fashion as not every one can focus there all out efforts into the one set that counts, I trained high volume for years and apart from my first two years of training never really made any progress after reading mikes books and dorians i went on to use 1 working set per exercise but had no success, so i used 3 sets, then eventually 2 and now I am at the point where I can achieve all i need with the ones set past failure there for telling the muscle it needs to grow and resting very well afterwards.

Using this method is all about MAKING THE WORKOUT COUNT, DONT JUST GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS.


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## paulo (Feb 17, 2007)

same as above really -have that book and dorian yates a warriors story-based on same theme,abbreviated intense sessions and loads of rest,i believe it works ,you are fresh everytime and strong-as recovery is full. i do two warm ups and one working set-to failure,rest pause and negs sometimes (been sick a few times from it) so not for the faint hearted-occasionally do lighter maintenance sessions and regularly plan weeks with no training for recovery


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## willsey4 (Apr 21, 2008)

Ive tried it and no doubt it hurts like hell when your doing it but just didnt get on with it. I again did a simliar routine but did 1 normal set to 90% failure then next set was 100% to failure with drops in the set. You 100% need a training partner to do this though as not many exercises you can do it on your own!


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2009)

Just debating if to buy a signed copy of Heavy Duty 1 for $275 tbh i dont think i will its just too bloody steep!

Love MM works, i love to listen to his seminar when i am relaxing i find his manner to talking to inspire me. Would i follow his amphetamine ramblings in his final years as far as training goes? No fvcking chance but look at his earlier work and you will get tons of great info which can be taillered to your own body ext.

His words are wise yet extreem.


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## CONDOR (Apr 9, 2003)

I have the book but to be honest I never really understood it but like the odea and would love to give it a go.

Do anyone have a workout routine day by day that they could post and that I could give a go please?


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2009)

CONDOR said:


> I have the book but to be honest I never really understood it but like the odea and would love to give it a go.
> 
> Do anyone have a workout routine day by day that they could post and that I could give a go please?


 He outlines it in his book.

If your truly interested..... 



 its his whole seminar bit by bit, i am such a fan i bought it on dvd just to have it:rolleyes:


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## Galtonator (Jul 21, 2004)

I have 3 Mike Mentzer books and to me it make a lot of sense. My only issue was not having a trainer partner which you really need to got to failure. I also really like Dorians style of training which seem to work better. Its very demanding but i really works once you have your head into going to failure


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2009)

Galtonator said:


> I have 3 Mike Mentzer books and to me it make a lot of sense. My only issue was not having a trainer partner which you really need to got to failure. I also really like Dorians style of training which seem to work better. Its very demanding but i really works once you have your head into going to failure


 Which books? I only have two currently and his two dvds.


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## Galtonator (Jul 21, 2004)

heavy duty

heavy duty 2

high intensity training the Mike Mentzer way

The wisdom of Mike Mentzer

The last 2 i think were a joint effort by John Little

I have the training dvd and had the seminar downloaded but i have lost the seminar


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2009)

Galtonator said:


> heavy duty
> 
> heavy duty 2
> 
> ...


 Nice how do you rate the two heavy duties as i do not own them.

Seminar can be found on youtube.


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## Gooders (Jan 1, 2009)

paulo said:


> same as above really -have that book and dorian yates a warriors story-based on same theme,abbreviated intense sessions and loads of rest,i believe it works ,you are fresh everytime and strong-as recovery is full. i do two warm ups and one working set-to failure,rest pause and negs sometimes (been sick a few times from it) so not for the faint hearted-occasionally do lighter maintenance sessions and regularly plan weeks with no training for recovery


Ah man! I want that book so bad and it's like 100 quid + on amazon...

And to Scrappy, I train HIT and it rules. My routine is basically this:

Day 1: Push day (chest, shoulders, triceps

Day 2: Pull day (back, biceps)

Day 3: Leg day

We train 2 warm up sets with half the weight, and one working set to failure from around 6-10 for big moves (squat, deadlift, leg press) then one working set + one drop set with smaller moves (isolations and smaller compounds like bench)

We train hard and heavy and never for more than 45 mins, 4 moves for back, 3 for biceps on pull day... 3 for chest, 2 for shoulders, 3 for triceps on push day, then 5 for legs on legs day.

There is loads of different ways you can do HIT, and it is definitely a routine you can personalise yourself.

Why don't you post up your current routine or propsed HIT routine and we will have a look at it? Also feel free to PM me any questions :thumb:


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2009)

Gooders said:


> Ah man! I want that book so bad and it's like 100 quid + on amazon...
> 
> And to Scrappy, I train HIT and it rules. My routine is basically this:
> 
> ...


 That certaintly is not Mike M's HIT, good to see some one using less volume than the average person and making gains


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## Galtonator (Jul 21, 2004)

Con said:


> Nice how do you rate the two heavy duties as i do not own them.
> 
> Seminar can be found on youtube.


Heavy duty is thin but pretty ok

Heavy duty 2 is a good read and thought provoking. I have read it twice. The other 2 are just going over old ground really


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## Scrappy (May 5, 2008)

Ive been using h.i.t all this week and loved it, instead ov just doing 1 exercise i do 3 per body part for the larger muscle groups and 1-2 for arms and calves, also i have a training partner which means i take my 1 working set to failure, and my friend assists me wiv 2-3 negs. I train: (delts,tris) (legs) (chest,bi's) (back) repeat, and i train mon wed fri. Its a great book h.i.t the mike mentzer way, very interesting, as con said if u can take bits of his philosophy and adapt them to your own program you will realy see gains.


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## Gooders (Jan 1, 2009)

Con said:


> That certaintly is not Mike M's HIT, good to see some one using less volume than the average person and making gains


Yeah it's pretty different but with a lot of the same techniques, forced and partial reps, very slow negatives etc

I used to do 3 - 4 sets on excercises, now I only do 2 for most and it hurts way more than it ever did before, intensity is key I reckon.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2009)

Gooders said:


> Yeah it's pretty different but with a lot of the same techniques, forced and partial reps, very slow negatives etc
> 
> I used to do 3 - 4 sets on excercises, now I only do 2 for most and it hurts way more than it ever did before, intensity is key I reckon.


 Totally agreed.

The only person needing to be on the last routine put out by Mike ie the train once per week and train whole body every two weeks. Would be some one who could spare next to no time on not only training but also diet.

I dont know what it is but the way Mike speaks and writes has always appealed to me, i suppose its the extreem arogance:lol:


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## CONDOR (Apr 9, 2003)

Guy what do your weekly routines look like? reps, sets, exercises?


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## Gooders (Jan 1, 2009)

Con said:


> Totally agreed.
> 
> The only person needing to be on the last routine put out by Mike ie the train once per week and train whole body every two weeks. Would be some one who could spare next to no time on not only training but also diet.
> 
> I dont know what it is but the way Mike speaks and writes has always appealed to me, i suppose its the extreem arogance:lol:


Yeah he definitely had a funny way, good character. Such a shame about him and his brother dying days apart.


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## marso (May 31, 2006)

I have a PDF version of Mentzers courses it includes such sections as Heavy Duty Chest, Back, Arms etc, if anyone would like a copy PM me..

Paul.


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

marso said:


> I have a PDF version of Mentzers courses it includes such sections as Heavy Duty Chest, Back, Arms etc, if anyone would like a copy PM me..
> 
> Paul.


if you could mate, would be much appreciated


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## Bonzer (Nov 26, 2010)

marso said:


> I have a PDF version of Mentzers courses it includes such sections as Heavy Duty Chest, Back, Arms etc, if anyone would like a copy PM me..
> 
> Paul.


i would mate


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## marso (May 31, 2006)

I forgot to add if you PM me please include your e-mail so I can send it...

Thanks

Paul.


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## marso (May 31, 2006)

I have a number of Mentzers book amongst others, I also have the very rare VHS video A look a High Intensity Training featuring Ray & Mike, and I have the Audio Tapes and booklet which go for about £150 on Amazon (personally i think that's way over the odds)...


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## Natural1 (Mar 23, 2009)

marso said:


> I have a number of Mentzers book amongst others, I also have the very rare VHS video A look a High Intensity Training featuring Ray & Mike, and I have the Audio Tapes and booklet which go for about £150 on Amazon (personally i think that's way over the odds)...


Hi Marso.

I'm sure you remember me from another board. I only just joined today and instantly found this thread. Looks like a great board!


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## Galtonator (Jul 21, 2004)

Narso thanks for the email mate. I take it you train HIT?


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## marso (May 31, 2006)

Natural1 said:


> Hi Marso.
> 
> I'm sure you remember me from another board. I only just joined today and instantly found this thread. Looks like a great board!


Ello mate could to see you hear..


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## marso (May 31, 2006)

Galtonator said:


> Narso thanks for the email mate. I take it you train HIT?


No problem hope it was what you were after...

Yeah I've trained using HIT in its many variations for about 20 years now (I'm 38)...currently I'm training using a full body routine twice per week using my own variation of the Ultimate Reps protocol..

I perfom 2-3 reps using a rep cadence of approx 8 seconds up 8 seconds down and on the 2nd or 3rd rep I will then perform a static hold until my static strength fails, I will then attempt a slow as possible negative...if I'm feeling brave I'l finish the set with bottom range partials...I usually manage about 3...


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2009)

marso

Thanks mate a good little read.

@con

i would not fancy being your partner with the weights you push following the HIT routine

that would be a large workout in itself.


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## UKHITMAN (May 21, 2009)

Marso, I'd really like to see those PDFs, can you add me as a friend then email them to me? I'm new to the forum and so haven't got to grips with it yet. What are the audio tapes like, are they like his seminars? Any good resources for more Mentzer stuff apart from the stuff on his website?


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## bigbob33 (Jan 19, 2009)

cheers marso, a really good read, I think I may try the arm routine for a while!


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## Nytol (Jul 16, 2005)

Scrappy said:


> hi i bought the book and have just finished reading it. He realy makes alot of sence, but i can get my head round of doing just 2 excercises and 1set to failure each. He also says rest is very vital, to avoid overtraining. He suggests to train 4 times in 20days. Just wondering if anyone has done his routine? Or made any adjustments but applyd the same principles. Thanx


I used to train 4 times in 14 days, (Monday and Thursday each week), hitting each body part only once, with a couple of sets to failure.

I was at my biggest while doing this and the only reason I increased the frequency is I enjoy training with James who wanted to train 3 times per week.

But since upping the frequency to 3 times a week, hitting each body part every 9 days, I have never gotten any where near the weight I used to be.


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## Willie (Feb 17, 2008)

If i had a dependable training partner it'd be interested to give this a shot for a few months but just doesn't seem practical without one.


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## Galtonator (Jul 21, 2004)

I find HIT training very successful. However i feel to get the very best from it you need a training partner and to periodise it as well


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## Nytol (Jul 16, 2005)

Willie said:


> If i had a dependable training partner it'd be interested to give this a shot for a few months but just doesn't seem practical without one.


I always trained alone.


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## Galtonator (Jul 21, 2004)

Did you find that going to failure on your own was enough? Or did did you do drop sets or rest pause?


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## Willie (Feb 17, 2008)

Nytol said:


> I always trained alone.


How did you manage to work that?


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## Nytol (Jul 16, 2005)

Galtonator said:


> Did you find that going to failure on your own was enough? Or did did you do drop sets or rest pause?


I used drop sets on occasion, not all the time, too much intensity was hard to recover from.



 Willie said:


> How did you manage to work that?


Which bit?


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## Scrappy (May 5, 2008)

Nytol said:


> I used to train 4 times in 14 days, (Monday and Thursday each week), hitting each body part only once, with a couple of sets to failure.
> 
> I was at my biggest while doing this and the only reason I increased the frequency is I enjoy training with James who wanted to train 3 times per week.
> 
> But since upping the frequency to 3 times a week, hitting each body part every 9 days, I have never gotten any where near the weight I used to be.


if you dont mind me asking, what was the routine?


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## Nytol (Jul 16, 2005)

Scrappy said:


> if you dont mind me asking, what was the routine?


This is taken from UKI

This is nothing ground breaking and is mearly here to show that you do not need to train 5 days per week, 2 hours per day, to make progress, (and most will make no progress if they do train like that).

When I started training, I was 150lbs, at 6'1, light to say the least, I am now just under 250lbs, and leaner, so have gained over 100lbs of lean tissue.

I have Bench Pressed 220kg, and Deadlifted 302.5kg, (at 105kg bodyweight), with no support equipment, and am making continued progress.

I gained 60lbs of that naturally in the 1st 2 1/2 years, I only started using AAS as I could not gain any more weight, my strength was still going up, using this type of program.

If I had eaten more I am sure I could have gained more, but at the time Whey was £30 a Kg, and Creatine was £20 per 100g, and gave you the ****s as it was like gravel in consistency,









To start with I followed a program very similar to what is laid out in the book BRAWN, and found it to be very good, but as I got bigger and stronger, I found I needed more recovery.

Today my program looks like this.

*Week 1*

Monday

Legs

Thursday

Lats and Biceps

*Week 2*

Monday

Deadlifts and delts

Thursday

Chest and triceps.

I normally do 2 exercises per bodypart, with 1 set per exercise, occasionally this may be a drop set.

I will do 2 warm up sets, 1st with 50% of the weight I use on my main set, and the second with 75-80%

An example of a chest and triceps session would be:

Bench Press

100kg x 8

150kg x 5

200kg x 5+1 assisted rep

Incline DB press (50 degrees)

45kg x 6

60kg x 8+1 assisted rep

That is it for chest.

Triceps start after a 5 minute rest and carb/amino drink

Seated Over Head EZ Extentions, (AKA French Press)

40kg x 12

60kg x 8

80kg x 9+1 assisted rep, drop weight

50kg x 5+1 assisted rep.

Parallel Bar Dips

Bodyweight x 10

+ 40kg x 12+1 partial rep, drop weight

Bodyweight x 5+1 partial rep.

That is it all done.

I am normally sore for about 3 days after this.


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## jw007 (Apr 12, 2007)

Nytol said:


> I always trained alone.


You modelled yourself on Clubber Lang (Mr T) from rocky 3:lol: :lol:

"I live alone, I train alone, I will win the title alone.....":thumbup1:


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## Scrappy (May 5, 2008)

has anybody actually done the exact heavy duty routine?

*The Routine:*

*Day 1 Chest and Back*

*
** DB flyes supersetted with flat or incline DB press*

*
** DB pullovers supersetted with reverse grip barbell rows*

*
** Deadlifts*

*
*

*Day 5 Legs*

*
** Leg Extensions supersetted with Squats*

*
** Calf raises*

*
*

*Day 9 Delts and Arms*

*
** DB side raises*

*
** DB rear delt laterals*

*
** Barbell Curls*

*
** Lying French Press supersetted with Dips*

*
*

*Day 13 Legs*

*
** Same exercises as Day 5, Legs*

*
*

*Day 17*

*
** Repeat cycle, beginning with Day 1, Chest and Back*

17 days to repeat the cycle seems a bit long to me, has anybody tried this?


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## marso (May 31, 2006)

Scrappy said:


> has anybody actually done the exact heavy duty routine?
> 
> *The Routine:*
> 
> ...


I did it after about two years of training (age 21) and had gotten into HIT and more specifically Mike Mentzers stuff, with the aid of gear I put on about 2 and half stone. I still remember to this day the owner of the gym that I used to train at asking me what i was on and what training I was doing..I told him I was using sus and deca and doing Mike Mentzers Heavy Duty four way split...

When I asked why? He said, he'd never seen anyone grow so fast!!

At 21 to hear that was unreal and I had a smile from ear to ear for days..... :thumb:


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## beefcakebaggie (Jul 9, 2008)

I've recently started this exact routine straight from the book the pain during workouts is like no marathon session I've ever done it's just really hard to not go & train for 4 days.

Point to note when you are doing one working set, if you don't do it right or feel it where you should feel it then you won't be hitting that muscle for at least 2 weeks again so make it count.

BTW, I'm now equal to my heaviest weight but with a 34" waist (It was 38" last time I was this heavy). It definitely works (Even with daily cardio to keep me sane, I'm growing).


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

I've been doing about 2-3 exercises per muscle group and not manysets.. kills me over!


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