by John Little TRAINING ALONE Q: I’ve been reading your articles about high-intensity training for some time and really like Mike Mentzer’s approach. I’m reluctant to try it, however, as I train alone in a home gym. How can I use Heavy Duty without a workout partner to help me with negatives and forced reps? A: I remember Mike being asked that very question at a seminar he gave in Rexdale, Ontario, in 1981. The question seemed to irk him somewhat. “I keep getting this in my seminars, and I just don’t get it,� he said. “People seem to think that they need to have a training partner in order to train hard.� Mike then explained that a training partner is not a prerequisite for Heavy Duty training. He once said this about his training approach: “Heavy Duty training is hard training wherein each and every set is done to failure. It has been empirically validated that such training stimulates maximum growth. Its philosophical basis lies in the belief that you will reach any goal faster when you try to get there as hard as
you can and that if you really believe in what you’re trying to accomplish, anything less than all-out effort is a sin against yourself.� According to Mike, if you don’t have a training partner and you believe you are ready for advanced Heavy Duty techniques such as forced reps—and nobody needs these who has not been training to positive failure for at least six months and more likely one year— there is a way. After going to positive failure in strict style, use a slight cheat, or hitch, to get the weight moving. If, for example, you’re doing barbell curls, and you get to a point where you can’t raise the weight anymore, you can continue by swinging the bar just enough to get it moving and then complete the movement with muscular force alone. When performing one-arm dumbbell concentration curls, after reaching failure you can use your free hand to provide the curling arm with assistance for forced repetitions. When it comes to performing negative, or eccentric, repetitions, Mike had this to say: “You can perform negatives for many exercises without a training partner. When doing dips or chins, for example, you can lower yourself slowly in negative fashion from the top—or contracted—position. With certain (continued on page 222)
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
US TOUR
The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer
REVOLUTION TOUR
Duty
HEAVY