Mike Mentzer Nutrition?

So I was reading Mike Mentzer’s(in terms of physique my favorite bodybuilder) book Heavy Duty Nutrition, he claimed that if you eat only 16 more calories a day than you would normally, not 1000 like most bulking diets, but if you eat 16 extra calories a day and you train intensely.

The math says you should gain 10 lbs of lean muscle per year. That is of course, if you have not yet reached your natural limits. He went on to say that conventional bodybuilding diets, or bulking and cutting phases are basically a load. He basically claimed that if you eat the food pyramid(i.e. the reccomended daily servings of each food group, eliminating sugars and bad fats, and going easy on dairy).

you will experience the same, if not better gains than on a bulking phase, and you will not put on the fat that a bulking phase puts on. And because you are only extending your calories by 16 you will not put on fat.

Is there any misinformation here, or have I missed anything, because this diet basically tells me protein shakes are obsolete. I just find it hard to believe my favorite body builder swore by eating less than 100 grams of protein a day.

When I think of Mike Mentzer and Casey Viator, I always remind myself that these are two very genetically gifted individuals.

I also keep in mind that towards the end, Mike’s ideas towards training became a little strange, and were very far from what he was practicing during his peak.

That being said…16 calories? Not 14, not 17, but 16? What happens if you accidentally hit 17? Or, even worse, 15?

It seems silly to me. Chances are if you’re reading up on nutrition, you probably don’t have the same type of genetics that Mentzer had, simply because you probably wouldn’t feel like you needed any extra assistance.

Eating 500-1000 over maintenance works for me, with very little fat gain. Seems to work for a majority here as well. Who knows though, try stuff out and find what works for you.

Give it a go follow mike plan what working out once a month maybe, eat 16 extra cals, and loadup a big serving of im NUTS with a side of meth…:slight_smile:

Sure you can slowly bulk i challenge anyone to figure out there metabolism down to double digits on a REAL consistent basis then add friggin 16 and make marked progress
Phill

His theory is that since a pound of muscle contains 600 calories. To gain 10 lbs of lean muscle a year one would have to only add 6000 calories more to their yearly diet if you divid 6000/365 you get 16 extra calories a day.

Maybe he meant 16 extra dbol tabs?

Thats a big key you are forgetting. I really don’t feel like going into it, but that’s something to think about when you look at proper nutrition vs you (a natural I’m guessing) and (insert past/present bodybuilder here)

I realize steroids aren’t the only thing and you need proper nutrition both ways regardless blah blah blah, but I know guys who eat like normal people, but juice, who also look awesome. I also have seen just the opposite and everything in between.

[quote]Phill wrote:
Give it a go follow mike plan what working out once a month maybe, eat 16 extra cals, and loadup a big serving of im NUTS with a side of meth…:slight_smile:

Sure you can slowly bulk i challenge anyone to figure out there metabolism down to double digits on a REAL consistent basis then add friggin 16 and make marked progress
Phill

[/quote]

Even without the ridiculous notion of 16 extra calories, most people who try to gain that slowly will never match the progress of those who push the limits more than that. I have simply never seen anyone do this…ever.

Mentzer was crazy. That may hurt to admit to some people, but it’s true.

It is just so silly. Who has a metabolism that burns the exact same number of calories a day?

Who counts their calories that accurately?

.33333333 of a bananna.

Why don’t you e-mail Joann Starkey,that runs his web-site.She could probably clarify what he was talking about and give you some good advice.I talked to Mentzer several times and always found him to be a honest sincere individual,that was’nt out there as the bbing establishment tried to portray him.

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
It is just so silly. Who has a metabolism that burns the exact same number of calories a day?

Who counts their calories that accurately?[/quote]

Yeah, your life would have to be like “Groundhog Day”" everyday. While I think Mentzer had a fantastic build he was crazy, just plain crazy.

It’s unfortunate they didn’t publish the last chapter(Adaption and Modification), they were likely saving it for the next release. But it does something like this:

If the 16 extra calories/day is not providing the gains then space it out to 16 extra calories every two days (note: not 8/day, but 16 on Mon/Wed/Fri, then Sun/Tues/ etc…).

If this doesn’t work then your body likely can’t recover in time so switch to every three days. After years of training, many elite lifters end up at the once /week protocol.


Other uncompleted works by Mentzer included “Chewing Mechanics - The 6x2x4 Tempo” and “Recovery - Dream Slowly for Heavy Duty Results”

Unfortunately these may never see publication now.

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
It’s unfortunate they didn’t publish the last chapter(Adaption and Modification), they were likely saving it for the next release. But it does something like this:

If the 16 extra calories/day is not providing the gains then space it out to 16 extra calories every two days (note: not 8/day, but 16 on Mon/Wed/Fri, then Sun/Tues/ etc…).

If this doesn’t work then your body likely can’t recover in time so switch to every three days. After years of training, many elite lifters end up at the once /week protocol.


Other uncompleted works by Mentzer included “Chewing Mechanics - The 6x2x4 Tempo” and “Recovery - Dream Slowly for Heavy Duty Results”

Unfortunately these may never see publication now.[/quote]

lol.

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
It’s unfortunate they didn’t publish the last chapter(Adaption and Modification), they were likely saving it for the next release. But it does something like this:

If the 16 extra calories/day is not providing the gains then space it out to 16 extra calories every two days (note: not 8/day, but 16 on Mon/Wed/Fri, then Sun/Tues/ etc…).

If this doesn’t work then your body likely can’t recover in time so switch to every three days. After years of training, many elite lifters end up at the once /week protocol.


Other uncompleted works by Mentzer included “Chewing Mechanics - The 6x2x4 Tempo” and “Recovery - Dream Slowly for Heavy Duty Results”

Unfortunately these may never see publication now.[/quote]

He also had a section on fatloss. To lose 10 lbs a year of pure fat just do an extran 16 calories worth of activity. If you want to lose more just do 17 calories worth

I just pick my nose for an extra 15 mins each day. I’m losing bodyfat like crazy.

(You can clearly see how flawed his logic is.)