The Best Muscle Building Programs 

Rip John meadows

Mentzer system has done more for me than the previous 30 years combined. Training to failure works but most aren't prepared to do it.

Mentzer advocated 3 to up to 10+ days between workouts depending on their recovery ability. Not between muscle groups but between workouts. His final routine involved 2 exercises per session. I think his idea is not just for beginners but advanced lifters but most importantly for those that realise they want to reach their genetic potential realistically and not focused solely on competitive levels of strength sports.

So much to talk about here for Mentzer. He had 3 main training methods throughout his career. And it seems people forget that whenever they talk about his methods. 1st was when he first started getting his competitive wins including the perfect score, which was a 4 day split (chest tris legs, and shoulders back and bis) he completed this 3-4 days a week. This was his highest volume training with sets up to 8-12 sets a week for bigger muscles, chest was actually the highest 24 sets!! However note that all these sets were when he was bigger on supersets and cycles of exercises, so it was a bit of a race style workout not a ton of rest. 2nd was his 3 day split 1x per week workout which is when the volume dropped dramatically (even tho he was already doing less than most of his contemporaries at the time, fun fact Arnold admitted high intensity worked because he tried it but he said it wasn’t for him) . The volume was closer to 2-4sets per muscle group done to failure. At this point he had really understood and drove the point home that training to failure creates a almost astronomical deficit or hole in your recovery that needs to be listened to. To clarify he stated that you take 2 days off in between workouts. So workouts will flow over to the next week but in a 7 day period they will be complete. 3rd was his most radical which was the 1 workout every 4-5 days, 4 workouts in total covering the whole body one time each in those 4 workouts. So you wouldn’t hit the same muscles for almost 2 weeks. Believe it or not Jeff Alberts did a version of this and it was his best off-season, also got his strongest doing this, he quoted me he was only squatting 2 times a month, as a natural and got up to a 475 squat and 225 ohp something like that. So, there’s that.

Anybody taking lessons from John Meadows is on the right path. When I switched from simply warming up to doing his pre-pumps - especially leg curls before squats - it really changed things for me. His methods weren’t always intuitive, but they make a lot of sense when you stop to think about them, and they work really well.

You’re one of the very best fitness influencers…no drama, gossip, lifestyle filler, douche bag antics, or excessive rambling to make a longer video, just quality information and innovation.

I have learned alot from John, still do. It's amazing you got to spend so much time with him and you are one of the people that can still spread his knowledge and trainings. But please don't take away that I have learned a whole lot from you as well. I enjoy your approach in this fitness industry. Thank you

This is an easy 11/10 video - so few people on fitness youtube are willing to charitably summarize other training philosophies - let alone do so succinctly and with really amazing footage of the old greats training. Wow. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Great video! However you barely mentioned how Mike Mentzer's Heavy Duty emphasises rest which is a HUGE part of it! At least 3-4 days between workouts and some times even a week, so you're fully recovered before you go to the gym again and work on another body part. You read that right, one work out a week to maximise recovery because if you do heavy duty properly you'll need the time off to fully recover! He was saying that the traditional 5/6 day splits were too much volume and unnecessary, nay sayers would say it was BS, but it's hard to argue with Mentzer using it to get the first ever perfect score at Mr Universe, and winning Mr Olympia. Dorian Yates took his system further to win Six Mr Olympia titles. The method was so controversial, that Arnie came out of retirement to beat him at Mr Olympia to prove a point as (twice a day, 6 days a week better than once every 4-7 days), but people say Arnie's win was political as he was in terrible shape by his standards and Mentzer was robbed. Mentzer was disillusioned and retired from bodybuilding feeling the result was fixed (as did many others), but still went to teach Heavy Duty to bodybuilders such as 6X mr Olympia winner Dorian Yates.

I LOVED John Meadows. He was my RU-vid fitness dad. To this day I implement many training methods in my workouts that I learned from him, and I still go back and watch his videos for inspiration for exercise selection when I’m structuring a workout plan. I find similar comfort, training variety, and inspiration from you Eugene, so I appreciate what you do here very much.

Big respect to Job Meadows, a great man and a great coach

Dorian Yates HIT and Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty training is the best for intermediate, beginners and most importantly advanced lifters

Mike Mentzer on the Nautilus is just so iconic.

Great video as always Coach! The John "Mountain Dog" Meadows part really tugged at the heart strings!

Rest in peace meadows, much love for him and his family, his training always made sense and i still implement some of his teaching like the leg curls at the start of leg day 😞

Heavy duty Mike Mentzer style training >

Love your content Teo and the way you still show so much love and respect to your late friend. Such an incredible man who as well as you have shaped the way I see weightlifting, longevity and having fun

Great video Eugene. Love that you included John meadows his workouts are brutal. Love the Ganbaru app and am doing powerbuilding. I like how you explained how some of your programs came about.

One of many great things about you is that you keep such an open mind regarding all programming and training styles. There is no single best training style or program out there. All can be useful tools depending on our current situation. Thank for continuing to educate us on the full spectrum of muscle building!

What an amazing video, Eugene. Thank you for all you do 💙

Been waiting for a video like this!! Love your channel. John was the best

Clear and concise as always. You have a great presentation style, sounding very knowledgeable while still coming across as friendly and accessible. I've been lifting on and off for about 18 years and I'm still learning so, so much. Keep it up!

i found this very informative. ive been in the gym 2 years now and im just NOW starting to take it more serious and tryna find some structure to my workouts. this is super helpful. thanks

Unreal video this. Super simplified and clear with everything🙌🏼

My new Ganbaru lifting straps arrived yesterday! Great timing and great video!

I’ve tried to find a video like this for so long! This was the perfect comparison

I've become a big fan of rest pause training as I've gotten older. It's especially useful for calisthenic movements like dips and pullups where you can easily squeeze in a few extra reps after a short break. It allows you to hit failure without the pressure of doing it all in one go.

61, recently retired and trying to get back in shape. Changing things up a bit and going with Mentzer/Yates high intensity training. Useful for beginners ?….and 6 time Mr Olympia winners !!! Watching Mentzer and yates youtube videos has really helped !

Thanks so much Eugene for talking about Mike Menzter etc so quickly after I commented on your last vid!

This guy has a great voice, very calming, I could listen all day.

When studying all these different programming types for both bodybuilding and powerlifting, I began to appreciate John Meadows more each time. John always found a way to incorporate so many different philosophies into his own training based on what worked for him. He had "low" volume protocols that was similar to Dorian Yates, Mike Mentzer, and DogCrapp to higher volume like Arnold, Gironda, and Jay Cutler. Like you said in the video, you can even see the influences from powerlifting such as Westside and Dave Tate. Based on my own experimentation, I even learned how well Mike Tuchscherer's Emerging Strategies could blend with Mountain Dog training. He was always the best example on always experimenting and incorporating what works.

This video was even more valuable and well spoken than your previous ones (which is to say!)

Eugene amazing content as ever and wonderfullly said about John Meadows the legends will be looking down smiling 💪🏻🙏🏻

This is an amazing video summing up a lot of the great names training philosophies they had or ideas

I utilize Heavy Duty and Cluster Sets :) They are wonderful and have helped upped my PRs and overall work capacity

Mountain dog has totally influenced how I structure my programs. ❤️💪

Bro I was just thinking about what is the best training style in this sense. Thank you for the great timing

So much knowledge and experience in 12 minutes, amazing stuff

perfect vid! i hope you had fun making it!!

Im currently in love with the HIT for bodybuilding: basically doing one Top set with 6-10 and one Backoff set with 10-16 reps (rep range varies bc of compound or isolation exercise lower reps on compounds and higher reps on isolations). Doing a decent amount of warmup sets especially on compound exercises. Last warmup set is pretty close to top set weight but doing only about half the reps you are aiming for (maybe a little less on compounds and maybe more on isolations). Doing this you are really warm and ready to push yourself to the limit but not exhausting. I love this method because: 1. you train really hard, which is the most fun, but don’t overtrain 2. low volume allows you doing pretty long rest times while still keeping the workouts relatively short 3. you can do quite a lot of exercises because you are only doing two working sets for each 4. you train to or extremely close to failure in a lower and higher rep range Downside: 1. not good for building strength on the big 3 bc you want to do exercises where you can safely push yourself to failure 2. not good for beginners because you need close to perfect movement patterns and good mind muscle connection, while still pushing yourself safely to failure and doing so effectively

For the algorithm people need to hear this. Awesome vid man

The mentzer method is the best imo, especially since it gives the most free time out of any method, very good for the average person. It treats strength training like a background task rather than a large dedicated task

This was great! Really informative.

One of my favorite videos Coach Eugene every did!

Mentzer and Meadows are my go to’s for bodybuilding training

Would be good if you reviewed RP's training approaches (e.g. their Physique Templates) now that you've made some videos with them. Seems their approach is more about gradually ramping volume by adding sets and focusing on RIR rather than poundages, and using the pump and cumulative fatigue to gauge whether or not to increase volume.

John should be shown to young people. His soft energy and calmness, perfectly balanced with being an absolute savage.... Balance, open-mindedness, friendliness, passion, toughness

Hi! I would love for you to analyse the steploading system and its pros and cons for muscle building. Keep up the excellent quality!

Great video. Thank you.

Best video! You rock man legend

Thank you again!

Great video! Great summary of these schools of thought. Are there any reading materials that you recommend to learn more about these training methods?

man I wish 😪 John the legend 🙌 MEADOWS was still here with us all gosh darnit! we lost such a nice person and a great coach and father and loving husband and family member ❤ RIP BIG DOG!! glad your still keeping his name alive out here Eugene !! keep it up love all your content !

I need this, lifting should be a part of your life not a lifestyle. This saying been wrap around my head lately, i spend tons of hour on the gym and still seeking for a good and balance fitness program. Bless u Mr Teo

Would love to hear your thoughts on Dante Trudel’s DC training. Probably similar to Mentzer style HIT, but the frequent use of rest pause and stretches.

Nice history lesson. Really interesting to realise the roots of some of the modern ideas

Thanks for the video coach

Another great video!

I'm so grateful I randomly stumbled across your channel, and consequently your app a couple years ago and was smart enough to recognize a good thing when I saw it. Ganbaru has completely changed my workout game. I STILL look forward to every workout! Who can say that 2 years into using the same workout app?

I NEEDED THIS TODAY 😭♥️

You! and, John meadows R.I.P Are my go to guys. Helped me tons over the years thank you 🙏

As someone who is transitioning from powerlifting to bodybuilding style training , I Really enjoyed this .

Wow great job on this video!

I am on mission to do the 41ish training programs by Meadows. I love them. The older ones are a bit bro scientific and volume based in the traditional way, but still fun to do.

Great vídeo, I’d dig more information about john and his training, as well as heavy duty training and variations and further information on clusters

Great video. Enjoyed the content, but it made me wonder how some of these training methods should differ for natural versus enhanced athletes especially if there’s additional recovery time needed to not over stress the body. Especially true if you consider how hard John Meadows trained. He was truly a beast who inspired many and will always be remembered.

Thank you for this video Eugene 🤗🤗

Fantastic video!

nice work bro❤

Best programming ever.. best community ever. I signed up in jan for yearly membership and was hooked then went lifetime.. you won't regret joining.

Hi Eugune Thanks for the Interesting Video, I have been training now for 4 Years now and through you and other people like Doctor Mike, John Medows, Jeff Nipard and you learned so much. Funny thing is, that I have used some of these methods without realizing it XD.

Thank you your videos, and thank you for all the credit given to John Meadows. He was incredible, humble, I will never forget he was one of my 1st IG followers a few yrs back i didn't even have 50 and he followed me 😪😔🙏🏼 and never unfollowe like many influences do, or people. He was truly a man of God, always put his family 1st, I learned so much from him. And you have the same humble spirit, thank you bcs I have learned so much from you too. God bless 🙏

Awesome video❤️

Great content thanks.

Big fan of your content 💪

The cluster sets were also used by mike mentzer later on. He called it rest pause

Love the breakdown mate. Very insightful. I don't like the term 'junk volume'. Everyone's body respond differently to training. For me I see the greatest hypertrophy from higher reps and going close to failure. Sets of 12 to 20 reps with a focus on the eccentric movement with intensity. Low reps and heavy weight didn't do much for me. And was more likely to result in injury.

Would be interesting to hear your thoughts on different vertical jump programs

I learned how to choose exercises from Gironda, I learned how to approach about volume/intensity/frequency from Mentzer (with much deviation from his system), and I learned how to put it all together from Meadows.

Great information!

You always have valuable content..🤟🔥

So much love for meadows, learned so much from him. RIP.

Been using ganbaru app for almost year now, with my friend.. tried Powerbuild, full body, half body, push pull legs 2.0, Got to say powerbuild was our favorite, it introduced so many cool concepts to us, like cluster sets, wave loading, adding pauses.. etc Pushed us to a completely new level! Been training for a few years before but never like this! Every single program we tried was a banger in their own way and felt like a completely new style of training, And we can’t wait to get to the gym to see how you plan on torturing us today haha Honestly im so glad you incorporate so many concepts into these workouts so intelligently i’ve learned more about my body and working out in this short period than i had before in my entire training. Thank you Eugene.

this is why i do ... did a lot of hammys with squats to protect my knees and help thelp not get pain - worked

Would definitely love a review of the Brian alsruhe training system!

This is such a great breakdown for noobs like me. Keep em coming Eugene! P.S. what are your thoughts on techniques like FST7 (Hanny Rambod) and DTP (Kris Gethin)? Are they just another spin on the Gironda techniques?

Mike Metzger, and Mike Ohearn are the gurus I follow

Love Mike Metzger and his philosophy with training. I did many types and follwed many programs over the years but I really enjoy MM. Note some of the comments detail in a more articulate manner his protocols than the video.

Hey Eugene! I’m going to college in a couple of months for a degree in sports science with an emphasis on sports performance because I really want to increase my knowledge for future clients when I personal train. Could you please tell me what degrees you had when you went to college? Iv watched nearly all your videos on your app and your knowledge is something I desire the most.

Hey dude, I've been enjoying the vids. Recently found your content & I've been cramming all the content. My ? Is,any suggestions on techniques/ programs on building muscles with limited motions ranges. I have a TBI from childhood. It's effects left sides arm,leg mobility.I live on a unfortunate strict income extra professional dirrectional attention isn't in the cards for me. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the information. Can you do a video on different recovery approaches between these methods ? For example mike mentzer approach was to train once a week (in general) and he didn't like the deloading idea bcs to him deloading means you were overtraining but for example you and john and dr. Mike do cycles or for example john advised for deloading. Would be great if you cover this too. Thanks again.

Great content and so much respect for the late Great John Meadows. I Still enjoy his platform and of course your own videos, eugene. But where's the cup of tea! you liked to start your video with. Maybe next time!

Mentzer way has given me the most gain in my youth. It's the best way in my humble opinion. But nowadays I only do 5x5 workout just maintain my strength

new subscriber man you are really helpful,can you please upload a free most effective push/pull/legs workout routine to achieve your physique please???

im so overwhelmed by all of these methods. i have no idea what split to do atm

Ryan Humitson’s “Backed by Science”. Just started it and it’s been fun.

HST by Brian Haycock, can’t find anything about it these days but remember their forum being pretty busy about 20 years ago! I liked it but a lot of people didn’t like lifting sub max weights.

I love HIT training. I only train 2 x week. India is upper body and the other is lower body with 2-4 sets per muscle each worked 1 x week

Would love if you make a Review to Jeff nippards Fullbody Programm or his Powerbuilding Programm

I just learned so much from John. Man I miss him.