HighIntensity.net View Mike Mentzer Bodybuilding Topic

Hi all,

For some time now, I have this question:

Is there something special about the order of the exercises in the Athlete′s Routine, i.e., the new and improved version of the Consolidation Program?

As most of you know, the program is as follows:

Workout A:

1. Squats (preferably in a Smith Machine): 8-15 reps.
2. Close-Grip, Palms-Up Pulldowns: 6-10 reps.

Workout B:

1. Regular Deadlifts: 5-8 reps.
2. Dips (or Incline Presses): 6-10 reps.

(5-7 Or more days of rest in between workouts.)

If not, than would it really matter if one would change the order a bit to his personal preferences?

I understand that you should start with the "biggest" exercises first: Squats or deadlifts. This is because they use up the most of your energy. But personaly, I prefer to combine Squats with a chest exercise (like Dips). Also, I like to do my Chin-Ups (instead of Pulldowns) first. Only drawback is that after Chins my grip is a bit weakened, so when I start doing Deadlifts, my grip will fail first (although using a so-called "hook-grip" enables me to postpone this fatigue a bit).

(Note: In his Ideal (Principled) Workout, Mike had people doing Pulldowns before Deadlifts, too.)

Any thoughts? Many thanks in advance!

I believe the reason for the order is so that each workout has 1 pushing and 1 pulling movement,making both workouts abbreviated fullbody workouts.I wouldn′t change anything.

I did the Athlete′s Routine for two months,
and I would say I prefer doing:
Chins before Squats, and Deadlifts before Dips.

And when I shifted to a 1-Set Deadlifts-Only Routine,
my "naughty" guess regarding the sequence of the Athlete′s Routine is:
Mike believed that either a squat or a deadlift is sufficient for growth (thus a 1-Set);
thus making the chins and dips just to "psychologically" compromise with those
who wants "to do more" than what is required. (",)

Thanks for your responses, guys!

I have, however, two remarks:

1. Squats may be a "pushing" movement, but it′s a pushing movement for the legs, not the upper body.

2. I don′t agree that all you′ll have to do is squats or deadlifts. Both are fantastic bodybuilders (LOL!), but including chins and dips will give you a better overall bodybuilder-look. I′ve included squats and deadlifts for many years in my workouts now, but NEVER did I have a better upper body then when I starting including chins and dips, too. Working hard on squats and deadlifts will give you a good "engine" for building a great upper body, but it is my personal experience that you′ll have to include chins and dips, too. Chins and dips combined gave me the best chest, ribcage, lat and overall arm development I ever had!

Just my two cents.

There is nothing wrong w/the AR, if you are able to give it your all on each set of the w/o. As to the order, I prefer lower body before upper body; other trainers prefer upper then lower body. Also, any one who has ever achieved outstanding size and strength has always used the squat and/or DL as the foundation of his/her training program.

However, I agree with you that some upper body work is necessary to achieve complete results. Something you may want to consider is an upper and lower split. That is, do squats one w/o, rest 4+ days, then do chins; rest 4+days, perform DL; rest another 4+ days and complete a set of dips. Another option is to complete dips and chins during one w/o and then alternate squats and deadlifts during another training session with 4+ days separating the w/outs.