Transcription
Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped. Our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. William James.
In 1980, Mike Menser published a deeply reflective essay in his book Heavyduty Journal that would later become one of the most profound philosophical documents in the history of bodybuilding. It was not merely about training or nutrition. It was an inquiry into human nature, will, meaning, and the untapped depths of energy and potential. He called this phenomenon metabolic momentum.
More than a training strategy, metabolic momentum was Mener's articulation of a state of existential ignition where meaning fuses with action and where the organism through strain and sacrifice accesses what he called a new and higher level of existence. The lull of meaninglessness.
Like any thinker worth his weight, Mensor begins with a confession of contradiction. He observed in himself and others a strange paradox. When there was no immediate purpose, no contest ahead, no looming necessity, energy vanished.
Quote, "During the greater part of the year, when there is no contest looming immediately ahead, my training is not fueled with the intensity or energy I know I am capable of generating. As a result, my progress is never satisfactory. I know this, yet I continue to energize below my limits." Close quote.
This condition of knowing what one is capable of yet failing to act on it is not merely physical laziness. It is, Mensor suggests, a metaphysical drift, a lack of necessity that disarms the will. Yet occasionally, spontaneously, there are exceptions.
Quote, "There are days, however, during the off season when I seem to be in touch with some deeper energy and have an unbelievably productive workout. Why is it so difficult to sustain such productive high energy workouts? Is there any way to keep our energizing at an appreciable maximum?" Close quote.
The psychological trigger, necessity, and meaning. As the contest nears, something fundamental changes, not just in routine, but in being.
Quote, "The entire cast of my psyche undergo some profound changes. I begin to dwell on various aspects of the impending competition, what value it would have in terms of self-satisfaction, what losing could do to me." Close quote.
This emotional and intellectual focus, this internal necessity initiates a transformation. The psychological groundwork is laid before any barbell is lifted. William James, whom Menser quotes liberally, described this as the liberation of deeper energies.
Quote, "Excitement, ideas, and efforts, in a word, are what carry us over the dam." Close quote.
Mener adds, quote, "Those weeks leading up to the beginning of my contest preparation served as the idea of necessity, which excited me enough to make the extra effort of will." Close quote.
Here lies one of Mensor's most powerful messages. Energy is not merely biochemical. It is existential. It is released when one is fully invested in the meaning of one's actions.
From alarm to ascendance, physiological metamorphosis. Once contest preparation begins in earnest, the transformation moves from mental to physiological. Initially, there is a shock to the system, a kind of bodily protest.
Quote, "The first couple of days of contest training and dieting, I invariably note some soreness, general irritability, and feeling a bit off. This is the result of being the first stage of the gas, the alarm stage." Close quote.
The gas he is referring to is stress physiologist Hans Celier's general adaptation syndrome. But this passes, something deeper awakens. Mener describes a vivid moment from his personal journal dated October 20th, 1978.
Quote, "Went to bed at midnight and arose at 4:30 a.m. with absolutely no fatigue. This may be due to overcoming a condition need for a certain amount of sleep. Also to the lower food intake and resulting ketosis, which seems to afford higher energy levels and need for less rest." Close quote.
This, he writes, is what he came to call metabolic momentum.
Quote, "A more active rate of energizing, some outer and some inner, some muscular, some emotional, some moral, and yes, even some spiritual." Close quote.
In an extraordinary admission that transcends the realm of bodybuilding, Menser writes,
Quote, "The notion that all of this tortuous preparation, privation, and relentless pursuit has lifted me onto a new and higher level of existence has become increasingly apparent to me. Life has assumed a greater meaning in the process. I thrive while caught up in it and am generally most stimulated in every area intellectually, emotionally and spiritually." Close quote.
This is not training. This is becoming.
The organism adapt building muscle while burning. Contrary to common belief, Menser discovered that during these periods of metabolic ignition, he was simultaneously building muscle and losing fat, often on very low calories. He refers to Hans Salier's concept of adaptation energy distinct from caloric energy.
Quote, "The energy our bodies use and adaptation is not entirely dependent on caloric energy. The term adaptation energy has been coined to indicate that it is something other than the caloric energy we receive from food." Close quote.
He illustrates this with a powerful personal account.
Quote, "My own experience with training for contests has provided me with unquestionable evidence that muscle can be built while fat is lost on a very low calorie diet." Recalling my contest preparation that led to my Mr. America victory back in 1976. I obviously built some muscle on a very low calorie diet. At the start of the 6 week preparation period leading up to the contest, I weighed 216 lb, some 20 lb heavier than I had been at the 1975 Mr. America when I weighed 196 lb. Nor was this 20 lb gain made up entirely of muscle, as I was quite smooth with no appreciable cuts anywhere and a little roll of fat around the belly button area. My plan at the outset was to go into the 1976 Mr. America, weighing about 202 lb. Considering my existing condition, I figured I'd have to drop at least 14 lb to go into the contest ripped. Being a relative novice at this business of contest preparation, I was startled when after 2 weeks into my training and diet, I had lost only 2 lb, bringing me to 214 lb. My alarm grew when the following week, after 3 weeks of hard training and severe dieting, I still weighed 214 lb. It wasn't soon before I realized that even though my weight wasn't dropping, I was beginning to look very cut up. I just couldn't believe what was happening. I knew in order to have been able to increase my definition so dramatically, I had to be losing fat. How then do you account for the fact that my body weight had hardly dropped at all? I think it is evident that I had to be building muscle at the same time I was losing the fat and at almost the same rate, hence the equilibrium in my body weight. As things ended up, I entered the contest weighing 209 lb, considerably more than I had planned on entering at. And yes, I was on steroids during that period. As I'm sure many of you are wondering, there have been periods, however, when I was on steroids and not training for a contest, and I've made little in the way of muscular weight gains. My best gains have come when training for a contest related, I believe, to the phenomenon of metabolic momentum." Close quote.
Even with steroid use, whose effectiveness he discusses with uncommon honesty, Menser insists that metabolic momentum is the true catalyst for these paradoxical results.
Cultivating the fire, practical philosophy for lifters. Mener does not merely marvel at the phenomenon. He seeks to induce it deliberately. His suggestions are at their core spiritual disciplines for the bodybuilder of philosophical temperament.
One, creative imagery and emotional excitement. Menser writes,
Quote, "You need something, some emotional excitement, some idea of necessity to stimulate the will for that allout effort at the gym." Close quote.
Drawing from psychocybernetics, he advises lifters to form a strong and vivid image of the type of body you want. Without this guiding vision, your workouts will lack the direction and meaning required to develop optimally.
Two, reduce sleep. Menser observed that reducing sleep, especially during contest preparation, did not diminish his energy, but rather sharpened it.
Quote, "At first, try getting up an hour earlier each day. After you adjust to that, go to bed an hour later each night. In addition to the stimulating effect this can have, the extra 2 hours a day of activity will increase significantly the number of calories you burn." Close quote.
He describes periods of waking at 4:30 a.m. after only 4 hours of rest, noting absolutely no fatigue.
Quote, This was not a result of reckless deprivation, but a natural byproduct of heightened metabolic drive and purpose. "The excitement of the contest added to stimulation provided by little sleep, little food, and high activity levels." Close quote.
Three, consume less food. According to Mike,
Quote, "Most people who have ever been on a diet are surprised by the increase in energy that often attends, having had expected a drop in energy. This energy increase is in part explained by teasing the brain about survival, as Dr. Mandel suggested, and also because the state of ketosis, which often results to speed up the heart rate, turn off the appetite, and heighten our senses. Reduced food intake as long as there is sufficient fiber present will speed up transit time or the rate at which food passes through the intestines. This will definitely have an effect on the tempo of the metabolism. Hyperee elimination will also facilitate the excretion of excess water from the tissues. For the competitor getting ready for a contest, water levels are crucial. Many will use laxatives for this purpose, but these may prove too harsh. Smaller meals and less total intake will speed up elimination so that excess water is less of a problem. Once a person is in ketosis or fat burning state, at least moderate amounts of carbohydrates should be taken in. A complete elimination of carbohydrates is undesirable from a number of standpoints of importance here because an elimination of them will slow down the metabolism. When you have a raging fire, how do you keep it going? You put more fuel into it. The most flammable being the best. Your metabolism is like a fire and to keep it raging, it is vital that you supply it with the most flammable fuel, namely carbohydrates. Protein, which can also be used as a fuel when in a negative calorie balance, is much less efficient and is akin to putting ashes or wet wood on a fire. As long as you don't overwhelm the fire or pass into a positive calorie balance, you can eat as many carbs as desired and still remain in a state of ketosis. Prior to the 1979 Mr. Olympia contest, where I placed second and was probably the most cut up competitor, I was eating pancakes with syrup and fruits and muffins almost every breakfast along with some ice cream during the course of most days. I didn't ingest these carbohydrates recklessly. However, I recorded my daily calorie intake and as long as I was below maintenance levels, I knew I could eat the carbohydrates with impunity. Eating less food will of course speed up fat loss and should not hurt muscle growth as long as sufficient training intensity is present to stimulate growth. For the beginning or underweight bodybuilder whose goal is rapid increases in mass and body weight, it would not be helpful to reduce the food intake. Nor would it be necessary, however, to eat more than is required for maintenance. Keep in mind that muscle growth is always a relatively slow process and therefore will not require a massive abundance of calories. Growth must be stimulated through hard highintensity effort first. Then just enough nutrition should be available to allow for such growth. How much food is that? Actually, maintenance levels would be about enough or just a tiny bit extra. Even 10 pounds gained a year, a considerable amount actually, results in a daily gain of only 12 gram, less than half an ounce. You just don't need much extra food to gain that much. Even 20 lb gained a year comes out to 24 g a day, less than an ounce. If you exceed your daily maintenance needs too much, you'll just get fat." Close quote.
Four, increase activity. Again, Mike speaks.
Quote, "Increased activity is associated with less sleep and has definitely been proven to be a metabolic stimulator. During periods of sleep or complete inactivity, our metabolism may slow as much as 30%. While on the other hand, vigorous sustained activity will stimulate the metabolism from between 10 to 30% for as long as 2 days. Often we become habituated to a certain level of activity, stopping when we meet the first effective layer of fatigue." William James noted, "Fatigue is an efficacious obstruction on the side of which our usual life is cast. But if an unusual necessity forces us to press onward, a surprising thing occurs. The fatigue gets worse up to a certain critical point, then suddenly it passes away and we are fresher than before. There may be layer after layer of this experience. A third and fourth wind may supervene." Close quote.
I know what James is talking about as I've experienced it rather dramatically on occasion. Most notable was one particular day in preparation for the 1979 Mr. Olympia. I was never one for aerobic activities such as bicycling or running, but I realized that due to the fat which I had allowed to accumulate, I would need it if I were to be ripped for the contest. For weeks, I had been limiting myself to about 8 mile bike trips 4 days a week. One day while trekking down my favorite path, I was overcome by a second wind of sorts and decided to try for 20 m or half the total distance of the bike path, which was 20 mi one way. As I got to the 10 mi mark, I was surprised how easy it seemed and decided to go another five. As I hit that mark, I was still fresh and decided to go the whole way, 20 m or 40 roundtrip total. I did it with ease and to top it off ran 5 miles later in the day. I was only moderately tired at day's end and was refreshed upon awakening after a few hours sleep. For those seriously underweight, increased activity would of course be counterproductive as a hyper metabolism is part of the existing problem. Such persons should limit their activity. For the competitor trying to get as cut as possible, the addition of aerobic activities such as biking and running a few days a week will speed up the process dramatically. Close quote.
In all of these disciplines, Mensor is clear. We must press through the comfortable surface of fatigue and awaken deeper winds of energy. Mener ends with a sobering reflection on balance and the limitations of human energy.
Quote, "All of life is cyclical, and so it is in bodybuilding. I doubt that many of us are going to maintain peak efficiency all year. Working off our deep reserves of energy all the time would eventually prove harmful or at least counterproductive. A 20-in arm or Mr. America physique are great, but without the added meaning other activities such as sport, family, love would provide, a muscular physique would be worthless." Close quote.
Conclusion: The will as fire. Mike Menser's metabolic momentum is not merely a training tactic. It is a will to power. It is the conviction that man can rise beyond his habitual self through necessity, vision, and sacrifice. It is a testament to the idea that meaning transforms physiology, that what the mind believes the body obeys, and perhaps what the soul demands, the flesh becomes.
Quote, "There must be some trigger mechanism which liberates a tremendous reservoir of strength and energy. Life has assumed a greater meaning in the process." Close quote.
Metabolic momentum is a fire you build in the depths of your being. It is not for the casual or comfort seeking. It is for those who, like Mike, wish to burn, to live as if the contest is always near and the best version of themselves is waiting just past the point of fatigue.