Heavy Duty II: Review by Steve Holman, IRONMAN Dec '96

Mike Mentzer has had considerable influence on my life and training, particularly the development of the mass-building protocol I espouse, Positions of Flexion. Through his early writings he pointed me in a number of right directions, and not just in my training. His philosophical diatribes, while irritating some, led me to study philosophy in college in the early ’80s, which helped me develop a better understanding of logic and life.

This may sound like heavy stuff, but you’ll need to cope with philosophy if you pick up Mentzer’s latest book, Heavy Duty II: Mind and Body. The first part of the book is devoted to objectivism, Ayn Rand and the disintegration of philosophy and science in the 20th century. Even with philosophy courses under my belt, I had to read some paragraphs two or three times to understand where Mentzer was coming from—and sometimes the two or three readings weren’t enough and I would just move on.

Don’t let all of this scare you off, however. By page 49 of this 168-page book, Mentzer is deep into training and the science of building muscle. Perhaps the most exciting bodybuilding statement he makes is on page 67: “Presently, my understanding of the fundamental principles of the theory of high-intensity training is thorough and complete—not two plus two equals 3 1/2, but two plus two equals four! Heretofor I would only occasionally have clients gain 10 to 20 pounds in a month or 30 to 40 pounds in three to four months. Now such is no longer the exception but the rule....I realized that the actualization of an individual’s full muscular potential shouldn’t take 10 years, or even the two years that Arthur Jones claimed, but one year or less.” Exciting stuff.

Mentzer lays the groundwork for his training beliefs, tells precisely why his way is reality and outlines the exact routine he says is “the last word on achieving optimal results from anaerobic, high-intensity bodybuilding exercise; it is the ultimate consequence and final practical application of the properly validated theoretical fundamentals.” (The latter part of that sentence shows you why reading some of Mentzer’s paragraphs twice is almost mandatory.)

So what does this “ultimate routine” consist of? I don’t have the space to outline it here, but on it you train once every four days, working each bodypart once every two weeks. He isn’t kidding when he says “infrequent training.” Also, you do one set to failure per exercise, one or two exercises per bodypart and only three to five exercises per workout.

Does this revised, reduced Heavy Duty training work? I haven’t tried it, but Mentzer provides plenty of hard evidence, with clients from his training business cited as examples, and some of the gains he describes are incredible. Would you believe a 388 percent increase in leg strength in only two workouts, each session lasting only 15 minutes?

Mentzer also reveals a new technique he calls static contractions. For these you do no positive reps. Someone lifts the weight into the contracted position for you, you hold it for as long as possible, usually around 10 seconds, then you lower the weight slowly back to the starting position. That’s it. One peak-contraction hold and one slow negative. Note that this technique is only plausible on exercises that have resistance in the contracted position, such as leg extensions, leg curls and pulldowns.

If you’re into trying new things in the gym, logical training theory, anecdotes concerning great gains in strength and muscle and rational objectivist philosophy, get Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty II. Even if you aren’t into philosophy, it’s still one interesting read that will motivate you to think and achieve greater gains in the gym.

Pros: Exciting high-intensity concepts and stories about progress that are extremely inspiring.

Cons: You may overdose on philosophy if you have an aversion to academia, but who knows? You may have an epiphany (that’s a flash of insight, not a seisure) that changes your life.

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