Mike Mentzer is one of the popular names in the fitness community, known for his innovative and intense training approaches.
He used to follow High-Intensity Training (HIT), which involves performing lower rep ranges with maximum effort to maximize muscular strength and hypertrophy.
This HIT training helped him win Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and Mr Olympia (heavyweight division) in the late 70s.
Mike Mentzer followed multiple training splits to build a huge and well-defined physique, but I will share his two popular splits, which he uses to shape his muscles and gain huge mass.
If you are looking for a time-efficient training program for bodybuilding that involves little exercise, you can try this routine.
Mike Mentzer High-Intensity Training Philosophy
Mike Mentzer’s high-intensity training is about building muscular strength and size without training hours in the gym.
His HIT workout involves performing one working set of 8-10 reps with maximum effort, ensuring you have no energy left to do even one full rep at the end of the set.
Here are some techniques Sir Mike uses during the Heavy Duty Training for building mass and shaping physique:
1. Train Larger Muscle First
Mike Mentzer used to train his muscles in sequence, starting from large to small. For example, if his session includes training chest and triceps, he hammers his chest before striking the three-headed arm muscle.
2. Full Range of Motion
Mike Mentzer suggests performing every rep with a full range of motion to ensure your muscles are activated nicely. To do this, perform each rep with full extension and contraction with a 1-2 second pause between reps.
3. Progressive Overload
Mike Mentzer recommends constantly increasing weight or the number of reps and sets to challenge your muscles and stimulate muscle growth. To do this, know your strengths and make a little increment every week or two to push yourself a little harder.
4. Low Volume Training
Mike Mentzer’s training emphasizes training less, focusing on heavy-duty, high-intensity workouts to failure, and allowing ample rest for optimal muscle growth.
For example, he said in an interview he only trains 30 minutes per session four times a week, which is only two hours in seven days.
Mike said too much volume leads to overtraining and keeps you from making the best possible gains.
5. Forced Reps
Forced reps allow you to push yourself a bit harder. It involves taking your partner’s help to perform one or more reps when you can’t do them on your own. Many professional lifters use this technique to intensify their muscle growth and strength.
6. Optimal Recovery
You don’t have to think about recovery if you train in Mike Mentzer’s style. His training involves training a maximum of two hours a week, allowing your muscles ample time for recovery.
100-Day Mike Mentzer Workout Routine Challenge (Program A)
- Day 1 – Chest and Back
- 4 Days OFF
- Day 2 – Legs
- 4 Days OFF
- Day 3 – Delt and Arms
- 4 Days OFF
- Day 4 –
- 4 Days OFF
- Repeat
It will take 20 days to complete one round of this training program, so try this program for 100 days to see if it works for you.
Day 1 – Chest and Back
| Exercise | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Pec Deck Flies | 6-10 x 1 | No Rest |
| Incline Bench Presses | 3-4 x 1 | 1-2 min |
| 6-10 Narrow Grip Pull-downs | 6-10 x 1 | No Rest |
| 5-8 Conventional Deadlifts | 5-8 x 1 | – |
Instructions for day one:
- Perform dumbbell flyes or cable crossovers if you don’t have access to the pec deck machine.
- Use the machine to do the incline bench presses. If the machine is unavailable, use free weights.
- Use shoulder-width grip to perform incline bench press.
- Grip the handle with an underhand grip (palms under the bar) to perform the lat pulldown.
- Perform barbell shrugs if you can’t do the deadlifts.
Day 2 – Legs Workout
| Exercise | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension + Leg Press (Superset) | 8-15 x 1 | 1-2 min |
| Standing Calf Raises | 12-20 x 1 | – |
Instructions for day two:
- You can substitute the leg press with the Smith machine back squats.
Day 3 – Delts and Arms
| Exercise | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Lateral Raises | 6-10 x 1 | 1-minute |
| Bent-Over Lateral Raises | 6-10 x 1 | 1-2 minute |
| Straight Barbell Curl | 6-10 x 1 | 1-minute |
| Triceps Press Down | 6-10 x 1 | No Rest |
| Parallel Bar Dips | 3-5 x 1 | – |
Instructions for day three:
- Use a straight or V bar to perform the press down (avoid rope), and if you don’t have access to the cable pulley, you can do lying French presses as an alternative.
- Use weight if you easily perform five dips, but if you can’t even perform one, do 10 negative dips.
Day 4 – Legs Workout
| Exercise | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension | 8-15 x 1 | No rest |
| SM Back Squat or Free Weight Squat | 8-15 x 1 | 2-3 minute |
| Standing Calf Raises | 12-20 x 1 | – |
Instructions for day four:
- Perform leg extension with a full range of motion using more weight than the previous day. Perform one additional static hold rep to finish your leg extension. To do this, hold your legs extended for 10-25 seconds (until you can no longer hold), then slowly return your legs with strict control to the start.
Mike’s Heavy Duty Workout Plan for Advanced Lifters (Program B)
In the above video, Mike Mentzer mentioned he used to train four times weekly. His split involved training chest, shoulder, and triceps on day 1; back and biceps on day 2, and legs on day 3.
- Monday: Chest, Shoulder, and Triceps
- Wednesday: Back and Biceps
- Friday: Legs
This program involves lifting more than the above one and can be used after completing the 100-day challenge.
Day 1 – Chest, Shoulder, and Triceps
| Exercise | Warm-up Set | Working Set |
|---|---|---|
| Cable Crossover | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
| Incline Bench Press | 15-20 reps | 6-8 reps |
| Lateral Raises | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
| Bent-Over Lateral Raises | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
| Triceps Press-down | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
| Nautilus Triceps Extension | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
Day 2 – Back and Biceps
| Exercise | Warm-up Set | Working Set |
|---|---|---|
| Nautilus Behind The Neck | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
| Close Grip Underhand Pulldown | 15-20 reps | 6-10 reps |
| Bent-Over Barbell Rows | 15-20 reps | 6-8 reps |
| Shrugs | 15-20 reps | 6-8 reps |
| Upright Row | 15-20 reps | 6-8 reps |
| Nautilus Curls | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
Day 3 – Legs
| Exercise | Warm-up Set | Working Set |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension | 15-20 reps | 8-10 reps |
| Leg Press | 15-20 reps | 6-10 reps |
| Standing Calf Raises | 15-20 reps | 6-8 reps |
Download The Mike Mentzer Workout Plan PDF
Final Thoughts
If you want to get huge by exercising a little, Mike Mentzer’s high-intensity training program can help you.
In this article, I shared two splits: one that involves lifting only once out of five days, and another has three sessions per week.
One might think he trains very little, but those routines plus diet helped him achieve many titles in his professional bodybuilding lifespan.
You can try one of Mike’s routines to see whether it works for you or not.
Besides his workout program, if you want to learn more about him and his exercise wisdom, I highly recommend exploring his YouTube channel, where he has published hundreds of videos about health and fitness.
