The Jeff Nippard Training Program | The Ultimate Guide!

Jeff Nippard is a professional bodybuilder / powerlifter and one of the most popular fitness coaches in the world today.

Jeff is best known for his popular Youtube channel with over 3 million subscribers where he teaches his science-based approach to training and nutrition.

If you want to learn how Jeff Nippard organizes his training programs then this article is for you!

Introduction

• Jeff Nippard’s Full Body Split
• Jeff Nippard’s Push Pull Legs Split
• Jeff Nippard’s Upper / Lower Split
• Jeff Nippard’s Bodybuilding Bro Split

In this comprehensive guide I will teach you how Jeff Nippard organizes his science-based training programs.

Jeff likes to train for size and strength gains at the same time, so he often uses “powerbuilding” style routines that incorporate principles from bodybuilding and powerlifting training programs.

For example, Jeff often starts his workouts with lower-rep strength work on one of the big barbell exercises, and then finishes his workouts with higher-rep bodybuilding-style work.

Here is Jeff giving a great overview of his preferred powerbuilding training style:

So how does Jeff organize his weekly workouts? The truth is Jeff Nippard trains anywhere from 4-6 times per week using different high-frequency training splits, such as the full body split, the push / pull / legs split, or the upper / lower split.

Jeff says that training each muscle group at least twice per week is probably optimal for size and strength gains, so he tries to follow this in his own routines.

In the rest of this guide I will show you exactly how Jeff likes to organize his powerbuilding-style workouts using each of these training splits.

Jeff Nippard’s Full Body Split

Jeff Nippard says one of his all-time favorite ways to train is using a 5-day full body split. Jeff first became interested in 5-day full body splits after reading a secret study on Norwegian powerlifters. Sense then Jeff has made the 5-day full body split one of the staples of his training programs.

Here is what the 5-day split might look like:

The 5-day Full Body Split

• Day 1: Full Body (Squat focused)
• Day 2: Full Body (Deadlift focused)
• Day 3: Off
• Day 4: Full Body (Squat focused)
• Day 5: Full Body (Deadlift focused)
• Day 6: Full Body (“Free” day)
• Day 7: Off

Jeff says that this type of training split works well for bodybuilders and powerlifters. The key is to manage your overall training volume.

Jeff says that you are training each muscle group five times per week. Therefore, you need to dramatically reduce your training volume for each muscle group on each workout.

Jeff performs no more than 1 exercise per body part, and he almost always leaves a few reps left in the tank on his sets. In other words, he trains at a lower RPE, or “rate of perceived exertion” on his sets and almost never trains all the way to failure.

Jeff also does a good job of rotating through different exercises during the training week to prevent training plateaus.

Here is what Jeff’s squat-focused full body workouts look like. Check it out:

Workout #1 (Squat Focused)

• Exercise A1: Back squat, 2 sets of 6-8 reps**
• Exercise B1: Barbell overhead press, 2 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise C1: Nordic hamstring curls, 2 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise D1: Helms row, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Exercise E1: Dumbbell hammer curl, 3 sets of 20-25 reps

**Performed at 72.5 – 77.5% of your 1-rep max.

Here is the training video:

Jeff almost always starts his full body workouts with a few heavy sets on the squat or deadlift. He says the squat is the main exercise he is trying to get stronger on, so it only makes sense to perform this exercise first in his training routine.

For this workout Jeff actually uses an intensity bracket for his 2 top sets on the squat. Check it out:

“So for the top sets I’ll give myself what’s called an intensity bracket. I’ll give myself the option of using anywhere from 72.5% – 77.5% of my 1-rep max for my top sets.”

After the squats Jeff moves onto a handful of exercises for the rest of his upper and lower body. Jeff doesn’t perform too many isolation exercises for smaller muscle groups as there is only so much volume you can perform in each workout using the 5-day full body split.

For hamstrings Jeff uses a very challenging accessory exercise: the Nordic leg curl. Here is Jeff describing his form on this exercise:

“The key here is to keep your hips as straight as possible and resist the negative as long as you can by really squeezing your hamstrings.

Then, once yo can no longer resist your body falling forward, allow your body to fall into a push up, and then only push up halfway so your hamstrings can still finish the concentric.”

The day after performing heavy squats Jeff actually performs a deadlift-focused workout. In my experience the vast majority of trainees would never be able to recover from this kind of training schedule – this is just too much stress on the lower back. Of course, Jeff is not most athletes!

Here is one of Jeff’s deadlift-focused full body workouts. Check it out:

Workout #2 (Deadlift Focused)

• Exercise A1: Sumo deadlift, 4 sets of 2 reps**
• Exercise B1: Bench press, 3 sets of 6-8 reps
• Exercise C1: Hip abduction, 2 sets of 15-20 reps
• Exercise D1: Weighted pull up, 3 sets of 5-8 reps
• Exercise E1: Standing calf raise, 2 sets of 10-12 reps

**Performed at 85% of your 1-rep max.

Here is the training video:

For this workout Jeff works up to 4 heavy sets of doubles on the deadlift. For this workout Jeff actually chooses to not use his powerlifting belt on his heaviest sets. Check it out:

“You may notice that I’m not wearing a belt for these sets. And there’s two main reasons for this.

First, lifting belts will make the lift more challenging. For me these reps did feel a touch easy, so leaving the belt off is a simple way to increase the RPE at the same load.

Secondly, I like skipping the belt from time to time so I’m not too mentally reliant on it.”

After the heavy sets of deadlifts Jeff performs a variety of accessory exercises for his upper and lower body, including bench presses, pull ups and a couple of isolation exercises for his legs.

So far we’ve looked at Jeff Nippard’s powerlifting-style full body workouts. Now let’s look at some bodybuilding-style full body workouts. Here is one of Jeff’s chest-focused routines that you can try. Check it out:

Workout #3 (chest focused)

• Exercise #1: Bench press, 3 sets of 3 reps
• Exercise #2: Standing cable crossover (mid-pulley), 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #3: Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise #4: Chest supported row, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #5: Standing Arnold press, 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise #6: One-arm cable pushdown, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #7: Smith machine shrug, 3 sets of 12 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about a high-volume full body workout! When Jeff is training for bodybuilding he likes to include more exercises so that he can accumulate more training volume for each individual muscle group.

For this workout he actually performs 2 separate exercises for his chest. Jeff actually starts this workout with some heavy triples on the bench press.

Jeff often includes low-rep sets in his hypertrophy workouts. Check it out:

“Do rep counts as low as three belong in a hypertrophy focused program at all? Well, I think it depends. I personally like to include some pure strength work.

First of all, I’m not only concerned about building muscle. I also care about getting stronger, and strength is specific. If you want a stronger bench, then you gotta lift heavy.

I think some people underplay the fact that low rep strength work does contribute to hypertrophy, both indirectly and directly.

Getting stronger in lower rep ranges lets you use more weight in higher rep ranges, leading to more fatigue over time. Also, as long as volume is matched, low rep sets contribute similar hypertrophy to high rep sets.”

After the heavy bench press sets Jeff moves onto the standing cable crossover to really isolate his chest.

Jeff says that isolation exercises are useful for bodybuilders because they let you accumulate more volume using an exercise that is less neurologically taxing. You can also perform these exercises closer to failure with less overall fatigue build up.

“We’re hitting low to high cable flyers. Because this is an isolation exercise,w e can push these sets closer to failure without having to worry about fatigue.

Here I like to cue all 3 mechanical actions of the pec by hugging a big, tall tree. I like to have my palms facing up at the bottom to down at the top to go from a fully stretched to a fully contracted position.”

After the chest exercises Jeff performs a variety of accessory movements for the rest of his upper and lower body.

Here is one of Jeff’s back-focused full body workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Workout #4 (Back focused)

• Exercise #1: Pull up (wide / pronated grip), 3 sets of 6-8 reps
• Exercise #2: 30 degree chest supported DB row, 3 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise #3: Leg press, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #4: Standing calf raise, 4 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise #5: Cable upright row, 3 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise #6: Hammer curl, 3 sets of 10 reps

Here is the training video:

This workout follows a very similar format to the previous one. Jeff starts the workout with two compound back exercises, and then performs a variety of accessory exercises for the rest of his upper and lower body.

Jeff says that most people use really sloppy form on pull ups. They could get better results if they were more strict and used the correct muscle groups.

Jeff says that the is using the pull up to target his lats, so he keeps his elbows to his sides and really focused on driving his elbows down into his body on every rep. Check it out:

“To make the movement more mid-trap and rear delt dominant, we want to emphasize transverse shoulder abduction by thinking about driving the elbows straight out to the sides.”

The other big mistake that Jeff sees most people make on pull ups is they are not strict with their lifting tempo. Jeff says that every rep should look almost identical. Check it out:

“With pull ups in particular, you really want to focus on your lifting tempo. So rep 6 should look about the same as rep 1, meaning the positive or the negative shouldn’t get quicker as you fatigue.

And if you can’t complete all 6 reps with the same form, that indicates you may need to reduce the weight before your next set.”

Jeff Nippard says that performing 5 heavy full body workouts per week can be extremely challenging. Instead, he likes to perform a “free day” at the end of the week where he performs extra training volume for his lagging muscle groups, like shoulders or arms.

Here is what Jeff’s full body “free day” might look like. Check it out:

Workout #5 (Free day)

• Exercise A1: Standing barbell curl, 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise A2: Floor skull crusher, 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise B1: Incline DB curl, 3 sets of 21 reps**
• Exercise B2: Tricep pushdown, 3 sets of 21 reps**
• Exercise C1: DB lateral raise, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise C2: Band pull apart, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise C3: Standing calf raise, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise C4: Bicycle crunch, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise D1: Neck flexion, 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Exercise D2: Neck extension, 3 sets of 15-20 reps

Here is the training video:

For this workout Jeff Nippard performs various supersets and giant sets for his arms, shoulders, calves, abs and neck muscles.

Here is Jeff describing his approach for this workout:

“On this day I’ll go in and smash any body parts that I feel like were kind of neglected throughout the week and get caught up on any volume that’s missing, and also just have some fun as well.” 

As you can see Jeff has many different ways that he likes to design his full body workout routines.

Sometimes he performs powerlifting-style full body workouts where he works up to a few heavy sets on the squat, bench press or deadlift and follows that up with some targeted accessory exercises to boost his main lifts.

Other times he performs bodybuilding-style full body workouts targeting his chest, back or arms.

Jeff says the key to making the 5-day full body split work for you is to keep the volume manageable on each training day. You are training each muscle group up to 5 times per week so you want to make sure you are not causing too much muscle damage on any one training day.

Jeff Nippard’s Push Pull Legs Split

The push / pull / legs split is one of the oldest and most effective training splits in the world. The idea is simple: you train your entire body over three separate training days.

You have a “push” day where you train your chest / shoulders / triceps, a “pull” day where you train your back / biceps and a “legs” day where you train your quads / hamstrings / calves.

Jeff says he likes the push / pull / legs split because it reduces overlap between different muscle groups and it works well with his powerbuilding training style. You can train 3, 4 or 6 days per week using the push / pull / legs split.

Jeff Nippard likes to use the 6-day version because it allows you to train each muscle group twice per week. For example:

Jeff Nippard’s 6-Day Push / Pull / Legs Split

• Day 1: Push
• Day 2: Pull
• Day 3: Legs
• Day 4: Push
• Day 5: Pull
• Day 6: Legs
• Day 7: Off

As usual Jeff likes to use a “powerbuilding” approach for his workouts where he combines different bodybuilding and powerlifting training principles. Jeff likes to start his push / pull / legs workouts with a few heavy sets on squats, deadlifts, bench presses etc. and then perform some higher-rep accessory work.

Here is a good example of how Jeff likes to organize his powerbuilding push workouts. Check it out:

The Jeff Nippard Push Workout

• Exercise #1: Bench press, 3 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise #2: Machine overhead press (pronated grip), 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise #3: V-bar dips, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Exercise #4: Barbell skull crusher (behind head), 3 sets of 10-12 reps**
• Exercise #5: Egyptian lateral raise, 3 sets of 12 reps****
• Exercise #6: Cable tricep kickback, 3 sets of 20-30 reps

**Use a 3-second lowering phase on each rep

****Perform 12 reps, take a few breaths, perform 4 more reps, rest a few breaths, perform 4 reps, continue until you cannot perform 4 more reps

Here is the training video:

This is a good example of how Jeff Nippard likes to organize his push workouts. Jeff performs about 2 exercises each for his chest, shoulders and triceps. He starts the workout with a few heavy sets of bench presses, and then moves onto his other accessory exercises for each body part.

Jeff says that he likes to use a variety of free weight and machine exercises in his push workouts to avoid overtraining. Check it out:

“I’m opting for a machine variation here because when taking a powerbuilding approach, all the heavy free weight movements can take a toll on the joints and all the stabilizer muscles.

So on a hypertrophy week, I like to include more machine work so you can push closer to failure without too much muscle fatigue.”

After the machine overhead press Jeff opts for some free weight dips to overload his chest.

Jeff says that the extra range of motion from dips helps to offset the shortened range of motion from his powerlifting style bench press.

“The idea here is to make up for any of the so-called range of motion deficit from the powerlifting style bench press.

On the dips I’m getting a big stretch in the bottom part of the range of motion, something that’s been accumulating evidence as a potentially important signal for growth.”

Now let’s look at one of Jeff Nippard’s go-to back “pull” workouts. Check it out:

The Jeff Nippard Pull Workout

• Exercise #1: One-arm lat pull in, 2 sets of 15-20 reps
• Exercise #2: Pull ups (wide / overhand grip), 3 sets of 6-8 reps
• Exercise #3: Meadows row, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #4: Lat pulldown (wide / pronated grip), 1 set of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #5: Lat pulldown (medium / pronated grip), 1 set of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #6: Lat pulldown (medium / supinated grip), 1 set of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #7: Standing ez-bar curl (wide / supinated grip), 3 sets of 6-8 reps
• Exercise #8: 60 degree incline DB curl (2 sets of 15-20 reps),
• Exercise #9: Rack pull (just below knees), 3 sets of 6-8 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about a high-volume back workout! For this routine Jeff uses pulldowns, rows, bicep curls and even rack pulls to target his upper back and biceps.

Jeff usually starts his pull workouts with pull ups or pulldowns for his lats and upper back. Jeff says that these exercises are similar, but the pull ups might be a better overall choice.

“The pull up did come out on top for the biceps and the erector spinae.

And giving that we’re trying to target all the pulling muscles for this workout, it stands to reason that you might get a little more bang for your buck with the pull up.”

After the pull ups Jeff moves onto one of his favorite rowing exercises: the Meadows row.

Jeff says the research is inconclusive on this exercise so far. However, he really likes it for targeting the mid-lower traps, rhomboids and rear delts.

“We can think of this as our main heavy row for this workout. This movement has really grown on me for a few reasons.

Because you have the arm out to the side, the plane of motion is directly in line with the fiber orientation of the mid-trap fibers and you should be maximizing recruitment of the mid-traps and rhomboids here as you perform scapular retraction.

You’re going to hit the rear delts pretty well too with transverse shoulder abduction.”

Now let’s take a closer look at how Jeff organizes his leg workouts for his push / pull / legs split. Check it out:

Legs #3

• Exercise #1: Back squat, 3 sets of 4 reps
• Exercise #2: Romanian deadlift, 4 sets of 10 reps**
• Exercise #3: Walking alternating DB lunge, 3 sets of 8 reps****
• Exercise #4: Leg extension, 3 sets of 10 reps******
• Exercise #5: Lying leg curl, 3 sets of 20 reps********
• Exercise #6: Leg press calf raise, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #7: Cable rope crunches, 3 sets of 15 reps

**Use a 4-second lowering phase on each rep

****Perform 8 reps per leg, then use 50% lighter dumbbells and perform 8 more reps per leg

******Lift the weight with 2 legs and lower the weight down with 1 leg. Perform 10 total reps on each leg. Alternate which leg is lowering the weight down on each rep.

********Perform 8 reps with a 3-second lowering phase, then immediately perform 12 partial reps in the mid-range position.

Here is the training video:

As usual Jeff starts his leg workout with his heaviest exercise: the back squat. Jeff says that he usually performs one squat-focused leg workout early in the week and one deadlift-focused leg workout later in the week.

Jeff says that he almost always squats with a wider-than-shoulder-width stance, as this has been shown to be superior for overall lower body development.

“Many people still seem to think that squatting with a narrow stance is going to hit the quads more.

However, research shows that when comparing 75% and 140% of shoulder-width stances, there is no difference in quad activation but glutes are hit slightly harder with the wider than shoulder width stance.”

After squatting Jeff performs a variety of accessory exercises for the rest of his lower body. Jeff uses many novel techniques including the 2/1 eccentric method on seated leg curls.

For this exercise Jeff lifts the weight up using two legs, then lowers the weight back down using one leg. Here are his thoughts on this eccentric training strategy:

“I think this is a great strategy for overloading the eccentric phase because research shows that eccentric strength is about 20-50% greater than concentric strength.

You can take advantage of this by having one leg take all the load on the eccentric phase and splitting the load on the positive phase.”

The bottom line is Jeff Nippard is a big fan of the push / pull / legs split. He often uses a 6-day version of this training split where he can hit each muscle group twice per week using two completely different workouts.

Jeff Nippard’s Upper / Lower Split

The upper / lower split is another extremely popular training split. It is frequently used by some of the strongest bodybuilders and powerlifters in the world. Jeff Nippard often uses the upper / lower split in his own training.

He says it has many advantages, including reducing overlap between muscle groups and allowing you to train with a higher overall training frequency.

Jeff Nippard really likes to use a 6-day upper / lower split where you train each muscle group 3 times per week. For example:

Jeff Nippard’s 6-Day Upper / Lower Split

• Day 1: Upper
• Day 2: Lower
• Day 3: Upper
• Day 4: Lower
• Day 5: Upper
• Day 6: Lower
• Day 7: Off

Jeff Nippard says this split is so effective because of the higher overall training frequency. Most trainees would have a very hard time making size or strength gains training this way. However, there is no doubt that Jeff Nippard has made great gains with his 6-day upper / lower split routines.

As usual Jeff likes to combine powerlifting and bodybuilding training principles into his workout routines. He often starts his workouts with a few heavy sets of the squat, bench press or deadlift and finishes his workouts with some higher-rep accessory exercises to build muscle mass and strengthen his weaker muscle groups.

Here is one example of how Jeff likes to organize his upper body workouts. Check it out:

Upper Workout #1

• Exercise A1: Barbell overhead press, 2 sets of 4 reps
• Exercise B1: Pull up (wide / overhand grip), 3 sets of 6 reps
• Exercise C1: Bench press (medium grip), 2 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise D1: Seated cable row (wide / overhand grip), 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise D2: Incline dumbbell lateral raise, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise E1: Cable crossover, 3 sets of 20 reps**
• Exercise E2: Standing cable rope face pull, 2 sets of 20 reps
• Exercise F1: Standing DB curl (supinating grip), 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise G1: Neck extension, 3 sets of 20 reps

**Perform 10 reps with a low pulley position, then immediately perform 10 reps with a mid pulley position

Here is the training video:

Talk about a high-volume upper body workout! Jeff starts this workout with a couple heavy sets of the barbell overhead press. After that he moves onto various accessory exercises such as pull ups and the flat bench press.

Jeff likes to use the pull up and the lat pulldown in his upper body workouts. However, he says the pull up is probably a better overall upper back exercise.

“While there was no difference in lat activation between pull ups and pull downs, the pull up did come out on top for the biceps and the spinal erectors.

Both a pull up and a pulldown can have a place in your routine. However, you can make the case that if you are leaving a pull up out of your routine, then you might be leaving some back thickness gains on the table.”

Jeff Nippard is also a big fan of the close grip bench press as an accessory exercise. He says that it works certain muscle groups, such as the upper chest, harder than a regular wide grip bench press. Check it out:

“One of the main advantages of the close grip bench press from a physique development perspective is that it does target the upper chest better than a wider grip.

EMG studies show that a narrow grip leads to stronger activation of the clavicular head.”

Here is another one of Jeff Nippard’s upper body workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Jeff Nippard Upper Body Workout #2

• Exercise #1: Bench press, 2 sets of 2 reps
• Exercise #2: Standing overhead press, 4 sets of 4 reps
• Exercise #3: Pull up (wide / overhand grip), 5 sets of 6 reps
• Exercise #4: Bench press (close grip), 3 sets of 11 reps
• Exercise #5: Pendlay row, 3 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise #6: Deficit push up, 2 sets to failure
• Exercise #7: Band pull aparts, 2 sets of 30 reps
• Exercise #8: Concentration curl, 3 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise #9: Supine neck curls, 3 sets of 20 reps
• Exercise #10: Seated neck extension, 3 sets of 10 reps

Here is the training video:

For this workout Jeff decided to work up to a heavy set of 2 reps on the flat bench press.

He says that he normally works with relatively lighter weights in his bodybuilding or hypertrophy phases of training. However, he was preparing for a heavy 1-rep max on the following week and wanted to acclimate his body to slightly heavier loads.

“When I do a bodybuilding type phase, I will do most of my sets in the 70-80% of my 1-rep max zone.

Fairly light weights as far as powerlifting standards is concerned, but that’s just because I can accumulate more volume in that intensity zone.”

Jeff Nippard structures his lower body workouts in a very similar fashion to his upper body workouts. He likes to start his workouts with a few heavy sets of squats or deadlifts, and then move onto various accessory exercises for his quads and hamstrings.

Here is a simple low-volume lower body workout that you can try. Check it out:

Lower Body Workout #1

• Exercise #1: Back squat, 3 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise #2: Walking DB lunges, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #3: Front DB step ups, 3 sets of 15 reps
• Exercise #4: Swiss ball reverse hyperextension, 3 sets of 20 reps
• Exercise #5: Cable hip abduction, 3 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise #6: LLPT planks, 3 sets of 30 second holds

Here is the training video:

Jeff Nippard says this workout has more than enough volume to build a big, strong lower body. In fact, he says anyone who thinks this workout doesn’t have enough volume to stimulate growth isn’t training hard enough!

During the workout Jeff uses some key unilateral exercises like walking lunges and step ups. He says that walking lunges are probably the most underrated lower body exercise in the world. Check it out:

“I actually think walking lunges are one of the most underrated lower body exercises. A lot of people talk about squats and hip thrusts, but the lunge is an incredible overall lower body movement.

Glutes, quads, and hamstrings, and even a little bit of calves as well. My top 2 underrated lower body exercises are the lunge and the trap bar deadlift.”

Here is another one of Jeff Nippard’s lower body workouts that you can try. This one focuses on the deadlift, rather than the squat. Check it out:

Lower Body Workout #2

• Exercise #1: Sumo deadlift, 2-4 sets of 5 reps
• Exercise #2: Box squat (wide stance), 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Exercise #3: Barbell hip thrust, 3 sets of 12 reps
• Exercise #4: Leg extension, 3 sets of 20 reps
• Exercise #5: Seated leg curl, 3 sets of 20 reps
• Exercise #6: Seated calf raise: 4 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise #7: Ab wheel rollout: 3 sets of 8 reps

Here is the training video:

Jeff starts this workout with a few heavy sets on the sumo deadlift.

Jeff often switches back and forth between the two exercises and recommends everyone to use both stances in their training.

“You can pull either sumo or conventional. However, if you’re accustomed to always pulling with one variation, it may not be a bad idea to switch to the other for the next month or two, to experiment and strengthen any weak points as well.”

The bottom line is Jeff Nippard is a big fan of the 6-day upper / lower split.

It’s rare to see someone who can recover from this kind of training volume / frequency but Jeff Nippard clearly gets great results from it.

Jeff Nippard’s Bodybuilding Bro Split

Jeff Nippard almost always trains using one of the three training splits covered so far: the full body split, the push / pull / legs split or the upper / lower split.

Jeff likes these training splits because they let you train each muscle group more than once per week. However, Jeff sometimes uses the traditional bodybuilding bro split where you train each muscle group once per week.

This is especially true when he is traveling and training with other bodybuilding coaches.

Jeff especially likes the science-based workouts of John Meadows, the creator of the Mountain Dog Training program. Here are a few bro-split workouts that Jeff Nippard performed while training with John Meadows. Check it out:

Workout #1: Chest

• Exercise #1: Flat machine press, 5 sets of 8 reps
• Exercise #2: Incline DB press, 4 sets of 6 reps
• Exercise #3: Decline smith machine press, 3 sets of 25, 15, 8 reps**
• Exercise #4: Flat DB press, 3 sets of 8 reps****

**On your last set train to failure and perform a double drop set

****On your last set perform 8 reps, then perform a 10 second static hold in the bottom position with extra manual resistance

Here is the training video:

This is a typical looking Mountain Dog chest workout.

Jeff Nippard says that he didn’t go all-out on every single set. Instead, he slowly worked up to his heaviest set on each exercise.

Jeff says that he really likes this approach when you are training each muscle group once per week with higher volume workouts. Check it out:

“It was one of the most challenging chest workouts that I’ve done. But psychologically, the reason I could get through it was the approach that John takes.

All the sets leading up to that last one are not all-out sets. They’re kind of preparing you for that one set. Then mentally you know you just have to give it your all on that one set.”

Jeff says that he performed a few techniques in this workout that he had never tried before. For example, at the very end of the workout Jeff performed a chest stretch / iso-hold with extra manual resistance.

Here is Jeff describing this exercise:

“Here we’re doing sets of 8 reps but they’re pretty easy. You know, just feeling a good stretch at the bottom. Then after the 8th rep, we’re doing a 10-second isometric hold in the bottom in the stretched position.

Not only that, john is also going to apply manual resistance to my wrists to get an extra stretch. But it’s a very minimal extra resistance.”

Jeff says he really liked this technique, as there is more and more research showing loaded stretches have an additive effect on muscle hypertrophy.

Here is a back workout that Jeff performed with John Meadows. Check it out:

Workout #2: Back 

• Exercise #1: One-arm cable pulldown, 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Exercise #2: Trap bar row, 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Exercise #3: Band-assisted pull up (wide / pronated grip), 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Exercise #4: Chest supported row, 4 sets of 8-10 reps, 2 sets of 8-10 reps
• Exercise #5: 45 degree back extension (holding barbell with snatch grip), 4 sets of 10 reps

Here is the training video:

This is a typical bodybuilding-style upper back workout by Jeff Nippard and John Meadows. They target their entire back using 2 pulldown variations, 2 rowing variations and 1 lower back isolation movement.

During the workout Jeff and John give some great insights into how to target different areas of the upper back, including the lower and upper lats, the teres major and the upper traps.

Here is Jeff describing his form on the lat pulldown exercise:

“Pretty much what we’re doing here is unilateral pulldown, but it’s very lat focused.

Rather than squeezing the shoulder blades together, we’re pretty much just driving the elbow down and getting a little bit of lateral flexion in the bottom position.

With the non-working hand, we’re just leaving it so you get a little bit of a stretch through the range of motion.”

Here is a brutal bodybuilding-style leg workout that Jeff Nippard performed with John Meadows. Check it out:

Workout #3: Legs

• Exercise #1: Lying leg curl, 4 sets of 8 reps**
• Exercise #2: Machine leg extension, 4 sets of 8 reps**
• Exercise #3: Safety squat bar squat with chains, 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Exercise #4: Smith machine split squat, 4 sets of 8 reps

**On the last set perform a double drop set, then perform 10 partial reps in the stretched position, then perform a 10-second iso-hold in the stretched position

Here is the training video:

This was more of a high-intensity bodybuilding-style leg workout. For this routine Jeff performed several warm up sets on each exercise, and then performed one all-out working set to failure.

On the first 2 exercises Jeff trained to failure, then performed a double drop set, then performed several partial reps and finally performed a 10-second iso-hold to annihilate any remaining muscle fibers in his legs.

After the isolation work Jeff worked up to a heavy top set on the safety squat bar squat with chains and the smith machine split squat. Jeff Nippard isn’t big on having a direct arm day but he often performs one when he is using a bodybuilding bro split.

Here is a brutal arm workout that Jeff performed with John Meadows. Check it out:

Workout #4: Arms

• Exercise #1: Standing barbell curl, 4 sets of 6-8 reps*
• Exercise #2: Dual handle cable pushdown, 4 sets of 6-8 reps**
• Exercise #3: Standing DB hammer curl, 3 sets of 10-12 reps***
• Exercise #4: Overhead dual handle cable extension (high pulley), 3 sets of 10-12 reps****
• Exercise #5: Machine preacher curl (narrow / semi-supinated grip), 3 sets of 10-12 reps*****
• Exercise #6: Lying cross-body kettlebell tricep extension, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

*On your last set perform 6-8 reps with chains, then perform 6-8 reps with a 10-pound plate, then perform 3 “one-and-a-quarter” reps with just the bar (raise the bar halfway up, the lower all the way down, then raise the bar all the way up, then lower all the way back down), then perform 10 partial reps in the bottom position.

**Perform a triple drop set, then perform a 10-second iso-hold in the mid-range position with extra manual resistance

***On the last set train to failure, then perform 12-15 partial reps in the bottom position

****On the last set train to failure, then perform a 20-second iso-hold in the stretched position

*****Perform 10 reps with extra manual resistance on the lowering phase of each rep, then perform 3-4 full range of motion reps, then perform several partial reps in the bottom position, then perform a static hold in the stretched position

Talk about a high-intensity arm workout! On almost every exercise Jeff performed several working sets to failure, including one set taken beyond failure with different high-intensity techniques including drop sets, partial reps and iso-holds.

Jeff isn’t always the biggest fan of bodybuilding bro-split workouts as he thinks most trainees will make faster progress hitting body parts at least twice per week. However, he does think there is merit for more science-based bro-split workouts.

Conclusion | The Jeff Nippard Training Program!

Jeff Nippard is one of the most popular gurus in the fitness industry today.

Jeff is most famous for his science-based approach to strength training program design, for his “powerbuilding” style workouts where he uses bodybuilding and powerlifting training principles together in the same workout, and for his high-frequency training programs where he hits body parts anywhere from 2-5 times per week!

If you have above average recovery ability and respond well to high-volume training programs then you have to give one of Jeff Nippard’s training programs a shot. They may be just what you need to take your training to the next level.

“The first step to achieving your goal, is to take a moment to respect your goal. Know what it means to you to achieve it.”

Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!