Jeff Nippard’s reputation in the fitness community continues to rise. He’s known for his detailed yet easy-to-understand exercise breakdowns. In his latest project, Nippard applied scientific principles to analyze and optimize bodybuilding influencer Sam Sulek’s training routine.
Whenever Jeff Nippard drops a new video, fitness enthusiasts take notice. As a natural powerlifter and bodybuilder, Nippard’s expertise in health, exercise, and nutrition is widely respected. Moreover, with over four million YouTube subscribers, Nippard’s meticulous approach and evidence-based workouts are highly valued.
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Another standout figure in the fitness world is bodybuilder Sam Sulek. At just 21 years old, he gained attention for his impressive physique and laidback workout content. However, Sulek has faced both praise and criticism, including speculation about his steroid use and diet. Now, Nippard turns his focus to evaluating Sulek’s training methods.
Jeff Nippard Optimize Sam Sulek’s Training with Scientific Methods
Nippard thoroughly reviewed all of Sulek’s workout videos, revealing significant insights:
“Sam Sulek is by far the biggest fitness influencer in the world at the moment. So I decided to analyze every single workout he’s done this year. So far, he’s done 460 sets, 15 percent of those sets were for his chest, 20 percent for his back, and 16 percent for his biceps. Interestingly, only 11 percent of Sam’s total training was for his quads yet 25 percent went to his triceps.
One-quarter of Sam’s total training is triceps training yet anatomy research tells us that the triceps are less than four percent of total body muscle while the quads are by far the biggest muscle in the body at almost 30 percent of total body muscle. Also, Sam trains to failure 96 percent of time but almost all of his sets not taken to failure were forearms.”
Quick Overview
- Technique
- Progression
- Training split
- Intensity/Effort
- Rep ranges
- Enjoyment
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Technique
Nippard Questions Sulek’s Use of Cheat Reps for Optimal Results.
“Sam is obviously a big proponent of what he calls ego lifting, which is when you simply try to move the weight allowing yourself to swing and sway rather than being really strict with your form. Sam definitely does more than his fair share of cheat reps, now I would say that I’m less of a technique junkie than most science-based coaches. I think that you can still get solid gains with so-called bad form as long as you’re pushing yourself hard.”
“I still doubt those gains will be optimal. In fact, I recently published a study on optimal training technique for muscle growth. We discovered that there are two main things to focus on when it comes to lifting technique. The main thing is that you need to use a range of motion that gets the muscle into a deep stretch.”
Nippard Advises Sulek to Focus on Controlling the Negative Phase Instead of Letting Weights Free Fall.
“It’s important to control the negative rather than just letting the weight free fall,” said Jeff Nippard.
Progression
To start off, Nippard advised Sulek to transition to a more structured training plan, emphasizing its significance in enhancing progression over time.
“The next thing I quickly noticed is that Sam more or less just completely wings his workouts. He doesn’t have a structured training plan. He hops in the car roughly maps out a workout in his head on the way to the gym and then he’ll even often improvise the workout in the moment.”
Training split
Jeff Nippard Suggests That Sam Sulek’s Traditional Bro Split May Result in Muscles Receiving Disproportionate Volume.
“Sam uses a body part split or what many would call a bro split. This is where you train only one muscle per workout. So, he’ll do chest one day, then back the next day, then he’ll do an arm day, and then a leg day. There’s two main issues with this: first, as you can tell, it ends up being very disproportionate in terms of how much volume each muscle gets.”
“I guess it’s worth mentioning that probably 90-plus percent of IFBB Pros do follow the same split as Sam,” adds Nippard.
Intensity/Effort
Despite Sulek’s renowned intensity during workouts, Nippard expresses concern that he may be pushing to failure too frequently.
“Sam trains very hard. This is extremely important if your goal is to maximize muscle growth beyond the beginner stage. I do think simply training hard is more important than any of the other previous stuff I talked about.”
“That said, too much of a good thing can be bad. In this case, I think it might be. Sam goes to failure a little too much for my taste. Like I said, Sam has done 460 sets so far this year and 440 of them were all-out sets to failure.”
Rep ranges
Furthermore, Nippard highlighted that various studies endorse the effectiveness of employing a range of repetition schemes for promoting muscle growth.
“Sam uses smart rep ranges. When I analyzed the number of reps he did on every set, this was how it broke down: 11 percent of his sets were in the 0-3 rep range, 40 percent in the 4-7 range, another 40 percent in the 8-12 rep range, and nine percent was above 13 reps.”
“All rep ranges can in theory lead to similar muscle growth. However, doing too much high reps can be very exhausting, and doing too much low reps may give you unnecessary joint strain.”
“There are studies showing that using a variety of rep ranges is better than only doing one rep range but overall, this is pretty bang on for someone whose main goal is muscle growth,” said Jeff Nippard.
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Enjoyment
Finally, Nippard acknowledged Sulek’s passion for exercise, praising his genuine enjoyment of training.
“Finding ways to make workouts more enjoyable is always a good thing and Sam clearly has that mastered,” said Nippard.
However, Nippard’s Commitment to Training Science Shapes His Everyday Routine. Furthermore, whether Providing a Five-Point Checklist for Perfecting Squats or Engaging in Scientific Discussions on Maximizing Workout Gains, He Doesn’t Hesitate to Dive Deep into the Science.
Moreover, with Sam Sulek’s Large Following, Nippard’s Latest Training Analysis Might Offer Valuable Insights for Aspiring Bodybuilders. Also, If Not, Sulek’s Fans Can Still Use the Information to Fine-Tune Their Training Regimens.
To See the Complete Video, Visit Jeff Nippard’s YouTube Channel Below:
Overview
In his latest project, Jeff Nippard applies scientific principles to evaluate and enhance bodybuilding influencer Sam Sulek’s training routine. Also, with over four million YouTube subscribers, Nippard’s expertise in health, exercise, and nutrition is highly respected. Sulek, known for his impressive physique, faces scrutiny and praise, prompting Nippard to offer insights into his training methods. Furthermore, through detailed analysis, Nippard addresses concerns and provides recommendations for optimizing Sulek’s workouts.
Featured Image @Jeff Nippard (Youtube),@sam_sulek (Instagram)