Elite Physique

Schwarzenegger Vs Mentzer

I’m certain we’re all familiar with multi-Olympia title holder Arnold Schwarzenegger’s training style. He was known for the “traditional” high volume approach that was heavily popularized in Joe Weider’s publications. It wasn’t uncommon for Arnold to be in the gym for hours at a time and sometimes twice a day. Contrast that to the late IFBB pro Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Training system. Mike was a strong contender for the Olympia title and was admired for his rugged physique, but he promoted a very abbreviated but high-intensity workout. Mentzer balked at Schwarzenegger’s marathon workouts and claimed that only one set per body part was enough for growth and  that doing additional sets was actually counterproductive! Let’s compare one of the typical high-volume workouts that built Arnold’s 58" chest to a workout that’s true to Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty principles.

As you will see, there’s quite a stark difference in volume! The differences of training styles came to a head at the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest. Who can forget the iconic picture of an angry Mentzer standing and pointing his finger at Arnold, who sat in a chair, legs crossed, as cool as a cucumber? Both athletes were supremely confident in their approaches to muscle building. Who was correct? I would have to say both training styles are effective, but individuals who benefit greatly and consistently from Mentzer’s high-intensity methods are few and far between. Charles Poliquin has suggested that athletes can only benefit from a Heavy Duty program if they are severely overtrained from a previous high-volume routine and those small benefits derived are short-lived. I would suggest that those who can continually grow from this abbreviated workout are the genetic elite, and they are extremely rare!

Arnold’s training methods are just more universally applicable to a higher number of athletes looking to gain size. And this is exactly what I see with my own clients. Over the past 30+ years of hitting the iron, I’ve yet to see one athlete who excelled continually with Mentzer’s high-intensity approach. A major disadvantage of Mentzer’s program is that it has a greater likelihood of injury. Another prominent problem I see with high intensity training is the constant push to increase the poundage on the bar. The idea that all one has to do is lift heavier weights to grow muscle is a very myopic view of muscle hypertrophy. Training to increase weight lifted in the gym to produce muscle gain is an ass-backwards attempt at creating a pro-quality physique.

The real secret to packing on mass is to train for hypertrophy and the strength increases will follow. I urge you to pick up Arnold’s seminal work The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and learn from the best. Arnold was onto something in the ’70s that can be applied to today’s athletes to produce incredible results. Stick with high volume for tried and true gains, and leave the condensed workouts to those who are content with mediocrity.