anyone tried the HIT MIKE MENTZER WORKOUTS???

[digsy1983]

hey, i was watching a mike mentzer HIT training video the otha day and i'd like to know if anyones tried it and also what people thought of it?

he was advocating that a single rep lasting 4 seconds to contract then 4 seconds hold in a locked postiton then 4 seconds on the negative rep (12 seconds for a single rep) is more beneficial than the normal workout. he also said that training this way you need roughly 6 days recovery time. the guy in the video could only manage about 3-4 reps and they only did 1 set for each body part.
seems a fast workout but i'm doubting the gains from it.

[Shadowmaker]

im doin my own version of it... i do 4sec negative, 3sec positive... 1 set per exercise, 2-3 exercises per muscle group and each muscle group gets its own day...workouts are around 12minutes for me.

but i do train 6 days a week, each muscle once a week...
that huge recovery time seems nice but i like lifting and if i dont have a workout comming up that day, ill usually screw up the diet or sleep, or smth, because my workouts are the main thing in my day, everything evolves around that and if its not there, there is nothing to evolve around.

[digsy1983]

im doin my own version of it... i do 4sec negative, 3sec positive... 1 set per exercise, 2-3 exercises per muscle group and each muscle group gets its own day...workouts are around 12minutes for me.
.

So do you think doing the slow reps are more beneficial than the normal paced reps? How many reps are you doing per set? And do you need the longer recovery time? Its something I would like to experience but I don't think I could limit my self to the short training and long recovery time

[Shadowmaker]

i dont really belive in that workout really changes the way you progress... i belive that the workout itself is just a stimulus to growth and changing the workout would not really change your potential...

so why do i do this? because i like it better... its not about the reps, its about TUT(time under tension). You stimulate muscle only when its under the tension, so wheres the point of jerking the weight around doin 10 reps with total TUT of 25 seconds?
so, i do 3sec positive, 4 sec negative - so its 7 seconds for 1 rep... doin 10 reps like these i get 70 seconds TUT... my 1 set is like 3 sets of usual lifting style and i have made the same amount of stress on the muscle in 70 seconds, than most people do in what - 6-9minutes?!

its also cool to have to lift less weight... so if you do some barbell curls, you can lift the bar and you can feel it, you can control it, you dont swing, you just feel so good with the bar in your hands, it doesnt seem heavy, it doesnt jerk your back when you do negatives etc.
it feels much better and its much better to handle it, so you can really feel the insane pain and burn while still completely being in control of the weights.
reason why ppl dont do this is because doin curls like Markus Reinhardt on youtube with Mentzer does, doesnt impress other guys in the gym, since its not that much weight...
but i do this because i like the efficiency - i do more work in 1 minute then some do in 10 minutes and since the workout is just like 5% of the work, you sholdnt spend your time doin that, but you should get your stimulus and then go and eat and sleep - thats when the growing really begins.

i usually do 6-10 reps... its like - if you can do 10, you increase the weight but the reps will drop really bad, because you have to understand that - by adding a little weight it will be a huge progress for someone who is doing 7-8 second reps... because of the TUT, adding 1 rep for you, is the same amount of stress that you would usually get from adding 4 reps.

for the beginning - just try doin 1 set per exercise, slow movement and till failure.
if you feel that you need "more sets" you just calculate the time of your sets and the standard sets and then see for yourself - how much more have you actually done.
2 sets of Mentzer style = 5 sets of normal training so ask yourself - do you really need more?

[auslifta]

So do you think doing the slow reps are more beneficial than the normal paced reps? How many reps are you doing per set? And do you need the longer recovery time? Its something I would like to experience but I don't think I could limit my self to the short training and long recovery time

I do my own variation on this too. Slow reps is really the key. Also make sure there is constant tension-No lockout! There is exceptions like tricep pull downs and calf raises, but that pretty much it. I do 4 workouts over a week and cover the whole body. I couldnt do the 6 day in between workouts. I lift alot less weight than alot of guys in the gym but I don't do fast reps. Gotta say again, Time under tension>than weight being lifted.

[auslifta]

Need to add-Each exercis I do for 3-4 sets last set is working set, and I add a rest/pause at end of it.

[digsy1983]

I tried doing a slow set during front raises on the third set and I found it pulling alot more and I didn't even try doing a fourth set, as I normally do. Think ill try and do a working set in shoulders some time and experience a full workout. Nice to have variety just to mix it up.
Cheers guys for the replys!