Mike Mentzer Workout Guide

Who Is Mike Mentzer?

Mike Mentzer was a renowned bodybuilder and author from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, born in 1951. He grew up in a family of athletes and began weightlifting at 11, inspired by his hero, Bill Pearl.

After high school, Mentzter served four years in the Air Force. Later, he attended the University of Maryland, where he studied pre-med. However, his true passion was bodybuilding, and he dropped out of college to pursue his dream.

Mentzer had a successful bodybuilding career, winning the Mr. Universe title in 1978. He also won the heavyweight class at the 1979 Mr. Olympia with a perfect score but lost the overall to Frank Zane.

Mentzer was known for his scientific approach to bodybuilding and his emphasis on high-intensity training. He wrote extensively on the subject of bodybuilding, and his books are considered classics in the field.

Regrettably, Mentzer passed away in 2001 at just 49 years old from heart complications. He left behind a legacy as one of the greatest bodybuilders and thinkers in the history of the sport.

Mike Mentzer Workout Philosophy

Mike Mentzer is famous for his High-Intensity Training (HIT) philosophy, which emphasizes short, intense workouts with minimal training volume. This approach contradicted the high-volume training style used by greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to Mentzer, the key to building muscle and strength is to train to failure, meaning that you push your muscles to the point where you can no longer lift the weight. He also knew the importance of rest and recovery to support muscle growth.

Mentzer’s HIT approach was influenced by his mentor, the creator of Nautilus exercise equipment, Arthur Jones. But he took Jones’ ideas further to create his workout routine and published it in his book “High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way.”

I purchased Mentzer’s book in 2013 and have read it multiple times. It’s a great resource and reminder of the fundamentals of muscle growth. Next, I will share some of Mike Mentzer’s workout principles.

Related: Mike Mentzer’s Diet Philosophies

Intensity

In bodybuilding, intensity is the amount of work your muscles perform in a given time. This can refer to an individual rep, a set, a workout, or an entire routine.

Mike Mentzer believed in going to complete muscular failure on every set and keeping workouts brief. In his mind, high-intensity training was the only way to stimulate the body into compensatory muscle growth.

Mentzer also applied the principle of progressive overload, whereby the muscle stimulus increases in intensity over time to continue to elicit the desired adaptation response of growth.

However, Mentzer also knew there was more than one way to increase intensity over time. He believed increasing intensity could include:

1. Progressively increasing the weight you lift
2. Progressively decreasing the time it takes to perform a workout
3. Adding difficulty during a set to reach muscular failure

The techniques Mentzerr used to make sets and reps more challenging included pre-exhaust, slow negatives, forced reps, rest-pause, partial reps, and static contractions.

Duration

Mike Mentzer also preached that workout intensity and duration are inversely related. In other words, the more intense a workout, the shorter it must be.

The idea is that every set performed digs a deeper hole that must be filled before recovering from the workout entirely. And even one set represents a negative inroad to recovery.

“Any exercise carried on beyond the least amount required to stimulate an optimal increase is not merely a waste of effort, it is actually highly counterproductive.” – Mike Mentzter

Therefore, the minimum number of sets required to elicit a response is ideal. However, each set must be carried out to maximum intensity to stimulate growth.

Frequency

Traditional high-volume workout splits compartmentalize muscle groups to shorten recovery times and train more frequently. However, Mentzer believed this approach leads to progressively more stress over time and will likely result in overtraining. 

From a recovery and growth standpoint, Mentzer treated the body as a whole and allowed adequate time for the entire physical system to recover. He believed training volume and frequency should decrease as one progresses due to the increased stress on the body.

Moreover, Mentzer added that the body produces growth only if left undisturbed during a sufficient rest period between workouts. He trained no more than once every 48 hours and sometimes as little as once every 5 to 6 days!

Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty Workout Routine

Now, let’s get into Mike Mentzer’s actual workout recommendations. In his final book, he called this “The Ideal (Principled) Workout,” meaning it encompasses all his training principles.

He considered the following workout routine the ideal training program for anyone trying to achieve maximum muscle growth with minimal stress on the body’s resources.

Mentzer’s training program is divided into three segments: chest/back, legs/abs, and shoulders/arms. For each muscle group, 1-2 exercises are performed, with only 1 set per exercise, totaling 4-5 sets per workout. 

It’s essential to understand that each set is performed until absolute failure with slow and controlled repetitions throughout the full range of motion. The duration of the workouts for beginners is about 30 minutes but could decrease to as little as 10-12 minutes as intensity increases.

Finally, Mentzer recommended beginners take 4 rest days between workouts, while more advanced athletes should take up to 7 days off between workouts.

Mike Mentzer Workout Split

• Workout 1: Chest and Back
• Workout 2: Legs and Abs
• Workout 3: Shoulders and Arms
• Workout 4: Legs and Abs

Chest & Back

Mike designed the first workout specifically to target the larger muscle groups of the upper body, namely the chest and back.

He implements the pre-exhaust technique for the pectorals, where an isolation exercise (chest flyes) precedes a compound exercise (incline press). This method helps ensure the chest muscles fail before the triceps or shoulders.

For the back, Mentzer again begins with an isolation exercise with the cable pullover, immediately followed by an underhand grip lat pulldown. Again, the intention is to make the target muscle fibers fail.

Lastly, a heavy set of deadlifts completes the back portion of the workout.

Mike Mentzer Chest & Back Workout

• Dumbbell Fly – 1 set, 6-10 reps (pre-exhaust)
• Incline Bench Press – 1 set, 1-3 reps
• Cable Pullover – 1 set, 6-10 reps (pre-exhaust)
• Supinated Pulldown – 1 set, 6-10 reps
• Deadlifts – 1 set, 6-10 reps

Rest 4-7 days before next workout.

Legs & Abs

As a high school football player and track athlete, Mike learned the importance of training legs early. He emphasized building legs to maximize the development of the rest of the body.

Moreover, Mentzer believed that stubborn calves require very brief, high-intensity training instead of more low-intensity volume. The same philosophy holds for abs: performing one challenging set instead of countless crunches.

Mike Mentzer Legs & Abs Workout

• Leg Extension – 1 set, 12 to 20 reps (pre-exhaust)
• Leg Press – 1 set, 12-20 reps
• Standing Calf Raise – 1 set, 12-20 reps
• Sit-ups – 1 set, 12-20 reps

Rest 4-7 days before next workout.

Shoulders & Arms

Mentzer knew the shoulders and arms were some of the most important muscles for developing a masculine-looking physique that wins bodybuilding championships. He especially emphasized shoulder training in his routine to create width and an aesthetic V-taper.

In addition, Mentzer understood the anatomical function of the bicep and triceps muscles to a degree where he could train them as efficiently as possible using the fewest number of exercises.

Mike Mentzer Shoulders & Arms Workout

• Dumbbell Lateral Raise – 1 set, 6-10 reps
• Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly – 1 set, 6-10 reps
• Supinated Pulldown – 1 set, 6-10 reps
• Tricep Pressdown – 1 set, 6-10 reps (pre-exhaust)
• Tricep Dips – 1 set, 3-5 reps

Rest 4-7 days before next workout. After this workout, Mentzer recommends performing the Legs and Abs workout again before repeating the entire workout cycle over again.

Mike Mentzer Workout Pros & Cons

I followed Mike Mentzer’s high-intensity workout for almost a year, so I believe I am qualified to talk about its benefits and limitations. This training protocol did help me build muscle size and gain strength, but it wasn’t without drawbacks.

For ectomorph hardgainer types like myself, the added rest time is especially beneficial for overall body recovery and minimizing energy expenditure. However, infrequent training might be less advantageous for overweight or endomorphic individuals.

One of the biggest benefits of high-intensity training is that it frees up so much time that you can do other important things outside the gym. But I enjoy working out and found taking so much time off challenging.

Pros

• Get results in as little as 1-2 training days per week.
• Training sessions are shorter than traditional workouts.
• More time to enjoy things outside of the gym.
• Minimize the risk of overtraining.

Cons

• Requires exceptional effort and focus.
• Doesn’t burn as many calories.
• It’s not ideal if you like going to the gym.

Mike Mentzer Workout Books

After Mentzer’s bodybuilding success in the 70s, he began selling training courses through bodybuilding magazines. His programs were in the form of videotapes and pamphlets that were very popular.

In the early 90s, Mentzer shared his high-intensity program with elite bodybuilders like Dorian Yates, who won the Mr. Olympia six consecutive times and was considered the first mass monster.

Throughout the 80s and 90s Mentzer also published several books about weight training, philosophy, and nutrition. He signed the contract for his last book “High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way”, just 36 hours before he died.

Here are some of Mike Mentzer’s most popular books.