John Little - The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer: The Art, Science and Philosophy of a Bodybuilding Legend

Copyright 2006 by John Little and Mentzer-Sharkey Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-182001-1
MHID: 0-07-182001-9

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For those who have heard of Mike Mentzer, but have heard falsely; for those who believe that character counts as much as physical beauty; for those who desire truth rather than hype; for those who seek a more rational approach to exercise and a more productive use of their time; and for those who were Mikes friends and students and wish to widen the compass of his influence and legacy. And for my children, Riley, Taylor, Brandon, and Benjamin, three of whom met Mike, but did so attoo young an age to benefit from his contact. This book will reveal what their father fearned from a very good friend and from an even greater human being.

And most of all, for Joanne Sharkey, a lady who has gone through so much and worked so many countless unrecompensed hours to broaden the awareness of the teachings of her late friend, Mike Mentzer, through Mikes official website (mikementzer.com). I and thousands of others are forever in your debt for all of the hours youve so diligently devoted to keep the flame of Mikes legacy burning brightly for all to see and for doing so with a dignity that Mike would be proud of.

Part I
ART AND PHILOSOPHY

Part II
BODYBUILDING SCIENCE

Part III
HISTORY

Part IV
UNDERSTANDING HEAVY DUTY

The authors would like to acknowledge the artistic genius of the many photographers who photographed Mike over the years and who graciously allowed us to reproduce their artistry within the pages of this book. Above all, we would like to acknowledge Chris Lund, who not only took unrivaled physique images of Mike but who also saw the merit of Mikes approach to bodybuilding and nutrition during Mikes lifetime and helped promote Mike Mentzer and his Heavy Duty training system throughout the United Kingdom. Additional thanks are due to Bob and Gail Gardener, Iron-man magazine, and John Balik, who not only took some incredible physique images of Mike Mentzer (many of which appeared in Mikes last book, High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way), but also has made Ironman magazine the home of Mike Mentzer via the continued publication of Mikes Heavy Duty column. A huge thanks is also due Weider Health and Fitness for allowing us to use the majority of the images that appear in this book. Finally, a special thank-you must also be extended to all of Mike Mentzers many fans and students who demanded more information on the life, art, science, and philosophy of their hero. They will be the torchbearers of Mikes legacy for future generations. Keep it burning brightly.

Mike Mentzer-his name has become synonymous with perfection in the art, science, and philosophy of bodybuilding. (Photo by John Balik, courtesy of Weider Health and Fitness.)

The name Mike Mentzer is synonymous with perfection in the art, science, and philosophy of bodybuilding. Mike was the first bodybuilder to ever garner a perfect score in the Mr. Universe competition and more important, he was one of the few innovators and pioneers in the interrelated fields of bodybuilding training and nutrition. Mikes training ideas (culled from intense personal research with thousands of bodybuilders from around the world as well as from his own vast in-the-gym experience), in addition to his highly motivational philosophical writings, have been embraced by tens of thousands of bodybuilders the world over, along with athletes, businessmen (and businesswomen), medical practitioners, fitness enthusiasts, and those who simply enjoy reading the words of an immanently rational man on the subject of bodybuilding exercise.

Despite his passing in June 2001, Mikes popularity has continued to grow. When he first arrived on the bodybuilding scene in the mid-1970s, he was received as a breath of fresh air by a public that had grown tired of hype and had become hungry for substance. Most certainly he attracted attention; possessed of that rare combination of chiseled good looks, Grecian statuesque muscle, and a professorial mind, Mike was something of an anomaly in bodybuilding. He was a man who was just as comfortable discussing the psychoepistemology of Ayn Rands Objectivism, the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre, the