Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Workout and his training ideas: ALSO KNOW AS HIT

[RazorCuts]

One of my favorit articles. This was written by Lee Apperson


Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Workout and his training ideas: ALSO KNOW AS HIT (High Intensity Training).

Mike Mentzer's training theory is well described in his book, "High Intensity Training", printed in 2003 and very well written by Mike and John Little. You would be well served to read this book. It really makes you think. He backs up his training ideas with a lot of medical evidence. The crux of his workout theory is: train super hard, and briefly--the more advanced you get the less you train (as you make inroads into your limited recovery ability)--and then you REST. A minimum 4-6 days and up to 14 days between workouts to allow maximum recovery. Upward progress is constant as you simply rest more and train harder, workout by workout.

In the book Mentzer states: I f you stop making progress stop training for 2 weeks and resume again. The idea is to recuperate, from intense training and always return to the gym stronger. A never ending upward spiral of success as long as you can induce a maximum contraction on the muscle as that is the trigger (and the only trigger according to Mike) to make the muscle grow, and then REST to allow that growth to take place. Got it?

It sounds very scientific and and makes sense. The harder you work the more you rest. Sounds logical. And I can agree on that point but unfortunently not on much else.

The body doesn't work that way.

Mike gives us tomes of empirical, evidence to back up his claims. Yet I can tell you from years of experience, that truthfully, the body does not respond that way to exercise.

Mike is one of my favorite bodybuilders. I have read almost every article and every book he has written. I have trained using one set only to failure (and beyond) on 9 exercises for almost a year. Here is what I learned: I got very strong on those exercises. Very strong. I didn't grow. I got hurt a lot (and so did my partner).

Yes the sad fact is I didn't get any bigger and weighed the same. Yes I could leg curl nearly 60lbs more than the year before, but I was no bigger. Zip. Nothing. Nada.

Injuries

I got hurt. A lot. High intensity as described by Mike is very dangerous. Pushing yourself super hard is bad for you. I don't care how much you rest between training sessions.

How bad is bad? Let me tell you: I was doing negative only training and tore my shoulder out of the socket. I was leg pressing and was pushing so hard with so much weight I broke bones in my ankle. I puked quite often during my training and I blacked out once during a set. I trained very hard. We would tie our hands to the lat pull (on every set so you couldn't lose your grip and quit) with 6 foot boxing straps and pulled till our arms nearly popped out of the sockets! And finally during one set of mega squats I ruptured my stomach wall and had to visit the hospital for an operation. And this is not the entire list of injuries!

The fact is as you become advanced (strong) you can push yourself beyond your limits very easily. You can and will, injure yourself. Pushing yourself too hard, too often, is not good for you.

THE SET THING.

The moment I returned to multiple sets training (which I did to see what might happen) with less intensity (let's call it normal intensity or hard work) I grew. I'll never forget it. The evidence was irrefutable. One set to failure may make you stronger, but it does not build a physique, and it's dangerous. And resting weeks between workouts is no way to become strong and fit. Though I have to admit I never have tried taking weeks off between workouts unless I was very hurt or sick.

Yes, I was stronger from the one set stuff as I stated earlier, (I gained what I usually gain in strength training) and using that strength in multiple set training was a plus, but NOT TILL I RETURNED to MULTIPLE NORMAL SETS without training ot all out failure--did I start to hypertrophy again. Maybe it's the blood flow. Maybe it's the high and low reps, maybe it's the frequency, maybe the cenetral nervous system recovers better when you are not training to failure all the time--maybe it's all of it! All I can tell you is --it works.

It's possible, in fact very easy, to get hurt doing things like negatives and forced reps and rest pause techniques,especially if you train like that ALL the time (instead of very infrequently using high intensity, as I suggest---week 3 of your monthly cycle during phase 3 of your yearly training--maxing only once a year.) Mike has the athlete maxing out all the time and beyond! It's not good for you unless your joints and tendons are made of steel.

The body isn't meant to do "forced reps", or all negative reps with a weight you can't normally lift (there is a reason you can't lift it--it's too heavy!). It damages your tendons, it puts you at risk. And if you do it for several high intensity workouts in a row, maxing out at every workout on every exercise--YOU WILL BECOME INJURED.

Mike says you won't get hurt. You just need to rest more. I don't care how much REST you take. 4 days, 14 days (even worse) walk in that gym and start maxing out every workout and you're finished. In no time you will be injured. I would bet money on it. Then you can really rest as you wait to grow new tendons.

Let's just say that you didn't get hurt? Would it work? Nope. 2 reasons: One: You need more frequent exercise to get into good shape for one thing. Once a week training (for 12 minutes to an hour) or less is not enough time, training wise, to produce a fit healthy muscular body. I will admit one hour of training a week can have marvelous benefits and it works to build size, however to become Mr. America it is not enough training.You need weights at least twice a week (training hard and progressively) and more to really progress, and you need to do some sort of aerobics and ab work. The second thing is you can't kill yourself year round in the gym.It just doesn't work. Your central nervous system and glands are overloaded from constant high stress. You must work hard enough to improve, and progression means adding small amounts of wieght to the bar on a consistent basis. You don't have to train to failure to get stronger or 2 one or two more reps each week. You have to work hard, or at least exert yourself, but you don't have to kill yourself to make progress.

Training to failure each time you lift is like running a sprint 100% till you drop each time you run. It's not practical or needed to improve. Training with all out intensity all the time can be very detrimental. You overload your body (and mind) and you can't recover any more, growth stops and you will probably shrink, you "go stale" as it were. The body has a defense mechanism that after a few weeks of high stress, kicks in and basically shuts itself down. I have seen it over and over in my own life and in other trainers. Classic signs of being stale beside being weak are: You can't sleep, feel nervous, no appetite, tired, and usually you may get a cold or flu as well. It's your bodies way of slowing you down one way or another.

Athletes that go to the Olympics to run for example, don't run fast all year round. They build up to it. They peak themselves. They train and run a little faster each month and then at the Olympics they give 100%. Then back off and do it again next year, with a new training cycle It's the best way to prepare to be your best. No one runs the 4 minute mile every day. You build up to it, do it, then back off. To run a 4 minute mile every day would be impossible, even if you rested 2 weeks between runs you would still find yourself slowing down. The body can only run at maximum for a short time then it needs down time to attempt that pace again. You can't stay at a peak. It's very difficult and prone to injury (after all, now you are at your physical limits) as you ride the razors edge.

Mike's theory is based on hard work and then rest. This is the basic idea behind conventional training as well, however you max out very infrequently ( using conventional training ) and the work is carried out over a year's time.

Mike completely discounts periodization and that is the major flaw in his training theory (besides way too much rest between training sessions). You simply can't kill yourself all the time in the gym. The nervous system and endocrine systems can only take a few weeks of this, at best, and then you go VERY VERY STALE. So even if your elbows and shoulders don't get ripped from doing negative benches your nervous system will overload very quickly from constant high intensity training.

Remember I am not knocking Mike Mentzer. Mike was a great guy. His books are very informative and influenced me to train both harder and for less time. I just can't get behind the entire High Intensity Training (HIT) training program. For me, and others, it was a dead end.

 

[Dad]

This stuff never seems to die...

I knew Mike well, and can tell you that his ideas on training were more wrong than right, a trend that gathered steam, especially toward the end of his life.

I'm not going to bore everyone once again, or waste time typing out the real story behind all of the Jones/Darden/Viator/Mentzer/SuperSlow stuff, but those really interested can do a search and find my posts on these subjects.

 

[RazorCuts]

Dad thats what the article is saying.

RC

 

[ForemanRules]

Did HIT back in the mid 90's, a nice change of pace but not very productive in the long run..

 

[toastyloadfox]

I remember Casey Viator saying...

In a very old issue of Musclemag International, Casey Viator was asked if he always adheared to the teachings of Arther Jones while at the Nautilus training facility at Deland Flordia. Caest Replied: "Look none of us knows what the F**K we are doing, myself included. The High Intensity training principles appear to be sound, but in the real world the body neither functions nor respons like that."
Viator went on to say that when Jones wasn't watchinmg him, he, (Viator), would sneak into the gyn and do set after endless set of every exercise. Viator also went on to state that according to HIT theories, if one were to intensely prior to a competition, his/her w/o would have to decrease even more in frequency due to the fact that posing is in some cases as intense or more intense that an actual w/o. Viator stated that this is backed up byt HIT training theory, but anyone who even gives such a thought more than a cursory glance can easily see that such training would NEVER work in the real world.
I too gleaned a lot of great information from Mike Mentzer's articles and books, and for several years did nothing but HIT training. I got stronger as you state, but I also did not get any bigger. I was always injured, always had tendonitis in some bodypart. Constantly training to failure on each set of every w/o let my system so run down that I was always sick with a cold or the flu. Not to mention that failing on every set can tend to be disheartening.
Mike was a very intelligent guy and obviously was a great thinker........but he was also very close minded in refusing to realize that there were parts of HIT training theory that just might be wrong.
I am not putting Mike doown either. I still have a deep respect for him, but after 3 or 4 years of nothing but HIT training, then switching to more sets, higher reps and more frequent w/o's as well as periodizing my w/o sessions, I am getting some of the best gains in my life.....and I have been training for nearly 28 years, and am almost 44 years old. I know what works for my body and what doesn't, and HIT training while it has its' time and place in a w/o, does not work if you follow it 100% of the time.
Of course this is just my opinion and personal observation.
Thanks for reading.
Jeff Toastyload Fox

 

[Boo]

Nice contribution, TLFox. I agree.

 

[TrainingHard]

"The body isn't meant to do "forced reps", or all negative reps with a weight you can't normally lift (there is a reason you can't lift it--it's too heavy!). It damages your tendons, it puts you at risk. And if you do it for several high intensity workouts in a row, maxing out at every workout on every exercise--YOU WILL BECOME INJURED."

I very much agree with this statement and what Jeff wrote. Rest is very important so is constant training. I have trained to failure and just ended up injuring my self. You can’t get stronger, faster, and build a better physic if you’re hurt or ill.

 

[Rogue]

Trained with MIKE in 1996. I trained 1 day and rested 2 days. Made great gains in size and strength.... After 2 days of resting, I could not wait to get into the gym and release a ton of energy I had accumulated.

 

[lucian]

..........what about yates?????????????????

i hear what everyones saying but what about yates? he got phenomenal results from mentzer actualy training him, could it be that certain body types respond better than others and grow from H>I>T>? i mean yates did tear himself up but before he did he was enormous and hard and dense like no other. colman isnt even half as dense as yates was. dorian looked like he was carved outa marble and this is the same look mentzer had in his prime. super dense. even for back then. im not sure but theres gotta be something to connect this all together, seems like a genetic predisposition. anyone care to comment???????

 

[Conan21]

Dorian Yates did not follow Mentzer Heavy Duty. His training had Heavy Duty philosophy built into it but not Mentzer heavy duty at all.

Yates did 1 or 2 worksets. On several or up to 8 or 9 exercises. Where as mentzer did 1 set of of 1 exercise for the most part. Mentzer recomended a 4/4 cadence. Yates didn't do this. Mentzer's ideas of rest were silly. He stated many times that he did not agree with Mentzer HD.

if you ever do more than one set. or ever incorporate a second exercise for the same muscle in the same workout you are acknowledging that volume is a factor with training. Mentzer did not acklowledge this, especially in his later years where he was recomending super consolidated routines.

The density that they displayed was mainly genetics and conditioning. although some of it may have been due to to the fact that they had higher degrees of Myofbral hypertrophy.

 

[KTT]

Yates did train two weeks with Mike.
Their routine was similar to Heavy Duty I

While competing, Mike did more then 1 set per muscle.
Later, afer retiring, he further developed his ideas and reduced his routine more and more.
Heavy Duty I with three days per week training
Heavy Duty II a) with training every 4 days
Heavy Duty II b) training every 5 to 7 days with even less total sets
Consolidation routines.

KTT

 

[lucian]

hyper reps??

anyone remember the hyper rep articles in flex by mentzer? he put dorian through a chest and bicep session that was sick. and yes he did train dorian for a bit. like ktt said mentzer trained like yates while he was competing. does anyone have these articles on hand?????

 

[Conan21]

Lucian

Have your read the Dorian Books?

he states he trained a few times with Mike but didn't like his ideas of no volume and prolonged rest. His routines are much different. go to yates site. he has sample programs on there. I believe Mike Mentzer even states on his website that Dorian Yates never followed heavy Duty. But adopted some heavy duty concepts to his training.

 

[Moen]

I do it now, to train around my injuries which works like a charm with the very infrequent training, both strength and size gains are better than anything I've done before so I don't agree with most things said here, but to each his own

 

[xcelbeyond]

I wish Mentzer would have stuck with the term Heavy Duty (which really isn't an accurate description either) instead of HIT. Look at the term HIT, it means "high intensity," not train hard once a week. There are MANY way to increase the "intensity" to a much higher degree, but this encompasses MANY different methods.

At times I believe that HIT is more a "state of mind" than anything.

 

[IRON MAN]

I wish Mentzer would have stuck with the term Heavy Duty (which really isn't an accurate description either) instead of HIT. Look at the term HIT, it means "high intensity," not train hard once a week. There are MANY way to increase the "intensity" to a much higher degree, but this encompasses MANY different methods.

At times I believe that HIT is more a "state of mind" than anything.

Excel could not be more right. Mentzer went wacko in his latter years. HIT simply means training hard. It doesnt mean you have to strain your butt off or hit failure all the time. It simply means your pushing it..How hard you push it will vary from day to day or week to week. HIT is what makes us GROW!

STEROIDS weakening tendons, age, and using poor form in conjunction with massive overtraining, is the culprit of injuries, (not HIT).

 

[lucian]

beyond failure.

anyone remember trevor smiths beyond failure training? verry minimal sets, big wts, pre exaust,forced reps and slow negatives. remember how big he was? he was a friggen monster. he was training robby robbinson for the masters olympia one year and its the best and biggest robby ever looked. isnt that kinda what mentzer was doing? i remember a post w the workout posted and holy shit it was crazy. but trevor was a freak w huge size and strength to boot. he made cutler look like diaper man from the super mighty heros standing next to him. what do you guys think of the b.f.t.????????

 

[ForemanRules]

anyone remember trevor smiths beyond failure training? verry minimal sets, big wts, pre exaust,forced reps and slow negatives. remember how big he was? he was a friggen monster. he was training robby robbinson for the masters olympia one year and its the best and biggest robby ever looked. isnt that kinda what mentzer was doing? i remember a post w the workout posted and holy shit it was crazy. but trevor was a freak w huge size and strength to boot. he made cutler look like diaper man from the super mighty heros standing next to him. what do you guys think of the b.f.t.????????

https://images.google.com/imgres?im...refox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official_s&sa=G




Trevor Smith Interview - 400 Pounds And Growing!




Trevor Smith Interview - 400 Pounds And Growing!

By: Gear UZR Magazine




Even those familiar with the bodybuilding world can't help but look in wonder at his 415 pound physique. His intimidating size can be misleading though. Trevor looks like the kind of guy who would kick sand in your face while at the beach, but he couldn't be a nicer human being. He truly cares about the sport of bodybuilding, his beautiful wife Nancy, and his thriving businesses.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Trevor recently and we learned quite a bit about his new training center, his 4th degree black belt, his future competition plans, and much more!

Bodybuilding.com: You recently opened your own extremely hardcore training center, tell us about that and what a typical day consists of for you?
Trevor Smith: The Beyond Failure Training CenterTM has been a dream of come true for me in January 2003. I wish that was all that filled my schedule. I have never liked gyms with pretty lighting and a single's club atmosphere. I like to train in an environment that reeks of something Satan would find a little too hard-core. I feel I have created a facility that has the energy and spirit that embraces effort and concentration along with a tough, hard -core appearance.

The Beyond Failure Training Center is only part of my day and one section of my projects. My busy schedule gets filled with my own training, training clients both pro and non-pro levels in bodybuilding and other sports, creating articles and ideas for my other writings - I have a 9 page spread on Site Injections in the August 2003 issue of Muscular Developement which I hope will be helpful to the numerous emails/calls I receive on the topic that I do not have time to respond to, as well as dispelling many myths on the subject and prevent the absurd looking and fake muscles we see all over the place and more importantly to prevent people from severely injuring/harming themselves .

I have to oversee all facets of Nuclear Nutrition and the never-ending tasks I am dragged into with that to maintain its integrity and that it is always at a level worthy of its label and my approval- a lot of checks and balances in quality go on in good manufacturing, as well as a lot of time, money, patience, graphics, etc. I just completed shooting my first Beyond Failure Training Video and I am married with three dogs and one cat. The schedule gets full but I still find time to take my motorcycle through the mountains, hit my favorite restaurant and sit back in my Jacuzzi - so it's not all bad just consuming.

Balance is a goal that is not always reached but strived for in my day. For a full description of The Beyond Failure Training Center's unique equipment, you can go to my website where each piece is described and outlined as well as see preview pictures from my upcoming Beyond Failure Training Video.

BB.com: Speaking of Beyond Failure Training, for those who have yet to hear about it and even for those who have can you please explain what it's all about?
TS: Beyond Failure Training TM (a.k.a. BFT TM) is the name of my training system/style. Although I only tagged the trademark and name of the style in 2000, the system began evolving 12 years ago and is literally a compilation of all my ideas, notes, thoughts, and sketches. However, my Martial Arts Training provided huge clarity necessary to create Beyond Failure Training ... Yes, I still weight-trained and knew bodybuilding was my goal but while training and learning Jiu-Jitsu, I allowed Jiu-Jitsu to be #1 and knew I would come back to a place where Bodybuilding would be #1 and follow my dreams.

My Martial Arts was the key to unlock my thoughts and spiritual beliefs and capture the ability to label my values in Zen Philosophy and spirituality. The BFT System is extremely complex and hard to describe which is why I opted to do a video first and then books. It is easier to view BFT than it is to explain it, but even that is very insufficient as one really has to physically experience to fully appreciate it and respect it and realize that I am not full of shit ... just ask Jay Cutler, who has experienced first hand a few 20 minute sessions with me-and the sessions were not even at full intensity!

That is why I desperately try to free up as much time as I can to teach BFT to my clients. And even then, there are so many facets and intricacies to BFT that it is difficult to teach it even with having a full 6 or 8-week timeframe to work with somebody as this would really only scratch the surface as it is impossible to squeeze 12 years into a few weeks or months.



I have had some people train with me to try to learn, but usually ego gets in the way where they try to compare their weight and strength to mine and it becomes this game to them with their ego getting crushed as the comparisons are silly, unrealistic and senseless. Everyone has to assume the role of student when they are exposed to something that is foreign to them otherwise their ego will prevent them from growing-both internally and externally.

So instead of using the opportunity to learn they, instead, use the opportunity to compare and thus gain nothing from the session except a bruised ego that they spend time trying to justify and mend. Unfortunate but true, and experienced more often than not. Checking ones ego at the door is a must with B.F.T. just as it is with Martial Arts ... otherwise you stay stuck and very limited and do not grow ... or worse, you get hurt.

As the system of Beyond Failure Training grows, I find new challenges to work through. I have heard or read some comments from people who say or think that BFT was taken from someone else or that I did not create it in an attempt to discredit me. I think it is only human nature to knock what one does not understand, but it does get tiring. Honestly, there are times when it really pisses me off but I know that is wasted energy and my words fall on deaf ears. Beyond Failure Training was created by me and developed by me alone. End of story!

Any good teacher will tell you that they learn through their students and I have learned through teaching and watching many people who inspire me but inspiration does not alone make a creation. I spent many, many years developing and continue to do so. Sure many people including Dorian, Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer inspired me ... but truth be told, most of my inspiration has been a result of my exposure to non-bodybuilding related individuals and writings as the crux of my system is all based in mental attitude and mindset. Although, I have developed many intricate and unique techniques that have never been done before or written about before.

To further attempt to describe BFT, it is important to understand why it is so different than other weight training styles. BFT's differentiator is its extensive Martial Arts Elements and Zen Lessons weaved heavily into this style of Weight Training. It is not just drop sets and forced reps as people like to think.

As I referenced before, a good, well-respected person who could verify and appreciate how different BFT is would be Arnold Classic Champion and top Olympia Contender, Jay Cutler. I helped him with one of his off season mass building programs and will be trying to free up some time to assists him with his program and training for the Mr. O using BFT techniques and my mass building theories and knowledge. He and Chris Aceto will focus on the dietary end of things to bring in the additional mass I add to his physique totally shredded, which they are experts at doing.

There are many subtle techniques that I have created and it would take too long for me to write about them ... thus the reason I am releasing a 4 part instructional video after my own Beyond Failure Training video is released, which I just finished! I am proud of this video as I hope it will help explain just how intense and amazing the system is and just how far it can be taken as the intensity is off the wall. I am also using record-breaking poundages AFTER extensive and maniacally painful pre-exhaust on isolation movements.

Which actually means I don't even know what my true single rep max is on any pressing movement because I do not train in that manner or for that reason. Yet, with this fact, I expect many to further discredit my feats and just plain refuse to believe them-even they are documented on video tape--which is great for me because it fuels my intensity to achieve even more of the "Impossible".

BB.com: You have written many articles and display philosophical knowledge beyond the sport of bodybuilding. What exactly is your educational background and why do you incorporate such a unique approach in your writing? It is very, very different from anything else bodybuilding related that I or anyone else has ever read.
TS: I don't think I would call my knowledge philosophical ... but rather more eclectic. I have a Bachelor's Degree Science From Rutgers University and a Minor in Anthropology and Archaeology as well as what they called a "Mini"-which is basically another minor-in the field of science. I have further studied Zen, Mythology, and various branches of Theology, etc. All of which have lead me to form a very strong sense of my own spirituality.

A true gift was being exposed to the teachings of Joseph Campbell the world's most renowned expert and leading authority on the significance of the mythologies of varies cultures of the world and a gentle spirit who died enriching all of mankind in ways you might find quite surprising as his teachings inspired the first Star Wars Trilogy.

I believe that every human being has the opportunity to teach and show others the deeper meaning of life and share with them universal truths as I call them. I don't want to get into a lengthy talk on the subject of Universal truths so I will just stick to your question. Some people go through life and pay very little attention to the wonderment of life and their very existence ... to these people rain is just a means of getting wet ... food is just a means of providing sustenance and having friends and a companion is just a means to keep company.

I don't believe this is our reason for existing and I believe that since we were given the cognitive ability of self awareness and many other things, we should take the time to look much deeper than the surface so that we may truly benefit our body, mind and souls. This is the corner stone of Zen teaching...to understand that the simplest things hide the most amazing gifts and sadly it takes people-and even then only a select few-something tragic like a near death experience, loss of a loved one or a terminal illness to realize that we are all connected and that if you focus on any one single thing for a given length of time, you miss out on the grandeur of everything else that surrounds you and thus deny its very existence.

Now whether you want to call this God or The Universe or even "The Force" I don't care, but it is my goal and sincere hope that bodybuilders learn that there is so much more offered to them mentally, physically and spiritually if they open their inner eye and look past the initial surface of grabbing a weight and lifting it for a certain number of times.

Zen philosophies can be applied to EVERYTHING. I suggest reading Zen and the Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance and you will begin to understand. I also suggest any of the works of Joseph Campbell as well as Takuan Soho, author of the very famous book (that is a bit hard to understand), called the "Unfettered Mind." He was a Zen Buddhist that lived around the time of the greatest Samurai and sword fighter in recorded history: Miyamoto Mushashi--who had over 50 one on one "To The Death" duels that resulted in 50 kills to his record (at one time using an oar from a boat against a swordsman's blade).

He wrote what many consider the ultimate guide to strategy-called, "Go Rin No Sho" a.k.a. "The Book Of Five Rings," which he was inspired to write after meeting this frail Zen Master, Takuan Soho, who looked Musashi (the most feared man in the land at that time and one who lived a very ego filled life where he took what he wanted and bullied people) in the eyes and laughed at him calling him a little child and no more enlightened than a wild animal.

Utterly shocked was Musashi that this little man looked right into his eyes without fear, that Musashi saw what true power and strength was and hung up his sword and began studying under Soho until towards the latter part of his life, where he retreated to a cave and wrote his famous " Book Of Five Rings."



All of these books that on the surface have nothing to do with bodybuilding, can also be applied to every facet of life, including bodybuilding, just as SunTzu's Art of War and Takuan Soho's, "The Unfettered Mind, Miyamoto Mushashi's "Go Rin No Sho" and Joseph Campbell's "The Power Of Myth", and although you might think I am joking, "The Tao of Pooh" which teaches how the lovable Winnie The Pooh lives life by Zen teachings and, in essence is the ultimate Zen Master.

And there are many, many other books...some I will not mention as they may offend people who do not understand.... and the reason these books can be applied to everyday life and relationships and battles and love and yes, even bodybuilding is because they contain universal truths.

And it is through my studies, my training and studies in Japanese Samurai Jiu-Jitsu and my good fortune to be exposed to many masters: Boxers, Kick Boxers, Kyokoshinki Fighters, Champion Wrestlers and Grapplers, and Judo Masters and Sambo experts that I had a bit of a mental, physical and spiritual rebirth (not in a religious way) and it is because of what I absorbed like a sponged that I was able to ultimately take all of what I have learned and marry it with all the bodybuilding knowledge that I learned and created the ever evolving system of mine called Beyond Failure Training TM.

It should be noted that the small article I wrote about the Beyond Failure Training system in the summer of 2000 is a mere shadow of what the system is and continues to become. My training video is meant to showcase just how far and how extreme it can eventually be taken, but the video is not something someone should watch and attempt to follow for reasons that it is too advanced and that they are not aware of the subtle techniques I am using in each set that are undetectable to the untrained eye but make all the difference in the world in terms of intensity and growth. This is why I am also releasing a seminar I did on B.F.T. back in September 2002 and also why I will do a 4 part instructional series demonstrating all the individual techniques.

BB.com: When did you become interested in Martial Arts?
TS: I can't target the exact date... but it was back in the 1970's when I was a kid watching all those Chuck Norris movies and seeing "Enter The Dragon." I thought Bruce Lee was just from another planet. I always wanted to join a martial arts school but my parents never allowed me to. When I was in College I was totally consumed with bodybuilding and thought it was just a dream to be able to do both, but when I was graduating, fate stepped in and I needed to do a sports related internship anywhere I wanted in order to finish up my schooling.

As fate would have it, I was introduced to a Jiu-Jitsu Master that would come into my sister's business to buy flowers each week and also ask for donations for his charity show. So she decided to take it upon herself to ask him if he would sign off on my internship so I would not even have to show up. Now this may sound great, but it is not my nature to take short cuts...so I agreed to do it, only if I could show up and work at the Dojo for free.

Well since there was little for me to do since I was totally new, unskilled and a white belt, I began to train and help clean up after the classes were finished and the rest, as they say, is history...A history filled with amazing experiences and knowledge, but to talk about that would fill an entire separate interview.

BB.com: When did you start bodybuilding and what got you interested in it?
TS: I started bodybuilding well before martial arts. I remember when I was 7 or 8 years old and my brother (4 years older) was watching, "Pumping Iron," and that was it for me! I was glued to the television and fascinated with Lou Ferrigno... not so much Arnold...but Lou. I was not allowed to lift weights until I was 13 and started on my 13th birthday. I used my brother's weight machine (which I was often beaten up for doing) but it did not matter to me. I loved the power lifting weights gave me...a power that was totally dependent on me and me alone and I loved the internal challenge it presented. Up until that point, I never experienced anything remotely like that.

BB.com: I know you hate this question, but you know people are dying to know. What are your current stats/ size and measurements, how much you lift etc.?
TS: I don't mean to be evasive ... but I have been on the receiving end of much crap for answering this question, mostly from little shits on the internet spreading lies, discrediting my accomplishments, and hurling vicious insults at me, that I will not get too specific with this question as everytime I answer this question I find out that people are shouting "BULLSHIT" and "That's Impossible".

So I simply walk the walk and keep quiet, which you would think would satisfy the non-believers, but in a sport that deals with insecure egos this will never happen ... even if I have sworn testimony from respected bodybuilders and I have my training recorded on video. I guess I would have to enter a Powerlifting competition to satisfy these idots...but I train for bodybuilding and have no need to prove anything to anyone.

Should the day come where I want to train like a Powerlifter and wear all the elaborate suits and triple ply bench shirts that you need 4 people to get you into and then have them wet it down to shrink wrap it to your body so you turn yourself into a human power spring and then on top of this be shot full of Adrenalin-which can stop your heart instantly and is something I would never dare do to myself-- to lift even more weight than your muscles would normally be able to lift under normal training circumstances then I will do so.

Understand, this is no knock against Powerlifters, but I think it is important that people understand what really goes on. I train to build muscle and the weights I use, I use daily ... day in and day out. Many Powerlifters wind up setting records by lifting a given weight that they cannot come anywhere near lifting (given the circumstances I mentioned above) a week later in the gym or ever again for that matter. So I don't compare my training to Powerlifter training. It is totally different. But I want to make it clear that I respect what they do and the Powerlifters I know and have worked with definitely respect what I do because they realize just how intense and maniacal the training is and exactly what a feat it is to move the weights I routinely move AFTER extensive pre-exhaustion.

So the only thing I will give you in terms of my "stats" is my height and weight. I am 6 foot and a bit over a half inch... so I give myself the other nearly half inch and say that my height is 6 feet 1 inch. During the peak of my last course, while I was shooting my video, I was 412 lbs. One day I was really hungry and ate like 50 pieces of sushi at my favorite sushi place and after that night and the 2 gallons of Gatorade I consumed (no bullshit, just ask my wife... my appetite for solid food is very small most of the time, but in terms of liquids I am like a camel), between the hours of 10:00pm and 4:00am my weight the next morning was around 420 lbs. from all the water retention that I got from eating gobs and gobs of sushi and the Gatorade. But for the most part, I stayed at 412 lbs. for the video. If I make a concerted effort to stuff my face with carbs (in my opinion, sushi is the best source for this along with a packet of M.R.P. Factor 3 mixed with Gatorade), I can go over 420 lbs. easily.

Truth be told, I don't pay attention to the scale mostly because at my size, my weight can easily fluctuate 15 pounds in a single day just from sweating in the 120 degree heat, moving stuff around in my warehouse and if I miss a few meals. But I really am not one of these weight-obsessed guys that weighs themselves 50 times a week. To me the mirror is what matters most.

BB.com: What is the one thing that you dislike most about Bodybuilding?
TS: The LIARS and the TAKERS! All the liars out there make it extremely tough on the honest people. If I have learned anything in this industry it is that no one tells the truth! The fact that I do tell the truth makes me a target and an island.

I mean just pick up any bodybuilding magazine and understand that most bodybuilders lie excessively. If I were to go by what other bodybuilders claim their bodyweight and strength is and the bullshit spewed by 99% of all supplement advertisments ... well then I guess I am 465-470lbs. and bench press 1000

I want to take a moment here to address the debate on me being natural up until almost 3 years ago and my size and weight that I am now after "crossing the line". In Muscular Development's "A Cut Above," Jay Cutler's column this month, July 2003 MD page 328, Jay states." I started bodybuilding at 180 pounds and gained almost 100 pounds within three years." That was 10 years ago when Jay started bodybuilding - and he is now 29 years old.

Using that gauge from his statement, which is a very common gauge - after 3 years of consistent training and "supplementation" it is quite ordinary for one to gain 100 pounds and continue to gain and pare fat with muscle the longer one trains "enhanced". I was a natural 335 lbs with a very solid training physique on me with 15 years of weight training under my belt, and after almost 3 years of heavy training and "supplementation" - I reached well over 400 lbs. and I am still growing.

Why is this so unreal for people to digest and why do people try to challenge it? It is within the same range as every other body builder- I simply waited longer and therefore started at a bigger weight and size before beginning any supplement program. Most bodybuilders started their supplementation much earlier than I did and thus did not give their bodies a chance to get larger naturally.

I waited a long time and trained brutally hard and monofocused to reach my natural limit in size and strength which is something few, if any, bodybuilders have done. I also use "supplements" very carefully and have a very intense and comprehensive knowledge of how to use them and do not have an ego that makes me use huge amounts or stay on too long. Please note that I am using the term "supplements" to include the full arsenal that bodybuilder's and other professional athletes use in their training programs.

Adding all this together with my training, which is more intense and more consistent than anyone would ever believe and the results are that much more amplified. But, yet people refuse to accept this as I am in unique and uncharted territory so they attack it. It is sad because I put it all out there for people to learn from and follow in the footsteps of. But you know the old saying...you can lead a typical bodybuilder to a gym and a bag full of steroids, but you can't make them think!

BB.com: So, are there any plans on competing?
TS: This is a common question that is often asked and the answer that is so often not believed. Yes, I plan on competing and will compete in accordance to my own schedule and mapped out plans, the same way I attack all my other achievements. Competing on a Bodybuilding Stage is the achievement to me, not my placing or where I will go in the sport, if I will go anywhere. I don't look that far ahead. I believe if you don't stay in the moment of the journey and look too far ahead at the goals you get derailed easily.

Competing in Bodybuilding has been my goal since the age of 15. It got derailed because of College Football, then because of Jiu-Jitsu and currently because I started my own company in late 1999, Nuclear Nutrition. I have been busting my ass to bring Nuclear to a level where it provides a steady and stable income for my family so I can focus on competitions without worrying. My company, business and livelihood have to be stable to support my family so as to allow me to have the peaceful environment I require for my mono-focused, stress-free preparation.

I want no distractions or stress around me during this time as I do things 1000 percent and want to present the best package I can possibly present so I have no regrets where I place... I am competing for me...it is my dream and I am not doing it to grovel for some contract worth pennies. I chose to build my own nutrition company to give myself the best products available and and avenue of income to pursue my passion and goals.

This was the harder path to take as having my own company has kept promotions and opportunities away from me but I have weathered it for five years and I am proud of the quality of Nuclear Nutrition's product line, its growth and help it has given to the medical community and the bodybuilding industry. I still have a lot more to do with the company but all in good time.

Many aspiring bodybuilders lay around waiting for contracts and someone else to pay for their goals or dreams. I saw so much of that while in Los Angeles, it made me sick. It may sound judgmental but I don't believe anyone has the right to leech off anyone. The expectant taking nature of these people is a disgrace!

There are only a handful of bodybuilders that I feel deserve respect for their work ethic. Dorian is one of them. he was a gym owner and always worked before he turned pro. Nasser El Sonbaty worked on an assembly line while he was putting himself through graduate school and pursuing bodybuilding ... Ronnie Coleman graduated from LSU with a degree in Accounting and is a police officer, and please no disrespect to others if I left you off the list and you actually work for a living, but you are in the minority!

I have watched lazy "boys" (they are not fit to be called men) who never worked an honest day in their lives do nothing but lay around ... live off their wives, parents or revolving girlfriends or all of the above combined to pay for their bodybuilding pipe dreams where they think "When I get my Pro card...I will be rich and pay everyone back." This just baffles me. But then again, you are dealing with compulsive liars and leeches that do not know the meaning of the word integrity or honor.

BB.com: What is the most impressive thing you do in the gym?
TS: My mind. The most impressive thing I do in the gym is block out everything from my mind, all aggravation, all pending situations, and anything that would normally be causing me stress. I meditate for a moment before each set and connect myself with the fabric of the universe to totally exist and "be" in the only moment that truly matters... the moment at hand which means whatever exercise I am about to perform and take past previous thought limits of strength, endurance and pain thresholds and disregard them. Oh...and I also have a great knack for throwing up in my gym bag and not getting it on the gym floor.

BB.com: Where are you originally from?
TS: I am a pure bred New York boy through and through and lived there for 28 years of my life. I grew up about 35 minutes away from Manhattan. My moral code was formed from New York work ethics and the streets and further enforced through the respect inherent in true Martial thinking. I do as I say - I am old school. If you are my friend, I got your back regardless of how it could affect me.

Los Angeles had a very different moral fiber than this. And Bodybuilding is 1000 times worse. Attitudes of what can you do for me? Many psychic vampires as I call them. I moved to California in August 1998 and then began the relocation process to Las Vegas in late 2000 and arrived in 2001.

BB.com: What made you move to Las Vegas?
TS: Well it wasn't for the weather although it really is only bad in July and August...then the weather is rather pleasant in Vegas. No, I moved to Vegas because I wanted and needed to expand Nuclear Nutrition and it was too costly to do so in Los Angeles, California. Soon after we moved into our home my wife managed to convince the Cutler's to move out here as she decided that we needed to "import" some friends.

In fact, my wife was so hell bent on getting them to move out here, she looked at houses and found the house they wound up buying before they even came out to visit after Jay won the 2002 Arnold. And when she took them to see it, they bought it right on the spot. Since then, it seems that everyone and their brother is supposedly moving to Vegas and it is being "touted" as the next bodybuilding "Mecca." But I don't see that happening. Vegas is a small town and you have to be on your feet to survive out here or you will get eaten up and spit out.

BB.com: I met your wife Nancy. How long have you two been married?
TS: I have been married to Nancy since July1998 (five years). We are both from New York and actually grew up in the same town and went to the same High School without ever knowing each other. We moved to California as newlyweds in August 1998. I believe marriage in Los Angeles should be counted in dog years!

Everyone asked me why I was bringing sand to the beach and they were right! Just kidding, as I tell Nancy the great thing about sand is that it mixes well with other sand (LOL)

Seriously though, Nancy is intelligent, challenging, sexy, funny, and my life partner. Nancy had a big adjustment getting used to this industry because she has a Master's Degree in Education and undergraduate degrees in Art & Design and Management. Before joining Nuclear Nutrition Nancy was in the garment industry and was a teacher in New York. Our biggest challenge is that she probably knows me better than anyone and she still can't understand how mono-focused I am and it still annoys her! Plus she really cannot stand the lack of honorable people you tend to encounter in this industry.

Which is why she unleashes her creative talent in her very new clothing company www.badnaughty.com You have probably seen Nancy at Nuclear Nutrition's booth along with many other fitness beauties wrapped in her creations. Definitely easy on the eye.






BB.com: Is there anything about the sport of bodybuilding that you have learned that is different than what you thought?
TS: Wow, extremely loaded question and I'd like to be politically correct here. I think it would be extremely important to understand that I come from a world of REAL TRUTH ... there are guidelines and qualifications, there are rules.

For example: My Bachelor's Degrees requires a certain number of credits, which equate to a degree. My black belt exams required the knowledge of ancient fighting techniques and patterns and movements on command and a certain level of proficiency in each area and my rankings were achieved. These are very elementary rules with simple guidelines.

In the world of Martial Arts if someone runs their mouth to dishonor you, take it to the mat. In New York, street ethics are applied in your life, in relationships and in business, you say you're going to do something - you do it. There are definite lines drawn...you hurt my family/friend then you hurt me, too. And then there are consequences. There are lines drawn and a code of ethics to be followed. But this does not exist AT ALL in Bodybuilding!

I feel I have learned that there pretty much is not a single bodybuilder who tells the truth. They never divulge the truth behind their drug courses in terms of whether they take steroids and in what amounts and they always tack on extra pounds to their weight (both competition weight-which doesn't matter, because the last time I checked they don't have a "Scale" round that is judged-and their offseason weight.)

They all seem to switch friends each month and they all stab each other in the back. One minute a bodybuilder will tell you he hates "so and so" and the next minute they are shaking hands and making dinner plans together at the next show you see them at. They all are pretty much ball-less and walk the tight-rope and play the middle. I don't operate this way and have had a hard time understanding this method of living and lying.

After five years of being around it, I am finally learning to understand it. That does not mean I like it, I just accept it. I love bodybuilding despite this nonsense I have seen or experienced because to me, bodybuilding is ultimately training...nothing but hard-core, brutally intense and insane training. I won't lie, it has been disheartening to be around and to discover the dark side of bodybuilding and see the truth behind the sport. I watch people smile to my face and discredit what they saw me do, what I taught them, what I gave them, etc.

And then when confronted, they lie, and cry...worried that they are going to get the ass kicking they deserve, but it is not worth it to me. I am not going to get arrested because someone is a liar even though I might want to. At my physical size and my background which the law and society views as literally being a lethal killing machine, I have to be extra careful how I conduct myself. If someone threatens me or my family's safety or the safety of another (person or animal for that matter) and I see it...well then it is go time and they had best bring a lunch pale...cause it will be a long and painful time for them.

But as for some of these bodybuilders, they are not worth it and in the end karma will bite them in the ass...because the energy you put out is the energy that comes back to you. And the bell will toll for them eventually and it has in many, many cases. I mean, imagine being a 30-35 year old man and have not a penny to your name, no home, no life at all other than mooching off your girlfriend or "mommy and daddy" and have accomplished nothing in life except lying, cheating and stealing.

A common form of income for these losers is usually selling steroids and even this they are incapable of being able to do well because even doing that well requires a certain amount of work and effort. Imagine all you have when you wake up each day-after you blast 200 units of Nubain into your vein-- is the thought that "When I get my pro card, everything is gonna change... my ship will come in... I am gonna be as successful as Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman."

Think about it. Name someone (in this current era of bodybuilding) other than Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Nasser El Sonbaty, Dorian Yates, Lee Haney, Shawn Ray and Lee Labrada that have had and maintained success to insure a secure income for their life from bodybuilding?

In all the years of the history of bodybuilding, the fact that one probably won't run out of fingers in counting the number of people who have been and maintained success from bodybuilding is pathetic. And it is not because of the I.F.B.B. (contrary to all the blaming) it is because of the lazy, expectant mindset of most bodybuilders who think they are ENTITLED to do nothing but train and sleep and eat.

Let me say this, the only thing you are ENTITLED to is free will and Bodybuilders are no different. What you do with that is entirely up to you and only those who come back on their knees crying and bitching about how unfair life is and how the world is racists or prejudice against them etc.

I still love the sport regardless because, as I said, I love training and to me that is what bodybuilding is really all about. It was just eye opening to see it from the inside out. The old saying, "Ignorance is Bliss," definitely holds true. I wish I did not know all the behind the scenes nonsense. I am fortunate to have alternative things to ground me and real friends outside the industry to rely on.

BB.com: Are there any misconceptions you feel people say about you that you want to address?
TS: I guess I should start with the statement, "Say it to my face." I have respect for anyone that speaks eye to eye to me. But I hate shit-talkers that talk behind my back. With my background, what am I gonna do? Beat them up because they called me fat?

The emails I receive and comments I read about myself are so ridiculous ... shoulder pads, 30% bodyfat, Styrofoam weights, digital photo enhancement. I have given up trying to understand these idiots, because one cannot apply logic to illogical people and one cannot apply truth and respect to liars and disrespectful people. I welcome anyone to come in to my facility and challenge my training system and my strength and go through my workout... Why would I lie? What do I have to gain by lying?

If you don't want to believe me, then ask someone like Jay Cutler how he felt when I put him through his sessions. There are even idiots on the internet thinking I am "lying and dropping Jay's name" Saying things like "Cutler would ever ask that idiot to train him and help him out". They actual say this shit and then avoid me like the plague at bodybuilding shows and don't have the balls to come up to me and vocalize to my face what they so vehemently spew out on the Bodybuilding internet forums and websites or to even go up to Jay and ask him themselves.

My training video will be out by the Olympia and it is my hope that it should help alleviate the stupid and childish jealous comments. Also, Mitsuru Okabe came up to the Beyond Failure Training Center to shoot footage with me and Jay for Jay's new training video which should also put an end to the bullshit. But that, in reality, won't ever happen because "Stupid is as Stupid does" to borrow a quote from Forrest Gump.

The fact is I can say anything in this interview, show pictures of me training, show my video and still there will be the nay-sayers and haters with all their anger and negativity and jealousy. My question to them is...Why is it that all the posts, comments, statements etc. on these internet websites and forums always seem to be from the same, nameless, faceless, and conveniently anonymous people? Why is it that you do not ever see any of the professionals who know me, have seen me train and respect me add to all the negativity and mudslinging?

The fact is that I have the respect of the people that matter in the industry. The well accomplished professional bodybuilders that have come to me for advice and assistance because they know and respect my achievements, as well as the accomplished Powerlifters and strength athletes (guys who are Bench Press record holders and highly accomplished in their field. I am talking about people like Bill Kazmier, Anthony Clark, Tim Issacs, Jamie Robinson, and many, many others) who know about or better yet in some cases experienced first hand my training system and how intense and difficult it is.

I have trained consistently in the public eye for my entire life up until January of 2003, so I find it rather perplexing all the disbelievers that have such a hard time accepting the fact that I am the size that I am and lift the weights I lift... especially since I never once brag or boast about anything except the fact that I train with almost inhuman levels of intensity and have an almost inhuman tolerance for pain.

The one misconception people have about me that I really want to address and change is that I am an arrogant, mean a-hole. Truth be told, I am actually a very quiet, soft spoken and humble person and a bit introverted. So I tend to have a bad habit of walking with my head down and because of my size I come across as uninviting and intimidating. But this is something I have been working on greatly as I do not like this aspect of myself-which is the result of a rough childhood.

I want people to come up to me and say hello and pick my brain and ask me for help and interact with me when they see me at a show and at the Nuclear Nutrition booth. And if I should appear tired and have my head down, I would love for them to say "Hey Trevor... snap out of it. I want to talk to you and you told me that you want people to be more approachable with you." And I will thank them and give them the attention they deserve, because to me, I am honored that someone would want to come by and speak with me, meet me or have a picture taken with me. The fact that people think anything but this is the misconception I am working hardest to change.

 

[bigheinz]

IS VERY EASY TO SPEAK.

A lot of "Experts" knowledges guys, likes to speak a lot but i am going tell you the same words Mike Metzer told me in front of Flex Wheler and Poul Dilet: "To train hard and smart you need balls and brain, those who say Heavy Duty doesnt work SON UNAS MARICAS QUE NO LO PUEDEN HACER"

He told me this in spanish directly to Flex and Poul, (he had study spanish in colege)
And i tell you guys more than a 100 of my clients my friends and myself got big, and strongest than a lot of bb training Traditional tecniques, and how i told in other threads no mather how you train, write now everybody is using HIT principles without know it. (30 to 45 minutes workouts, partial reps, rest periods, periodization, supersets, negatives, and a lot of hit principles they rename to make themselves important.

Just train hard, smart, and respect one of the best bb and teachers in this sports.
I know his personal life was a mess, drugs and crazy moments, but he left us a lot of knowledge.

 

[Conan21]

I think Excell made a good point.

HIT means High ItensityTraining.

it was invented by Art Jones and it had simple guidlines.
Reduce overal sets. (Conservative volume)
Increase energy output and train hard to maximimize MUA (motor Unit Activation)

If you use those guidlines its not a bad program. If you want to classify something as IRON MANS program as H.I.T program that would would not be a bad training program, especially compared to traditional bodybuilding programs.

One thing that i think has been over exagerated by HIT Jedis is how insanely hard they train. A person can only train so hard. and maintain good form and do so in a manner in which you can progress. especially if you like to use free weights.

When you train to failure or do 1RM, it can be a good thing for strenght. Musce activation is at its highest. However, its also very taxing and overtraining will often occur very quickly with the same exercises (especially on lifts like bench, squat, deadlift). This is why DC program switches exercises and that is why West side barbell switches Exercises on the their Max effort Day. This is known as the Conjugate method.

For some people, the Max effort approach is too taxing, especially if overemphasized.IE"trying to train like your are on ampedimines like Mike Mentzer did". it also limits the amount of volume you can do and volume (mechanical work) is important for hypertrophy. Alot of Eastern bloc coutries train with heavy loads but pull up shy of failure and use the repeated effort method with extra sets. this allows a lifter to continaully use the same exercise and not overtrain. they can also use MUCH higher freqency. they simply vary the workload from workout to workout.

One thing is for sure. is that Mike Mentzer was from the looney bin and so were his methods. I don't know too many people who use Mike Mentzer training BigHeinz. I used it for awhile and got poor results.

where does he recomend periodization? he was very against this. he taught that if you did workout A and if you were not stronger on workout B then the reason you did not get stronger was you didn't rest long enough (overtrained) and needed to reduce frequency. (untill the point you were barely even stepping foot in the gym). He recomended super slow rep candence. and OVERLY emphasized training as hard as humanly possilbe which easily leads to injury. unless you train on machines. I actually think the opposite is true in that MM led people astray. Now maybe dorian Yates methods can be usefull for some but not Mentzers. I think it is a lil bit ignorant to think that of all the strenght coaches around the world and olympic lifting coaches that Mike Mentzer Invented a secret training program to the best gains humanly possibly and imply that his method was "the only valid theory of strength training" which he repeatedly stated.

Here would be a good test. Train Mike Mentzer style for 6 weeks on bench and follow his recomendations to the T. and see how much you get stronger. Then For 6 weeks follow the soviet bench program that i posted before where you bench 3x a week and use volume. Then compare on paper the strength gains each program gave you and compare your chest size in the mirror. I bet 100 times out of 100 the Mentzer method will come up short.