# Mike Mentzer on adaptation



## Curt James (Jul 13, 2011)

The following text was originally published in IronMan magazine and was written by Mike Mentzer.







Stress is a popular topic these days, the subject of innumerable  magazine articles and a favorite at cocktail parties. Because stress is  discussed so often in so many different circles, it′s bound to be  misrepresented and misunderstood. For a precise definition I quote Hans  Selye from his fantastic book The Stress of Life: ′Stress is the common  denominator of all adaptive reactions in the body.′ Further on Selye  gets more specific: ′Stress is manifested by a specific syndrome which  consists of all the nonspecifically induced changes within a biologic  system.′ That means that stress has specific characteristics and  composition but no particular cause.

The human body is exposed to myriad stressors, or stress-producing  agents, day in and day out. These include cold and hot weather,  emotional stimuli, viral infections and muscular activity, just to  mention a few. So, while all of these things can induce a state of  stress, thus making causation nonspecific, the form it takes is always  very specific.

The body′s specific reaction to stress Selye termed the ′general  adaptation syndrome,′ or GAS. The GAS consists of three distinct stages:  a general alarm reaction, a stage of resistance and, if the stress  persists, a stage of exhaustion. Stress is present during all three of  these stages, but its manifestations, or symptoms, change during the  evolution of the syndrome. Most of the stressors that act upon us result  in changes corresponding to the first and second stages of the GAS′at  first they alarm us and then we get used to them. Only very severe  stress leads to exhaustion and, if prolonged, eventually death.






Selye goes on to illustrate activities that go through the three stages  and concludes by saying, ′Most human activities go through the three  stages: We first have to get into the swing of things, then we get  pretty good at them, but finally we tire of them.′

Most of us have had the experience of lying in the hot summer sun in  order to get a tan. Though our reason for tanning is a cosmetic one,  nature had something else in mind. The process of tanning is an example  of adaptation designed to protect us from the stress to our tissues  caused by ultraviolet light.

The adaptive process, then, is essentially defensive in nature. And the  degree to which the adaptation is stimulated is directly proportional to  the intensity of the stressor. Have you ever attempted to get a tan in  the middle of winter? You can lie in the sun for hours on end with  little or no response. This is because the sun is not overhead during  the winter and hence not very intense. Even repeated exposures of long  duration will stimulate little response.

What a difference exposure to the hot midsummer sun directly overhead  makes. The body′s response is immediate and dramatic. Initially there is  a reddening and inflammation of the skin. This, of course, corresponds  to the alarm stage of Selye′s GAS. During the alarm stage the body gains  time for the development and mobilization of specific adaptive  phenomena in the directly affected region. In this case the body  mobilizes its store of melanin, or skin pigment, in readiness for  further exposure to the sun′s intense ultraviolet rays. If exposure is  repeated, adaptation moves into the second stage, the stage of  resistance. It′s during this stage that overcompensation in the form of a  tan takes place. The energy involved in the adaptive process, or  adaptation energy, as Selye refers to it, is limited. If we prolong  exposure to the intense sun, we will swiftly enter the third stage of  the GAS, exhaustion.






In the stage of exhaustion the body′s local reserves of adaptation  energy are used up and the deep reserves of adaptation energy cannot be  made available readily enough. Instead of overcompensation with a tan we  decompensate and lose tissue as blisters develop, then burn. If  exposure is of long enough duration, death will supervene. So, up to a  very definite point in time, exposure to the stress of the sun will  result in overcompensation in the form of a tan, and if exposure exceeds  that point, the body loses its ability to overcompensate and heads  instead in the other direction and decompensates. To stimulate the  adaptive process, then, stress must be intense, but exposure to such  stress must be brief and infrequent so as to not use up the reserves of  the adaptation energy that allow for overcompensation.

It′s my belief that we can apply Selye′s concept of the GAS to training and thereby make it more productive.

1) The alarm stage. Just as exposure to the sun initially causes redness  and inflammation, your first exposure to weight training, either at the  start of training or after a layoff, results in muscle soreness and  general irritability. This alarm reaction, which is experienced by the  individual as soreness, is observed clinically as a ′bodily expression  of a generalized call to arms of the defensive forces in the organism′  and is unavoidable. While some soreness should be expected at first, it  doesn′t have to be crippling. Selye writes, ′The alarm response of the  body is directly proportionate to the intensity of the aggression.′  Extreme degrees of muscular soreness can be prevented by following a  break-in period of training that is carefully designed to impose  low-level stress in preparation for the more intense activity to come.






Beginners must be especially cautious and follow the break-in routine  listed below very carefully. Selye points out that during the acute  phase of the alarm reaction the general resistance to the particular  stressor actually falls below normal. This is because the body has not  yet had sufficient time to mobilize its defensive forces in readiness  for further assaults from the stressor, in this case exercise. During  the alarm reaction the body′s reduction of general resistance is marked  by increased blood flow to the trained areas and even a reduction in  bodyweight. Curiously enough, this reduction of general resistance is  similar to what happens to the body during the state of exhaustion.

During this break-in period, which should last at least a week,  depending on the individual′s existing condition and innate  adaptability, the beginner should perform the following routine every  day for five consecutive days:

1) Full squats 1 x 10
2) Bent-over rows 1 x 10
3) Bench presses 1 x 10
4) Barbell presses 1 x 10
5) Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 10
6) Barbell curls 1 x 10
7) Calf raises 1 x 10
8) Situps 1 x 10

These exercises should be performed with a weight that doesn′t require  extreme effort for the completion of the 10th repetition. This would  increase the stress of the program to a high level and exacerbate the  symptoms of the alarm stage. The idea here is merely to ′mobilize the  body′s defensive forces′ for further assaults and move the body into the  stage of resistance. Inducing debilitating soreness is not necessary.  While some soreness is unavoidable, it can be held in check if the  exercises aren′t carried to a point of exhaustion.






If soreness persists after five days on this program, rest during the  weekend and continue again on Monday, followed by a workout Wednesday  and Friday. This time, however, perform two sets of each exercise; the  first set should be performed just like the sets done in the first week,  with the same weight. On the second set increase the weight by 10  percent and try to perform 10 reps. Even with a greater weight you  should still be able to perform 10 reps but, of course, with slightly  greater effort. The greater effort required on the second set raises the  stress level and thereby induces further adaptation. As Selye points  out, ′No living organism can be maintained continuously in a state of  alarm.′ If the stressor isn′t so intense that ′continuous exposure to it  is not incompatible with life,′ the alarm reaction is necessarily  followed by a second stage of adaptation, the stage of resistance.






2) The resistance stage. Please keep in mind that while a state of  stress can be induced by any number of agents, the form it takes is  always specific. This is not just true for some people but for every  human being. I reiterate this here because bodybuilders have been  mistakenly led to believe that our requirements for exercise are  absolutely unique. Bear in mind that lifting weights is a stressor to  our bodies just as the sun′s rays are. Though it′s true that some  respond more readily and to a greater extent to exercise, just as some  acquire tans more rapidly than others, the factors underlying the  adaptive response are exactly the same in all human beings. So, while it  may be true that some may derive greater benefits from a given program  than others, every one of us ′adapts and resists′in this case by growing  larger and stronger muscles′in ′proportion to the intensity of the  stressor.′ Moreover, every human being who has ever lived possesses only  limited reserves of local adaptation energy that can slowly be restored  from deeper stores during rest.

Weight training is a form of stress over which we have direct control;  the intensity level depends on our ability or willingness to generate  effort via muscular contraction.

For the purpose of inducing rapid and large-scale increases in muscle  mass and strength from weight training, such training must be of high  intensity. If it isn′t, results will be slow, if they come at all. While  some will seemingly gain more dramatically than others, even on a  lower-intensity program, all individuals will respond more rapidly when  intensity is the highest that they can generate. So, while so and so has  had a fair measure of success with only moderate training intensity, he  would have experienced far greater progress on a higher-intensity  program. This is true for anyone.

As we adapt and respond to stress in proportion to its intensity, we  also use up reserves of adaptation energy in proportion to the intensity  of the stress. While he has not yet proven it clinically, Selye has  come to believe we possess local reserves of adaptation energy that are  used up initially as we adapt to stress. This draining of the local  reserves is what leads us to cease a certain activity, such as weight  training, at a certain point. These local stores can be replenished from  deeper reserves elsewhere in the body, however. Selye points out that  such restoration of local reserve is slow. How slow? Well, you can tell  if your workouts are brief enough and spaced properly to allow for full  restoration by whether or not you are adapting; i.e., getting bigger and  stronger. The first thing your body must do following a workout is  restore its local reserves of adaptation energy. If the workout was  intense enough to stimulate a strong adaptive response and not too long,  your body will overcompensate and grow larger and stronger. If you  haven′t experienced progress lately, there are three probable reasons:  1) The intensity wasn′t sufficient enough to stimulate a strong adaptive  response; 2) the workouts weren′t brief and irregular enough to allow  for overcompensation; or 3) your workouts were too low in intensity as  well as too long and conducted too often.






My advice to those who have experienced an impasse in their training  progress is to take a layoff of at least one full week. This should  allow your body enough time to fully restore its reserves of adaptation  energy, which you′ll need when you resume training with a  higher-intensity program. Your new program should involve no more than  four workouts a week and should consist of no more than four or five  sets per bodypart. The low number of sets will enable you to generate  maximum intensity of effort by going to complete failure on each and  every set. Any more than that and you′ll have to hold back somewhat on  each set; i.e., pace your effort so you′ll have enough energy and drive  to complete the sets that loom ahead with like intensity. While it may  actually require something less than maximum, or 100 percent, effort to  induce growth stimulation, how would you know where that level might be  and how would you accurately measure anything less than 100 percent  effort? You couldn′t, so be sure to pass that threshold. If such a  program doesn′t produce immediate results, cut your workouts back to  four every nine days instead. If the intensity is high and you′re still  not seeing progress, then you′re not allowing enough time between  workouts. If you′re merely not making progress, yet not regressing, then  you′re at least compensating for the stress of your workouts but  obviously not overcompensating.

3) The exhaustion stage. As a high-intensity workout proceeds, we  experience a reduction in drive. If we proceed long enough, this  reduction becomes acute and exhaustion sets in, so we′re forced to stop  our activity. Enough time must be allowed between workouts for full  restoration of the local reserves. Otherwise, we will continue our  workouts while drawing from the deep reserves. This will result  initially in a loss of size and strength, then a feeling of being burned  out, along with a strong disinclination to continue any type of  physical activity, and, ultimately, death.

Selye believes that local adaptation energy is immediately available  upon demand. Deep adaptation energy, however, is stored away safely as a  reserve. The stage of exhaustion, after a temporary demand like a  workout is reversible, while the exhaustion of our reserves of deep  adaptation energy is not. As these reserves are depleted, senility and,  finally, death ensue.

While it′s not very likely that anyone would carry overtraining to a  point that might result in death, we should at least know enough about  the nature of adaptation to realize that our ability to successfully  cope with the effects of a workout are limited; and if we are to make  optimal progress, our workouts must be brief and irregular as well as  intense.






As our training progresses over the years, we seem to invariably hit  plateaus in our progress. While I stated the probable causes earlier,  theoretically, sticking points should not happen. If we apply our  knowledge of the GAS to our training, we should continue progressing  until we reach the absolute limits of our potential. Most of us probably  would not progress continuously even if we did apply such knowledge,  due to ups and downs in motivation, along with those inevitable pitfalls  along life′s way, which will occasionally force us to stop training for  different periods. (As yet no one has reached the absolute limit of his  potential. Not even top bodybuilders like Sergio Oliva or Arnold. From what  I′ve been able to gather, they didn′t possess such knowledge and their  training proceeded haphazardly for the most part.)

If we can fully grasp the fact that training intensity must progress as  we grow larger and stronger, we will continue adapting by growing still  larger and stronger. As we fully adapt to a certain level of training  intensity by getting bigger and stronger, we must increase the training  intensity again if we wish to continue to improve. As we progress and  adapt again in response to the new higher level of training intensity,  then we must up it another notch and so on up the ladder of intensity  until we reach our limits of adaptation, the limits of our muscular  potential.


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## IronAddict (Jul 13, 2011)

Very entertaining read, thanks Curt.


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## Curt James (Jul 13, 2011)

Glad you liked the article. ^^^^ Mentzer and his brother Ray were both Mr. America winners. Ray with the AAU in 1979 and Mike with the IFBB in 1976. Mike placed 10th at the 1971 AAU Mr. America and was the AAU Mr. Pennsylvania the previous year.

Mike and Ray both graduated from Ephrata Senior High School in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. His brother Ray was a member of the 30-Pin Club on the school's wrestling team. Mike, as Mr. America, had a portrait hanging in the school's lobby. On the opposite wall there was a picture of Evelyn Ay who was also raised in Ephrata and graduated from the high school. Ay, as the 1954 _Miss _America winner, was the female bookend to Mike's accomplishment.


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## IronAddict (Jul 13, 2011)

I didn't even realise there was an Ephrata in PA. I knew PA. was famous for producing quarterbacks. But 2 MR. Americas and a Miss America, too! 

And of course, we can't forget those Steelers.


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