How to build muscle faster without “Lifting“ weights | Mike Mentzer & Arthur Jones #mikementzer

Mike Mentzer introduced innovative training protocols that challenged the conventional wisdom of his time. Two key components of his training philosophy were static holds and negative repetitions, both of which he believed to be more productive than the positive phase of a repetition. Mentzer’s approach to static holds involved deliberately pausing and holding a weight at the most challenging point of an exercise, typically the midpoint or the fully contracted position. By doing so, he aimed to maximize the time under tension on the muscles, forcing them to work harder and adapt more effectively. Mentzer argued that these static holds not only increased muscle fiber recruitment but also improved muscular endurance, helping lifters break through plateaus in their training. Similarly, Mentzer placed great emphasis on negative repetitions, often referred to as “eccentric“ movements. This phase of an exercise occurs when you lower a weight against gravity, such as the downward motion o