Rating: 
Summary: Blinder Vision
Review: I have to admit I like this book. But it has some flaws. Several sections were written many years ago. Home video cameras are considered new technology in the book. Also, the emphasis on Nautilus machines makes me suspicious that even more of the sections are very old. There are other examples I will not go into here. Mike Mentzer attempts to use objectivist philosophy and "scientific" logic to prove that HIT is the only way to go to fully realize ones "genetic potential". Therein lies the fault. One can apply all the reason in the world to biology but without careful experimentation the results are at the outside best uncertain. No experimental results are presented or referenced. Only anecdotal evidence is presented. This seems to be par for the course for HIT. If I was a true believe I would use all experimental evidence in existence to convince others. The lack of this evidence makes me believe HIT is more like a religion. Now that I have said this I will admit that HIT works. It works for me and I have seen others for whom it works. I just wish that Mentzer and the other HIT devotees would use more scientific evidence. One difficulty in particular I see in the logic is that recovery time is tremendously manipulated and is said to vary tremendously among individuals. But the response to exercise is said to vary very little among individuals. I don't believe this. I do believe that recovery time, response to exercise and other variables can be manipulated to increase the effectiveness of weightlifting for the individual. I also doubt that that 40 min of exercise a week is enough. Also, overtraining is overemphasized as in the hardgainer materials. I have found it is actually quite difficult for me to overtrain and I am a classic ectomorph/hardgainer. The "overtraining" methods in Arnold's book seem to work just as well for me as the hardgainer methods. Most of these other methods just add variety and I don't have to work out 6 days a week to get it all in. The section on posing does not compare well with Arnold's in the Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding but has some info strict bodybuilders will find interesting. The section on using mirrors looks like it could really be useful for some. The book also contains some good motivational material and it is evident that Mike Mentzer was a great mentor. Regardless of its faults the book is relatively well written and well thought out. It is a good presentation of the HIT mentality. Just be wise and realize that HIT is not the end all be all. Other methods work just as well.
Rating: 
Summary: I wish I had listened sooner...
Review: I started out like most - making good progress, getting stronger each month, then I hit a plateau. It must be my training - add more sets, like the magazines say. That kind of worked, but soon, I hit another plateau. This one lasted 8 yrs. Then I though - it must be my nutrition. Nope. Wrong again. Then I found Mentzer's website, and bought his book. WOW!!! I am getting stronger with each and every workout, just like he said I would. And, my tendonitis in my knees, shoulders, and elbows is gone. This workout is not for the weak of mind or lazy, but if you're willing to give it your all one or twice a week, you'll get incredible results. Be sure to carefully track your weights and reps, though, as the book says. It's just incredible to KNOW what you are doing is working, and to be able to adjust your workouts, knowing that the adjustments are correct. Someday, everyone will be working out like this. It works.
Rating:
Summary: The Only Way to Train that Makes Sense
Review: I trained inconsistently for about 13 years from the age of 18 to the age of 31. I used the usual volume approach which is taught in the bodybuilding magazines and most of the bodybuilding books. At the age of 32 I finally decided to get serious about training. I found that I reached a plataeu after about 1 1/2 years of steady training in which I hardly missed a single workout. I was eating well and doing the things that the bodybuilding magazines teach (i.e. multiple sets per exercise, multiple exercises per bodypart, 60 to 90 seconds of rest between sets, ect.) yet my strength virtually ceased to make any progress. I was at a complete loss when I decided to look up Clarence Bass on the Internet. He is a well known bodybuilding author. He suggested Mike Mentzer and his training methods to all those seriously interested in making continued progress in bodybuilding. After trying Mike Mentzer's training methods for 6 months, I am convinced that this is the best way to train. I am now back on the road to continued gains in strength and muscular size. I would reccomend Dorian Yates also as a source of information (you can order his books thru this web site). Yates won 6 Mr. Olympia's using the Mike Mentzer high intensity system.
Rating:
Summary: Good but beware....
Review: I use many of the HIT principles but watch out for the injuries. I would say in comparing HIT vs. Volume (i.e. Ronnie Coleman or Arnolds workouts which 4 pages long.) HIT is defiantly better but there is one caviant. Watch out for injuries. I have been competitive natural bodybuilding 10 years. By maxing out and killing yourself with super heavy weights all the time you are begging for an injury.
Rating:
Summary: The only valid theory of productive exercise
Review: I was first introduced to the concept of high intensity training by Mike's articles in Iron Man magazine in the early 90's. For the first time ever, I began to see consistent, noticable improvements on a workout to workout basis, initially gaining over 25 pounds of muscle over a period of only a few months. I eventually became certified as a personal trainer by the SuperSlow Exercise Guild, who also advocate a high intensity training (HIT) protocol similar to Mike's, the only major difference being the use of a slower rep cadence which provides for a lower risk of injuries. Having trained hundreds of clients using HIT since 1994, I can say with absolute confidence that it is by far the safest, most productive, and most time efficient way to train. Whatever is in second place is so far behind as to not even be in the running. HIT is not, as some reviewers have erroneously stated, conducive to injuries, so long as the exercises are performed properly - that is, using strict form and a smooth, controlled speed of movement. Lift the weights slowly and under strict control, and reverse direction smoothly, rather than simply swinging, bouncing or throwing them up and then allowing them to drop the way most people do in the gym. It isn't the amount of weight that causes injuries, but the manner in which one attempts to lift it. HIT is perfectly safe if the exercises are performed properly. Mike addresses this issue in the book. HIT does happen to be the "be all, end all" of exercise. There can only be one best, one most efficient, one most effective means of accomplishing a particular goal, and where exercise is concerned, this is it. The principles of productive exercise are the same for all of us, it is merely the specifics that must be adjusted for individual differences, which is accounted for in HIT theory, and in Mike's books. Even if another training method produced similar results, if it required you to spend a greater amount of time in the gym it could still not be considered equal, since the return on investment would be lower. For those who's social lives revolve around the gym or who are stuck in their ways, this may take some getting used to. Personally, I'd rather spend only as much time in the gym as necessary to get the best results. The purpose of exercise is to improve the quality of your life, and NOT to be the center of it. Get in the gym, train hard, then get out and enjoy your life. This is the most thorough of all of Mike's books. It covers all of the principles of his Heavy Duty high intensity training system in detail, and provides routines and explanations of the performance of various exercises. There is a section with information specifically written for the competitive bodybuilder on peaking, definition and posing. Mike also discusses his views on motivation in the gym, which I believe many will benefit from.
Rating:
Summary: A new perspective
Review: I've tried all the training method out there, be it arnold's training methods or Ronnie's training method...well they all didnt worked and even worse constitute to overtraining, slow down and a complete halt in progress. Not until i came across HEAVY DUTY (Mike's version of H.I.T). When i first read his work, i was skeptical as his teachings where just direct antipode of what i had known. No harm trying, i tried and very soon progess comes along.Mike was a teacher, when i read his books, it seems that he speaks directly to me. Mike was erudited in philosophy, objectivism in particular. In this book, Mike integrated philosophy and exercise science to bring the concept of body building to us. His ideas and teaching are revolutionary, furthermore he makes us think rather than to follow the crowd( the conventional bodybuilding approach), especially on the subject nutrition which most bodybuilders overcomplicate. Some will say that the material found in this book is kind of outdated as some was written quite long ago, in my point of view they were right because Mike discovered the truth of exercise science long ago before anyone does. This book is quite condensed in philosophy, for those who are interested in Mike's philosophy, i reckon reading HEAVY DUTY II which can be bought exclusively at www.....com. His Legacy Lives ON.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish I had'n't spent the $
Review: If you're new to abbreviated training or HIT (High Intensity Training), you'll probably get a lot out of this book. However, I've read, followed, appreciated, and gotten stronger following the advice in Stuart McRobert's books, which are much more detailed and useful. While Mentzer does a good job of articulating his philosphy, it didn't make sense that the "exercise" portion of the book focused on isolation exercises (curls, etc.), rather than compound exercises such as squats, dips, etc., that pay much higher weight lifting dividends.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic guide for the non-genetically gifted
Review: In 2002 I bought Arnold's bodybuilding book and within a few months I stopped gaining strength, and started experiencing back pain. My doctor had me take an MRI, and after multiple visits to chiropractor I stopped power lifting (clean and press most likely culprit for back problems). I then read everything I could get my hands on about how muscles worked and grew in size. Everything pointed to intensity of training as the key. I read "Maximize Your Training" edited by Matt Brzycki cover to cover (extensive references to why HIT works). I poured over research references almost every evening for 2 months (I'm a chemical researcher, so I know how to access references) Everything kept leading back to Mike Mentzer, not necessarily as the originator of HIT, but as the person most-respected and least 'connected.' Like me, he looked at the research and modified his approach as he learned. He trained others and kept careful notes as to the response of his clients. High-Intensity Training is both a testament to Mike's personality, and a testament to the absolute scientific facts behind the training methods. I have been able to find multiple independent references to all of the principles presented in the book, and, just between you, me, and everyone else, IT WORKS! My girlfriend stopped working out with me because, "She was starting to look muscular." Yes, 'Girls Guide' it works with women too. I understand why Mike included all the 'extraneous' chapters covering philosophy and his seven principles. I get funny looks at the club when I work out, and have had several people attempt to "help me." To explain why I do what I do, I need to draw on his 'Identity' and 'Intensity' principles. I have lost weight every week, and gained strength every workout since reading Mike and John's book. The book has a few shortcomings, which are easily addressed. 1-No references to scientific studies. Answer- Buy "Maximize Your Training" edited by Matt Brzycki. Go to [website] or other websites
2-Not enough explanation for exercises. Answer- Buy "The Insider's Tell-All Handbook On Weight-Training Technique" by Stuart McRobert
3-Not enough variety for a life-long pursuit. Answer- Do your own research continually as HIT is still in its infancy. This booker is a primer and autobiography, meant to inspire as much as inform.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Way To Build Massive Muscles
Review: It's a revolutionary way to build massive muscles as well as eat right. It cuts your workout time down to abut forty minutes.
Rating:
Summary: The Only Way to Train that Makes Sense
Review: its another great book by the legendary mike mentzer.his advice is full of logic and his is the only rational voice in bodybuilding.
a reviewer with a stupid name showed his dismay at the picture showing mentzer reading a newspaper.it shows the usual concrete bound mentality that scoffs at any mention of the terms logic,reason or philosophy in a bodybuilding magazine or anywhere.he again whines that it is no big deal reading descartes or kant.well,mike didn't read to showoff his erudition the way scumbags like u do.and what does the comparison with arnold's stupid degree mean.with the current low standards in academia any fool can get a degree.how in the hell can u compare a business degree to philosophy.philosophy is the most abstract subject there is and MBA means just that:master of bull and advice.the reviewer is completely unaware of mike's revolutionary contributions to exercise science.so what that he didn't have a phd.neither did plato or aristotle.i have a masters degree in philosophy(cum laude),but i know it's worth.it belongs in a dustbin along with your stupid,cynical review.
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