HighIntensity.net View Mike Mentzer Bodybuilding Topic

I am transferring my HD Journal from bodybuilding.com to this forum because I feel the feedback and environment is more conducive to Heavy Duty here than it is on bodybuilding.com.

These entries go back a few weeks.

I′m currently on the Ideal Routine and my strength gains have been nothing short of awesome. I′m training once every 4 to 7 days depending on the workout and progression of the workout.

Thanks for reading and leaving your feedback

3/23/2009

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

Incline Dumbbell Flyes

65′sx8

Incline Smith Press

235×4 + 2

Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises

30′sx8 + 1 Static Hold

Seated Bent Lateral Raises

45′sx8

Lying Extensions

110×7

Cable Pressdowns

180(Stack)x6

NB all sets are taken to positive failure, excercises which offer resistance in the fully contracted position are then held to static failure followed by an accentuated negative. Excercises which do not offer resistance in the fully contracted position are lowered for an accentuated negative while my spotter carefully pushes the weight down on me to increase the negative resistance. All reps are controlled with a 4 count on the negative phase and 2 count on the positive. Figuring out what weights to use was a little tough today and I thought I could have definitely gone heavier on chest, especially the flyes, but I′ll save it for next week. All in all a brief, very intense workout, looking forward to more of this heavy duty stuff. The decrease in volume seems to be very welcome by my body especially my joints.

Slight Reduction In Volume

For Triceps, since there is plenty of indirect stimulus from heavy flyes and incline pressess, I′ll just keep the cable pressdowns and remove the lying extensions. This′ll also make it easier on my elbows.

For biceps I′m removing the cable curls and only performing the Standing EZ bar curls to failure. I figure there′s plenty of stimulation coming from the palms up pulldowns and barbell rows. Hell if 4 to 6 sets for triceps and biceps only left me overtrained and drained, this drastic reduction in volume and increase in intensity can only serve to increase my gains.

I know there are plenty of conflicting theories out there, but time after time I′ve always found high intensity low volume programs to work the best for me. And finally after re reading Heavy Duty II, the Wisdom of Mike Mentzer and articles on www.billsahli.com there′s a lot of good information out there.

I can′t see myself going working out just once a week with 2 sets each workout quite yet. But it does make sense, as one gets stronger and the stress placed on your system increases you WILL require more time to recover, not just locally but systemically as well. So as off now it′s working out every 48 hours to 72 hours, i.e. a monday, wednesday and friday routine. But if my gains start stalling and slowing down, i′ll just start adding in an extra day of rest between workouts and continue with this until it becomes 96hours between workouts, at which point dumbell flies, rear laterals, pullovers, leg extensions, and leg curls get removed. So it becomes one all out excercise for one work set to failure per body part. But that′s not for a while yet.

End of rant, just putting my thoughts down and what I′ve discovered through training, it′s always good to have references to look back on to see how training theories evolve and what worked and what didn′t.

that′s it for now.

3/25/2009

Back, Traps, Biceps

Dumbell Pullovers (pre exhaust) superset with Palms Up Pulldowns

100 x 7 (Pullovers)

212.5 x 3 + 6 second static with 250 (Pulldowns)

Barbell Rows

225×8

Dumbbell Shrugs

120′sx10

EZ Bicep Curls (rest pause)

120×3+2+1

All in all a good workout. My heart was racing throughout the workout and I can now understand how Arthur Jones conceived a properly conducted HIT routine is aerobic. Conducting them with proper form and an ephasis on the contraction and negative is a LOT of hard work. Like Dorian Yates said about back excercises, if you can get the weight up, but can′t hold it there, you didn′t really get it up. For next week increase the weight on pullovers, pulldowns, rows and shrugs, keep the weight the same for curls and get more reps.

– K

3/27/2009

Today was a scheduled training day, but i woke up feeling exhausted and I was still sore. So for once I listened to what Mentzer has been talking about for so long, I took it off and thank god at that. I′m absolutely beat, I can only imagine how crappy my workout would have been. besides, why uneccesarily short circuit the recovery process by making further inroads before allowing for complete and total overcompensation. So I′m thinking either tomorrow or day after will be Legs day for me, I need to move some major weight which is going to be tough especially if done in a pre exhaustion fashion, so I′m gonna take off until I′ve recovered enough to beat my previous log book, big deal if people think I′m crazy for taking 2 to 4 days off between workout sessions.