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The Fog Grows Deeper

Bodybuilders whose thinking is thusly restricted usually resort to a type of "Russian roulette," where they move anxiously and uncertainly from one training approach to the next, hoping that someday they luckily happen upon one that works. Or, having sacrificed individual judgment and personal sovereignty entirely, fearing that he – and he alone – suffers a nameless deficiency, many opt to conform to the herd, and blindly follow the other sheep by adopting the training program that has the most adherents in their gym. Little does he suspect that the others are doing the same thing. Like him, they think the others must know what they′re doing; after all, how can the majority be wrong. In fact, the entire world can be wrong and one man right. Remember that even though for thousands of years millions of people thought the earth was flat, such didn′t make it true.

Mike Mentzer

An Identity Crisis

What′s the value of possesing well developed muscles, if the individual is arrested intellectually on the level of a dependent child? Not long ago, in Flex magazine, a very young, heavily muscled, well-known bodybuilder was quoted in bold print, "If 20 sets are good enough for Arnold, it′s good enough for me!"

When someone asks, "Who am I to judge?" you really have to wonder. Your "self", your "I," is your mind, i.e., your concepts, ideas, beliefs – in short, your philosophy; which determines the extent of your ability to think and to judge. When a person has relinquished his judgment, deferring that responsibility to others, he has, in effect, sacrificed his self, and literally ends up selfless, suffering an identity crisis.

For those who understand the importance of developing the mind along with their muscles, I refer you to the books appearing on the Order Page of this web site.

Mike Mentzer

The Power of the Mind

The idea of a "healthy mind in a healthy body" comes to us from the age of classical Greece, 23 centuries ago. Theirs was a Golden Age which idealized the beauty of the human body and exalted the power of man′s mind.

The power (or health) of an individual man′s mind is directly proportional to his conceptual range, i.e., the number of concepts his mind has integrated, how well he understands their exact meaning, and the number of logical connections he has made among them.

Mike Mentzer

More Confusion from the Experts

An increasing number of "experts" in the bodybuilding magazines are erroneously asserting that all training approaches invariably lead to "adaptation," something they deem negative, or undesirable; and use as a justification for moving arbitrarily from one system of training to another.

In reality, in logic, adaptation is precisely what is desired. The purpose of imposing a high-intensity, anaerobic training stress is to cause adaptation, i.e., an adaptive response, i.e., stronger and larger muscles. Similarly, people lay in the sun to elicit an adaptive response; namely, the development of a suntan.

Mike Mentzer

Mentzer quotes from Flex: "If 20 sets are good enough for Arnold, it′s good enough for me!"

He makes a similiar logical falacy himself. Assuming that because 2 sets every 5-7 days works best for his clients will work best for the general population.

Why not? After all, he trained more than two thousand people, so at least there′s the possibility.

Conceptual Integration–Posted 4/28/07

Considering the massive rise in the number of studies measuring the effect(s) of exercise on hormonal output, what is sorely needed is the logical analysis and "integration" of the results of these studies. This would require interdisciplinary cooperation, including the philosophy of science. Presently, our universities are not aware of this; and "data" continues to accumulate without the requisite processing. The main point here is that without a full, proper contextualization of the data/information derived from such experiments, these reports only serve to relieve the pressures of publish and perish, having little or no practical value.

Mike Mentzer

Bewildered Bodybuilders–Posted 4/28/07

"Literally awash in the oceanic proliferation of new ′theories′ on exercise, the average bodybuilder cannot even begin to judge, or evaluate, the flood of contradictory information. His thinking is severely hampered, limited to interminable quibbling over relatively unimportant details, such as whether to turn his little pinky up or down when doing Dumbbell Laterals; is a wide grip better than a close grip; is four sets of five exercises better than five sets of four exercises; is three days on and one day off better than one day on and one day off; or, are partial reps better than full range reps?" (From Chapter One of my book, Heavy Duty II: Mind and Body.)

Mike Mentzer

Fundamental vs. Derivatives–Posted 4/28/07

The details mentioned in the previous HIT are not totally without import; they are actually "derivatives" – (based on and derived from) – which only have relevance when understood in the context of the fundamentals from which they were derived. What′s the difference, for instance, whether a bodybuilder does four sets of five exercises or five sets of four, if he hasn′t grasped the cardinal fundamental of exercise science — the fact that a high-intensity training stress, i.e, training to a point of failure, is an absolute, objective requirement for stimulating growth and, therefore, none of his sets is triggering the growth mechanism into motion? Or, not cognizant of the crucial importance of properly regulating the volume and frequency of his workouts because of the body′s strictly limited capacity for tolerating the "wear and tear" of high-intensity training stresses, he becomes so grossly overtained that, even if he were "stimulating" any growth, the overtraining would prevent his body from "producing" growth.

More useful information from Kingfish. Thank you for that!!

I just wanted to point out that even Kingfish himself likes to post Mentzer′s fatal false premise in all its glory:

" the cardinal fundamental of exercise science — the fact that a high-intensity training stress, i.e, training to a point of failure, is an absolute, objective requirement for stimulating growth "

EVERYONE, except die hard HITers, understands that failure is in no way a requirement for anything at all. Mentzer′s entire "philosophy of exercise" is based on this false premise, making his whole theoretical argument more than suspect.

Thanks for the friendly reminder Fish,
Jeff