One simple truth by Mike Mentzer challenged a mainstream bodybuilding dogma and reframed age-old beliefs.

The bodybuilding wizard who shook up the fitness world by challenging philosophies and pioneered everything that modern bodybuilding stands on today. Among many of Mentzer's teachings, one stood out graciously. He stated:

"Remember, muscle is not mostly protein, it's mostly water. Look at the word carbohydrate. The suffix hydrate means water. As you probably all know, the carbohydrate stores in the muscle becomes a chain of sugar molecules called glycogen. And every gram of glycogen stored in the muscle chemically bonds with and holds three grams of water."

He further added that carbs don't just fuel workouts but also make muscles look fuller. The glycogen stored in carbohydrates is useful during high-intensity training, so a bodybuilder needs to maintain a 60% carb level, or the glycogen levels will drop.

Also, glycogen stores water, and losing it means losing water, resulting in flatter, softer, and less dense muscles.

In 1981, during a seminar, Mentzer busted the notion surrounding the importance of protein in bodybuilding. He stated:

“Most of us think muscle equals protein. When you think of protein, you think of muscle; when you think of muscle, you think of protein. It just so happens that muscle is comprised of 70% water, 22% protein, and 6–8% lipids and inorganic materials.”

Mike Mentzer's take on how protein contributes to muscle growth

Mentzer taught that excess protein won't result in muscle growth; since they contain calories, excess consumption will lead to energy waste and fat absorption.

He made this revolutionary statement when supplement companies were promoting the slogan “protein can’t make you fat,” and the excess was excreted.

In the later years, institutions like the Mayo Clinic, the Merck Manual, and McGill University validated Mentzer's statements.

In 1996, Mentzer added to his statement, saying that to build muscle, a person should consume more calories than required by the body. Then follow it with intense training to trigger muscle growth. The excess calories will build new tissues required to build muscle.

Mentzer even recommended aspiring bodybuilders to figure out their calorie intake and then keep a detailed five-day food diary, detailing the intake while checking that the body weight remained stable.

He then said to add a small surplus of around 300–500 calories per day, for additional energy to stimulate muscle growth.

He emphasized that the focus should be on total calorie intake rather than specific food choices. According to him, macronutrient intake of 60% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 15% fat should be followed.

What do you think of Mike Mentzer's guidelines? Tell us in the comments and follow Bodybuilding Bros for all things fitness!

Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu