Ray Mentzer
Ray Mentzer (August 3, 1953 – June 12, 2001) born in Philadelphia was the 1976 Junior Mr. America, 1978 IFBB Mr. USA and was winner of the 1979 Mr. America competition.[1] Ray's brother, Mike Mentzer won the rival IFBB Mr. America in 1976 during Ray's Junior title.
He was a proponent of heavy duty training along with Mike and although retiring from competition in 1982, carried on training to the heavy duty high-intensity training principles. In 1983, he flew to Florida in order to be trained by Arthur Jones. At a bodyweight of a then unthinkable 250 plus pounds, he added even more muscle within a month, to 260 but leaner. At one time, training for just six weeks to prove the invalidity of the Bulgarian system, he squatted 902 pounds (409 kg) for 2 repetitions.
He died from kidney failure, a complication resulting from Berger's disease in Rolling Hills, California. Ray died just two days after discovering his brother Mike Mentzer's body in the same apartment due to heart failure.[2]
References
- Darden, Ellington (2004-10-01). The New High Intensity Training: The Best Muscle-Building System You've Never Tried. Rodale. ISBN 9781594860003.
- "Bodybuilders' Deaths Lead to Investigation". Los Angeles Times. 2001-06-14. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
External links
- Hause, Irene [L.]. (1983, January). Mike Mentzer’s Video Venture. Muscle Mag International. Issue Number 33, pages 22–25. Ray Mentzer is quoted in this article. (Retrieved November 16, 2008.)