According to David M. Sears, a friend of Mentzer and an editor and publisher of his Muscles in Minutes book, he stated that: [6] Transform your fitness space and channel the spirit of a true bodybuilding icon with the extraordinary Mike Mentzer Poster. This stunning piece of art captures the essence of a man whose name became synonymous with dedication, discipline, and unparalleled physical achievement. Pay homage to a legend and inspire your own fitness journey with this visually striking masterpiece. There were maybe 50 people at the competitors meeting and, as usual, Arnold wanted to be the center of attention. In every situation, he tries to be the standout, and on this occasion, he was the only athlete of the 16 in the contest who wanted to keep the two weight classes. He said something to denigrate Samir Bannout that I thought was uncalled for. I passed on that, feeling Samir should have defended himself. As the debate progressed, there was a lot of arguing between Arnold and some of the guys. I wasn’t really concerned one way or the other – I thought I could win anyway. Then Boyer Coe stood up and, as the gentleman he is, said, ‘Why don’t we let Arnold explain to us right here and now his exact reasons for wanting to have two weight classes?’

The 1980 Mr. Olympia contest staged in Sydney, Australia, remains by far the most controversial in the event’s history. The contention centered on the participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had announced his retirement from competition in 1975 after winning six consecutive Mr. Olympia titles. Seemingly only in Sydney to do commentary for CBS TV, Arnold stunned the bodybuilding world by, on the morning of the contest, declaring that he was returning to competition in pursuit of a seventh title. This set off a chain of events that culminated in Mike Mentzer and Arnold seemingly set to resort to fisticuffs as illustrated by the attached photo which has become somewhat iconic. Carrying a set to a point where you are forced to utilize 100 percent of your momentary ability is the single most important factor in increasing size and strength.”– Mike Mentzer Quotes 5. “Man, is an indivisible entity, an integrated unit of mind and body.”– Mike Mentzer Quotes Khzokhlachev, Yegor (February 19, 2016). "Mike Mentzer". Built Report. Gallery . Retrieved November 9, 2016. While in school, Mentzer's father motivated his academic performance by providing him with various kinds of inducements, from a baseball glove to hard cash. Years later, Mike said that his father "unwittingly ... was inculcating in me an appreciation of capitalism." [6] Arnold duly showed up at the competitors meeting held prior to the contest cognizant of the fact that the 15 original entrants had previously signed a petition asking that the two weight classes be abolished and that the Olympia should henceforth be contested as one open class.

9. “One cannot actualize his goals until he visualizes them clearly in the minds eye.”  Mike Mentzer Quotes

It was the essential basic Heavy Duty routine consisting of four to five sets per bodypart and broken into two workouts. In the following year, he was a big opponent to the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. The finals in 1980 are one of the most debated finals in the history of bodybuilding. Arnold won in controversial finals, regardless of the fact that he was preparing for a movie shooting, not the competition. Mentzer, Zane and other contenders complained fiercely as the new champion was clearly not in the shape worthy of winning Mr. Olympia. The controversy made Mentzer so furious that he quit competitive bodybuilding. Arnold barked, ‘Boyer, let’s talk like adults here.’ That really irked me, because Boyer made his plea with no hint of malice. In addition, this was the IFBB’s event, but here was this big Prussian son of a bitch standing there and trying to walk all over us. I interjected and asked Arnold why he was so reluctant to see the open class introduced. Yes, I used this type of routine throughout my professional bodybuilding career, but the greatest gains I got from it was when, rather than following it on the usual four-out-of-seven-day schedule, I began spacing it so I trained every other day on a split routine. Jones pioneered the principles of high-intensity training in the late 1960s. He emphasized the need to maintain perfectly strict form, move the weights in a slow and controlled manner, work the muscles to complete failure (positive and negative), and avoid overtraining. Casey Viator saw fantastic results training under the direction of Jones, and Mentzer became very interested in this training philosophy. [16] Eventually, however, Mentzer concluded that even Jones was not completely applying his own principles, so Mentzer began investigating a more full application of them. He began training clients in a near-experimental manner, evaluating the perfect number of repetitions, exercises, and days of rest to achieve maximum benefits. [13]

For instance, rather than train Monday and Tuesday on a split routine, working half the body on Monday and the other half on Tuesday, I would do the first half of the body on Monday, skip Tuesday to recuperate and then train on Wednesday, rest on Thursday and repeat the cycle again, starting on Friday. That was the most result-producing routine that I ever used.” I asked Mike why he thought that such a split routine was more productive than the three-days-per-week whole-body program that had carried him through to victory in the Mr. America contest.No, perhaps not,” he said. “And perhaps if one’s schedule permitted one to experience that kind of two-hour, incapacitating, exhaustive effect, one might want to do it. I suggest that anybody who is not familiar with high intensity but wants to try it might start out with that three-days-a-week routine. If they find it’s too exhausting, try the four-day.” Finally, I asked Mike to summarize his experience for the benefit of all those bodybuilders looking to build mass.