I'm six months in to doing HIT training, and the recovery element is fascinating. I've always thought that my problem was lack of willpower or desire. Now that working harder than ever and recovering much longer, I've noticed that I can tell when I've recovered enough because I'm excited about the next workout.

9:59 “Perhaps the most important exercise you can perform is the exercise of restraint.” This might be the best nugget of bodyweight wisdom ever spoken.

The brilliance of Mike Mentzer never ceases to amaze me

6:52 Mike Mentzer is so hardcore the only person capable of spotting him is himself

I have been doing Mike Mentzer's program for over a month now. I am literally seeing myself grow in the mirror. I am so excited for the potential in this training. I have found that using regular available weights like dumbbells works just as well as really heavy gym weights/machines. The key is to do one rep until you hit a wall in fatigue, then stop, rest a bit and do the next muscle group, all within a 30 minute window and taking your time to move the weights slowly and precisely, focusing more on body form than achieving a better set. Rest for about 3 days minimum. You will literally feel when your muscles are ready to go again. In the meantime, eat well, sleep well, and go buy new clothes because yours don't fit anymore!

I can't believe how far ahead of his time this man was!

I used to train 5x a week, very hard, on top of basketball training, running/walking, etc. It once happened that I skipped a good 4 days out of 5 in a week because of other things I had to attend to, and the following Monday I looked in the mirror and noticed that everything, including my weak points such as biceps or lats, was looking bigger and fuller. It was a far more noticeable difference than any I'd ever seen with my previous training style, so I just connected with the concept of recovery and that more isn't always better. I've embraced HIT that very day.

Mike Mentzer has opened my eyes to how to train optimally for actual growth. I've saw the most gains in just 1 month of training low volume HIT Heavy Duty vs previous 6+ months of higher volume. ive trained 7+ years now mostly powerlifting style but Mentzer got me into bodybuilding now that I'm seeing real results!!! RIP MENTZER! Forever Legend.

Nobody has ever made more sense to me than this guy... Glad i found the channel. Thanks for posting , HDC!!

Bodybuilding is a science. And Mike Mentzer was a scientist in this area. Very smart guy.

Mike Mentzer and the HEAVY DUTY METHOD! The Heavy Duty Method is a training program that uses 3 different types of exercises to better estimate muscle growth. The Human Skeleton-Muscles have 3 levels of strength: raising (positive), lowering (negative), static (holding). For each one of these he created a specific training exercise for it: ----------- Rest-Pause-Training--------- "Positive Focused" * Perform the reps slowly while both raising and lowering the weight. ------------ Infitonic-Training ------------- "Negative focused" * Same as Rest-Pause but now, while lowering the weights ask your partner to put just enough pressure down while you fight it. ------- Omni-Contraction-Training ------- "Static focused" * Same as Rest-Pause but now, while lowering the weights stop and hold (for two seconds) in 3 different points, high, mid and low. ------------------------------------------- Each one of these refers to a different type of contraction. They key of the HEAVY DUTY METHOD is to make each one of these 3 muscle contractions as severe and as intense as possible! ------------------------------------------- How to perform the training? Warmup with lighter weights first! * Choose a muscle part. * 3 different exercises. * Only 1 set per exercise. * ONE DIFFERENT METHOD for each exercise. For the set, do 4 ALL IN reps: - 1st rep all in, rest 10 seconds - 2nd rep all in, rest 10 seconds (ask partner for easy spot) - 3rd rep all in -20% weight, rest 15 seconds - 4th rep all in -20% weight (ask partner for easy spot) Important info: * The Heavy Duty Training requires 2 days recovery between trainings. (Mike recommends 4 trainings within 10 days).

I've had my go arounds trying to stick to working out and I could never manage to not get burnt out. The beauty of Mike's advice is he is for a lot of people essentially asking them to agree to do less than they're used to, just much harder.

RIP Mike Mentzer, the original thoughtful and strategic bodybuilder. Thanks to him and Duchaine I was able to achieve my goals!

Thanks man, these videos are very helpful. After 6 weeks of HIT workouts I almost couldn’t get my dress shirt on because my chest and shoulders have grown so much, and I’m 61 years old!

I just started this a month ago, its amazing. I was a 5-6 day person in the gym for 1.5hrs. Always sustained minor nagging injuries from over training!!!!! This video makes perfect sense. Im in for 45 mins, lifting heavier weights and immediate results

Once again perinial wisdom of Mike the true 1980 Mr.O!!!

Completely changed the way I workout after 8 years in

Thanks again for another great video John! Even though I have heard and watched so many of these before they are always great for motivation! I have to say the very rare imagery you add to the video's make them that more special.

I halted my old push pull routine and took over a week off before I just did a HIT chest and back day, tomorrow is going to be my day 2 which is legs and I can tell you that my chest and back responds super well to this method.

Man I love your channel and the content you keep putting out. Long before my time but I still knew about Mike and his methods briefly. but this is so very awesome and insightful!!! had nooo idea he was so well spoken and intelligent I’m constantly blown away… not many people can orchestrate their communication as clearly as he does. w

I needed this video today. When the doubt & discouragement set in from comparing my journey to someone else's...Mentzer & Little are right there to check me back into focus.

I’ve been using Mentzer’s HIT if I want to change my splits every 3 months…it did feel very strange @first w/the long rest days…but it actually helped a lot w/strength, recovery(no injuries) & shorter workout sessions(no more hour & half but 45 minutes @the most)!💪🏽🤙🏾

Going back to high intensity after 25 yrs. I'm growing again it feels great. Works perfect for my schedule. Thank you john little. I think you've done more for my philosophy of living. I read all your BruceLee books. Mentzer and Bruce Lee's philosophy on training for perfect together. Synchronicity is amazing in life!!! ❤️

Absolute legend. Thank you for this John 🙏

I enjoy the Omni-contraction method and Infitonic method, they are very fun and thrash the muscle. Even if it don’t agree completely with Mike, he is worth listening to and he has ideas that we’re ahead of his time.

What an absolutely awesome video! I've heard a lot about HIT but never quite got it because this kind of explanation was missing! Now I get it! This is bodybuilding voodoo! Thanks so much for posting this. Subscribed and about to binge watch! I needed this right now.. 👍

Very, very lucky to have all this wisdom passed down from Mike through John - thank you JL 🙏. I hope you know how much we all really do appreciate it all. I’m amazed at the gains I’ve made since following Mikes philosophy over one year. It’s incredible. The most important thing I’ve found to positive progression is taking plenty of rest - it makes an incredible difference to me being able to go up in weight/ reps next time I enter the gym. Training weights every 5-7 days I think is my maximum. Anymore and the progression comes to a halt. The body needs time to lay down new muscle tissue. And the new muscle tissue is what provides the extra strength. Therefore, the rest days are crucial. 📈

Thanks John for putting the advanced Heavy Duty techniques (it’s fantastic!). The video production is very, very good.

6:00 rest-pause training 13:18 omni-contraction training

I been going to the gym 6 days a week feeling unmotivated to go a lot of times but I always push through it not wanting to sell my self short but discovering these mike videos I feel like taking an extra day off here and there is actually beneficial and not lazy

Longtime lifter, I hit the iron 4 to 5 times a week for most of my experience. Been doing Hit for a month and the recovery has been amazing. Mike was totally right.

John Little. You are a hero and a saint.

Sr is a bad ass , totally makes sense . I’ve used this methods in the past and they work

Best bodybuilding mind ever. Not after hypertrophy myself, but appreciate the approach.

absolutely the best

Have used the 'rest-pause' with most of my compound exercises for decades with great results especially because I workout alone. That with a few added 'negatives' and you are really cooked.

I'm doing every 72 hours ( as one of Marks plans suggested) which seems kind of crazy space between workouts. I WAS doing 4 days a week and sometimes 3. I'm on my 5th workout and 72 hours between and I can certainly say I feel more rested and stronger. I'm definitely doing my supersets to fail. After waiting 72 hours to workout you REALLY give it your all. We'll see. Mark also says that the spaces between workouts are not written in stone so if I truly feel recovered I will workout earlier. We'll seeing. I'm being patient as working out every 4 days IS odd...we'll see.

Have been a proponent of HD for nearly 30 years and now feel somewhat disoriented yet delighted that I am only now coming across Mike going into any detail of Omni training. Very cool. Thanks for the vid.

I think this is the exact training I need right now .. thanks Mike RIP

I've been poking my biceps for almost a week now, trying to work out why they're bigger than usual and as hard as concrete. Now I listen to this video and realise that a week ago I did exactly what he recommends: a drop set of close grip, palms up lat pulldowns, starting with a one rep max weight, a ten seconds gap, another one rep, and so on until I had done almost the whole stack.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart !!!

My mentor, wisdom in all the video, long life to Mike and Ray 💪🏽 long live to Heavy Duty

Mike Mentzer was definitely ahead of his time.

I am 60 years old and on my 3rd month. My strength has increased, and my body looks good, however my size has not increased to keep up. I have been doing M, W, F. I am now going to start training 1x every 72 hours; I am doing 3 set per body part. (1) Chest & Back, (2) Biceps, Triceps & shoulder, (3) Legs.

Greatest video ever for bodybuilding

Love listening to Mike. Blessed to have his voice and knowledge on these videos

Mentzer was clearly ahead of his time

More of this please!

some of the techniques described and developed by Mentzer have been adopted by coaches of the caliber of the late John Meadows and Christian Tibodeau

Thanks for uploading this!

Wow this was crazy to know ! Thanks for uploading this golden video !

Thanks John you champion 🏆

I love the oni-contraction lifting of heavy weights. It really taxes the muscle group I'm targeting. It's brutal, but so worth it. I love H.I.T !!!

Nothing can beat Rest Pause set

This is pure gold!

very much appreciated John

I've not trained for a good few years but have dusted the bench etc of an am gonna try Mike's way.💪👍😊

Genius, way ahead of his time .

Thank you sir,.and GOD BLESS us all,.

Thanks for this JL

This guy was a legit genius!!!

Thank you

The main thing I have done/taken from this video is rest more. I do every other day for 3 days (6days) for ex mon,wed,fri then take 2 off days. If I need it I take 3 days off. I never do the same body type ex back to back so technically you have atleast 5 days inbetween any body group. I cant tell you how many times I have gotten to busy to hit the gym or gotten sick and had to miss the gym for nearly a week and upon return I notice a big rise in performance. I can suprisingly lift say 10lbs more or even do a few more sets. Rest is the most overlooked aspect of training. I dont see how people can work out back to back or not give oneself more than a day or so here and there. Thats just my exp

This is GOLD

Mike really knew his stuff!

Thanks for posting this stuff John. It brings back great memories of speaking and meeting Mike.

I did my first HIT work out today. Day 1 of the 4 Day beginner series. All I can say is that its been one hour since and my hands are still jittery while typing this 😵‍💫 Don't know what to expect the next few weeks but I'm excited to find out.

Brill. Appreciate it!

I found this searching for answers to why when I do only 3x3 or 3x2 my power Curls were advancing dramatically. It's because less is more and those sets only equal 6-9 reps

Mr. Little, could you do a video on Mike's last fee years? Is that possible? I can't believe he was only 49 when he had passed, and then Ray 2 days later 😞

Thank you!

Thank you Mr. Little for this video. Do you have another video where Mike Mentzer explained in détails his rest-pause training program for the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition? Alson is there any book or audio/video that explain in details the infitonic training method and omni-contraction training method?

Mike the scientist!

I don't listen to music anymore. Just Mike Mentzer. Thank you for these great videos

In my upper lower push pull hybrid i implement a 2 to 3 set 8 to 12 reps with rest pause the push pull total body is lots of supersets. I believe lower volume with greater intensity like mentzer preaches is the greatest way to achieve your goals. But experiment with varity

Mike is and was a master

Its ok to do heavy duty while on a cut? I never did hit amd I want to start now but Im cutting so I dont know

Right. On!

Keep wondering if mike would use the current state of ronnie colman as example for the case of resting more is needed?

John Little, Would be better to do 8 sets in one workout (deadlift, squats, shoulder press, bicep curl, skull crushers, calf raisers, upright row) and rest for a week OR break these workouts up in push/pull workouts 4 sets each, like on a Monday and Friday each week? Thanks for your time

I read somewhere that Einstein’s theory of relativity was based on the human body. An equation can be manipulated to suit one’s own needs. The speed of light squared is equal to energy divided by mass. Mass is equal to energy divided by the speed of light squared. Everything is a universe onto itself essentially. High intensity means taking the star that is you and going SuperNova eventually collapsing in on your self and becoming a neutron star or black hole. I prefer to do 20-25 reps for 2 sets on almost all my exercises. He’s right. I found that starting with 85% right out the gate and trying to do that sustainably wasn’t possible. I found starting at just around above or below 50% and learning what it meant to go from easy to harder to I can’t believe I’m working as hard as I would with a max but the weight is nowhere near so I can treat this like a DBZ beam struggle without fear of ripping my tendons off the bone since the limiting factor is mainly the accumulated muscle fatigue a la kaioken. Doing 2 sets of 25 reps of deficit deadlifts at 205lbs makes me feel like there’s nothing I can’t do. Going from bone dry to drenched in sweat after just 1 set makes me feel like I’m wringing out a rag. Twisted steel is a good way to describe the strength levels I feel. It’s not the limit of my strength but it’s depth that is impressive after all.

Does somebody have on of his routines?

And what about the 4 day schedule? This is more advance, but when you understand to be so advanced to move to the intensity techniques? Thanks for answers

I compeat in arm wrestling so I've just started doing something like this . The arm wrestling part is 3 max efforts but that's because most matches are best of 3

Please do a video, on STEVE REEVES method of bodybuilding.

Can you do this along with martial arts training in the same week?

AWSOME

That moustache is glorious 👍🏾

LEGENDARY BODYBUILDERS of the 1980’s.

I think his intensity and infrequent training philosophy is great combined with low intensity cardio

can you train two or 3 muscle groups per workout? how would a bro split look like?

Take your pick for the same results, spend your whole life in the gym like Jay Cutler or only a couple of hours a week like Mike & Ray

I made this workout based off Mike's principles along with ChatGPT. Upper and lower body split. Started today UPPER BODY: Barbell Bench Press: 8-10 reps Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 8-10 reps Bent-Over Barbell Rows: 8-10 reps Dumbbell Bicep Curls: 12 reps Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 12 reps LOWER BODY: Barbell Squats: 1 working set to momentary muscle failure (8-10 reps) Romanian Deadlifts with Barbell: 8-10 reps Dumbbell Lunges: 12 reps (each leg) Barbell Calf Raises: 15-20 reps

I enjoyed the video of what I had only read before . Thankyou Sir

Sorry to learn this so late in my fitness life

Nothing works that good if you’re eating like crap. Saw some people in the comments saying you get fat training 2 days a week, no the only way you get fat is by eating excess calories. Mike taught you only need to eat an excess or deficit of 200-400 calories depending on your goal. Don’t complain about the program if you’re not even following a very large portion of it.

I’ve found rest pause to absolutely awesome for dips and chins!

Does anyone know the time period of the photo of Mike in the blue Heavy Duty t-shirt? My guess is right before or after the '79 Mr. O.

Mike was inspired by Arthur Jones. Mike took it to the next level.

would you guys help me on this? when we talk about rest, must be full body rest, no training at all or can I change the muscle group the next day, e.g. first day upper body, second day lower body?