The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer: The Art, Science and Philosophy of a Bodybuilding Legend
The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer: The Art, Science and Philosophy of a Bodybuilding Legend
The last word on how to build a better body–from the late, great Mike Mentzer
With his revolutionary “Heavy Duty” system, Mike Mentzer changed the way bodybuilders train, showing them that “less is more” when it comes to making great gains. In The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, you will discover Mike’s most advanced training techniques and philosophies–previously known only to his inner circle and personal clients.
Drawing upon never-before-released materials, his longtime colleague John Little reveals Mentzer’s most powerful lessons and workout plans, including:
- The importance of working to failure
- Techniques for pushing past mental and physical plateaus
- How overtraining impedes progress
- A complete advanced “Heavy Duty” training system
The workout that worked “like magic” for Mr. Universe himself More than an instruction manual, this thorough compendium brings together a lifetime of insights, training truths, and personal philosophies from one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars General and Informative.
This is actually my favorite of Mentzers works. I like it specifically because it is so broad and manages to be both specific and abstract.
I enjoy Mike’s writings and ideas in this form.
He is a philosopher and writes best in a philosophical context.
This book pretty much sums up the duration and evolution of his entire philosophy.
I am not a religious devotee of Mike Mentzers’ philosophy entirely.
I train with slightly more volume and eat more protein than Mike suggests.
Mike’s approach is fantastic and well thought out. It is also dogmatic.
My suggestion would be to look into this, as well as Arnold’s work, and maybe some other books like those of Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates, and find what suits you best.
As I’ve said before, I haven’t come across the perfect bodybuilding book yet.
5 Stars An Excellent Followup to Mentzer’s Earlier Book
This book is, in many ways, a tribute and memorial to Mike Mentzer. Although it is not written by him, as “High Intensity Training” was, it is written by his co-author on the book (and by his business manager)– two people who knew him well. As you would expect, most of the book is directed at high intensity training, although in this book, it is referred to as “heavy duty” training. Much of it is also directed at Mentzer’s philosophy of body building and of life in general. The first part of the book deals with the importance of character in relation to body building, something that Mentzer felt strongly about. The basic principles of heavy duty training are presented in the next part of the book, along with several workout programs. Of particular interest are several advanced programs where he emphasizes the importance of long rest periods. In some cases, though, his suggestions for rest periods seem overly long, but I’m sure he knew a lot more about that than I do.
The book compliments Mentzer’s earlier book and is a good book to buy if you have the earlier book, as it adds several new ideas and techniques. It is filled with black and white photos, and is a delight to read. Strongly recommended.
1 Stars Merely a copy of Ayn Rand and Muscle& Fitness articles
Nearly half of this book is a reprint of Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Training Advice that the author reprinted from old Muscle and Fitness magazines. His material about Dorian Yates’s training is reprinted from old muscle magazines as well and is partially incorrect at that. The ONLY thing good about this book were the pictures and he used virtually the same photos several times at that. Hey Little, how many times can you use a photo of Mentzer on a Nautilus Pullover machine? I am a HUGE Mentzer fan having had a phone consultation with him once but this book straight up sucks. I view this book as nothing more that trying to milk another dollar off of Mentzer’s good name. As the previous review stated there is nothing here that is original. If you were a regular reader of muscle magazines, you know all of this information already. Save yourself the money and purchase a book written by Mentzer himself such as Heavy Duty 1 and 2.
2 Stars Not a good effort
Being a fan of Mentzer, I was eager to read this. He does stand as someone I truly have admired in my life time. I have enjoyed his other books and always came away better for reading them. However, I was very disapointed in this book. I soon realised that the problem is it was not written by Mentzer. The first half of the book is honestly just a little too reverent in painting Mentzer as a hero. I admire him, but John Little makes him sound like a saint. It’s just a little much. The second half improved as it delved into Mentzer’s philosophy on training using many of his own quotes. But even here, John Little refers to his previous book so blatantly and repeatedly, he often sounds like a broken record. It was a shameless redundant self promotion that almost makes one question his sincerity.
My advice, this is just fluff and promotion. Go buy one of Mentzer’s books such as Heavy Duty as it is eye opening. Mentzer was a prolific writer and had a such a keen sense of logic that made the other books such as pleasure to read. This feels like a somewhat goulish attempt by those that have survived him, to use his name and drain one last bit from his devout fans.
5 Stars Mentzer’s Philosophy
Learn Mike Mentzer’s philosophy for bodybuilding and how to apply it to your own routine. The Mentzer approach can work for anyone.
Filed under: Bodybuilding Book Reviews
