Hey Solomon, I appreciate the critical feedback. This is one of my older programs and I agree that it needs an update. The main thing IMO is that the %s are a bit too high, for sure. This isn’t a HUGE deal if you adhere to RPE guidelines and tbh, most people running this program are not advanced enough that the sets would be “impossible”. Still, im going to adjust the numbers. Cheers man
Hey Jeff, you’re a legend. It’s basically an act of charity that as big a RU-vidr as you would give me any acknowledgement at all. Here are my thoughts on your comment: (1) I’m glad that you agree that the program needs an overhaul. (2) It’s not just that the %s are ‘a bit too high’, as you write. It’s that you’re asked to do 4 sets of 6 @ 85% of 1RM with 3-5’ of rest after just 3 weeks of preparation, which is a workout that intermediate to advanced trainees in the general population have a snowball’s chance in hell of doing. (3) You write that the impossible workout isn’t a ‘HUGE deal’ if you adhere to RPE guidelines. Sure, but you didn’t give RPE guidelines for the impossible workout. You gave %s. (4) You seem to concede that once you reach a certain level of advancement, the week 4 day 1 workout becomes undoable. That’s good. But you write that ‘most people running this program are not advanced enough that the sets would be impossible’. What makes you say that? The program is advertised as appropriate for intermediate and advanced trainees, not beginners. And I don’t think your clientele is that stupid. That aside, I’m happy that you construed my video constructively, and that you’re going to revise your program. Keep crushing it with the videos. :)
I'm currently 57 years old and I've been lifting since about age 15. I have to agree with you that the concept of multiple sets of 6 at 85% of 1RM with 3-5 minutes rest between sets does not seem realistically achievable. Given the inconsistencies in the text passages as you have noted, this gives me the impression that more conservative/cautionary language was bolted on as a late-stage edit without sufficient editing to ensure internal consistency. Sloppy work.
Awesome video, totally agree with your intentions behind it. Him being one of the greats is a really good reason for holding him accountable to his reputation. Really good critiques overall.
Will have to say fantastic video and what a time to upload it. 2 weeks ago i completed phase 3.0 of jeffs programs and after testing my maxes my deadlift increased by 20kg squat by 25kg but bench only by 10, (215 ,165 and 95kg are my respective maxes). With this knowledge as you said i blindly trusted jeffs programs as they worked absolute wonders in the past and i wanted to pick one with bench specialisation to hopefully up my bench to match my other lifts Day 5 of the workout and my legs have not recovered correctly from squats having to do 125kg for 5 for 3 sets and then 150kg for 6 for 4 set on deadlifts. I thought this cannot be right and found your video. In general i think if your weaker on your upper body the work outs are great even too easy but the leg workouts are way too difficult if your max on these is high. Thank you so much for the video and would you have recommendation for good bench specialisation program ?
Thanks so much for this comment! In terms of bench specialization programs that I’d recommend, at the 36:24 mark, I share some thoughts as to how I might program a bench specialization routine for myself. I don’t give a fully laid out program as such, but I might still give you an idea as to how good programs might look when you’re browsing for some yourself. Greg Nuckols has written some good powerlifting programs that are completely free, I think.
Obv this doesn't matter now, but I think a lot of benchers who aren't peaked will be able to rep out quite a large amount of reps at 85% of their max. There's plenty of people with a 250 max that can rep out 225 for 10. Whereas you won't find many people with a 400 squat who will fancy doing 350 for 10 (they might be able to do it rest-pause/widowmaker). So I think that's the difficulty here with a cookie-cutter bench specialisation programme. I think those percentages will be ok for some lifters, though probably not for others. You could maybe get a calculator where you input a 1RM, a 5RM and a 10RM and that spits out your programme. In a way that's the beautiful thing about something like 531, which is flawed in many ways but does see you test your ability to rep out at a number of percentages - which will give you a more nuanced view on where you are. That being said, yeah he does suggest using an AMRAP to calculate a one-rep max - which might be ok if you use a 531 calculator (they exist), but not one of the usual ones. When you employ training maxes, then yeah suddenly they look too easy when looked at through an 'effective rep theory' lens but, in all honesty, effective rep theory is more of a hypothesis than a theory. And yes, you should work accessories hard as they usually have better SFR then your primary lifts. One other thing - yeah RPE 8 is a hard set absolutely, but 'gun to your head' is a ridiculous turn of phrase. I assure you, most people would find another rep or two if their life depended on it. This is going to be really unhealthy coaching for some people. We're just lifting weights here people.
In this video, I argue that Jeff Nippard’s bench press specialization program is truly terrible. This is a long video, but if you have the patience to watch it in its entirety, then I think it will be worth your time. (The 2x speed option is your friend.) However, I understand that you might like to skip to the meat and potatoes. If so, then you can go straight to the 8:24 mark. Other time stamps are given below: 0:00 Introduction 4:21 Disclaimer 5:04 Is Jeff's program even possible? 26:42 False advertising 29:44 Is Jeff's program even a specialization routine? 36:24 How would I fix Jeff's program if I wanted to run it? 39:05 Conclusion
I ran the program and first 4 weeks worked well, 15-20lb pr. I was bulking hard and my previous routine wasn't enough volume. Then the next 4 weeks was too injured (form errors/bad shoulder) to make bench gains but got my squat/deadlift back to previous prs, although I didn't do his leg routine, just linear program no accessories. Bench went from 185lb all time pr to 200/205 based on calcs, bodyweight 132-140lbs in first 4 weeks. So the impossible workout was actually decent for me and I got 7 reps on the last set. My upper back got a lot bigger and stronger in those first 4 weeks as well. Overall its probably a good program for someone who does train bench but hasn't been on an actual intermediate program because those accessory lifts can really help with bench.
Thanks for the comment, and sorry to hear that you got injured following Jeff’s program. My thoughts: (1) You didn’t run the program as Jeff wrote it. Jeff prescribed hard legs workouts 2x/w which you say you didn’t do, meaning that you had more recovery for your upper body training. Try re-running the program as written and see how you go. (2) You gained 2 lbs a week during block 1. This is an insanely fast rate of weight gain, especially given your starting body weight. If you had to do that to complete the week 4, day 1 workout, then how do you think most trainees who don’t bulk this hard will go? (3) The fact that you were able to do the week 4, day 1 workout indicates that you’re not very advanced. Try running the program again with your now-increased 1RM. You’ll very likely crash and burn, which is what happens by the very design of the program once you reach a certain level of advancement. (Jeff admits as much himself; see the pinned comment.) Nevertheless, I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you’ve recovered from your injury and continue to set PRs. :)
Hey. I've been using this exact training program for almost 2 years now so I've watched this video in its entirety with great interest. I think you are very harsh but somewhat fair in your points. You are right that it is not exactly "specialization", but that is why I've been able to run it exclusively, for years. It is more like "prioritization" than specialization. Also, regarding the impossible workout, I just consider it extremely difficult. The 85% that you're supposed to use on week four, is your 85% at the program start, so you have 3 full weeks to prepare for it. I failed this repeatedly, so I made amends, in that I no longer used percentages, rather just weights, and something that was possible. Example: if I can do about 7 reps with 100kg, then I use 92,5 kg for week one for the 4x6, 95 for week 2, 97,5 for week 3, 100kg for week four, and that is something I can see on paper, and go into the gym knowing it is possible, but very challenging. I know this differs from the program Jeff gives, but still captures the essence of the progression scheme so that it can be doable. And then after week 8, I increase the weight for week 4 by 2,5 kg and run the program again. I have definitely failed some times and had to retry the first weeks in order to get it, but any weight I could eventually get, after 2-3 retries. I have been training for 4 years, and using this program exclusively for like 2 years. My 1rep max on bench is 120kg. It used to be 80-87 kgs before the program. This proves that it can be used to gain weight on bench, but maybe it is not the most efficient. Also I frequently cut the intensity back on the prescribed accessories so that I don't have chest tendon pain. (I used to have this all the time before cutting back on accessory exercise intensity). After seeing this video, I am definitely open to trying something else, just never thought about it before as I was still progressing, and had weights that I was trying to get to. Do you have any recommendations for what program I can replace this with? This is not to hate on the video or try to "prove" it wrong, just giving my thoughts and discussing.
Thanks for taking the time to watch my video in its entirety and share such detailed feedback. I appreciate it. Here are my thoughts: (1) Your experience running Jeff’s program confirms my suspicions: that the program is undoable-and terrible-the way it’s written. You write that you made amends to the program after failing on it repeatedly-which was a great move on your part-but that means it’s no longer Jeff’s program that you’re running. Moreover, Jeff should have fixed his program before you had to yourself. (2) You write that in the two years that you followed your amended version of Jeff’s routine, your bench 1RM went from 80-87kg to 120kg. Congrats on the progress. However, without knowing your body weight, it’s hard to know how impressive that is. A 120kg bench could indicate intermediate, advanced or even elite status depending on body weight. For heavier folks, making that kind of progress is to be expected in 2 years when following a normal routine. Moreover, I’d wager that you made progress in spite of Jeff’s program, and not because of it. (Not that you even followed it as it’s written, as you say.) (3) In terms of lifting routine suggestions for you, I like the phrase ‘don’t fix what ain’t broken’. You write that you’re still progressing following your amended version of Jeff’s routine, so if I were you, I’d just keep going. Beyond that, I’m hesitant to suggest anything specific since I know very little about you, and with 4 years of lifting under your belt, you’ve probably advanced beyond the point of cookie cutter routines being appropriate. I will say though that I stand by genuine specialization routines for more advanced lifters; not whatever the heck Jeff’s routine is (you say ‘prioritization’, I say ‘crap’). Once again, thanks for watching my video and sharing feedback after running Jeff’s program. I appreciate it!
IfJeff was as "science based" as he said he is, he would explain to you the difference between a competition max and a training max and why they are different and why we train off the training max.
I was stuck between 125-130kg bench press for 2-3 years. I used Jeff's program and followed it exactly and at the end of the program I hit 140kg bench for the first time. It definitely worked for me. I am about to run it a second time
I am still watching this video, but I would be interested to know what else, if anything, you tried to get over that stall. I would generally expect someone who specialise to increase their max. Congrats on the milestone though - I know ppl want to tick that 3 plate box and I'm glad it worked out for you.
@@alanfarquharhill I didn't really do too much extra outside of being in a calorie surplus and making sure my sleep and recovery were good. I think the benching variations (pause benching ect..) and leaving my ego at the door were really important for me and focusing on the different mental queues in the program really helped as well. I would recommend however, to do a deload before starting the program. I had started the program when my fatigue was already a bit high and hit a wall at about week 3, so had to deload and start the program again. The second time around it worked very well
@@wessleykennedy7721 Yeah what I meant was what you had tried previous to starting the programme i.e. a stall had been implied. It feels like you may have been winging it before.
@@alanfarquharhill most of my gains prior to doing the program were made through standard linear periodisation and technique improvements. I struggled to transition out of linear periodisation and manage recovery properly and this kept me at about the same level for a long time. This program helped with that transition
@@wessleykennedy7721 That's fair. I mean basically you needed more intermediate programming. I'm not sure that's a particularly strong endorsement of this programme. That being said, a stalled bench is probably what a lot of recreational lifters are going to get irked about so yeah, I suppose for some customers it will somewhat fix the presenting problem.
I mention a few lifting routines I like around the 38:25 mark. Generally, I’m partial to anything that (1) prioritizes progressive tension overload, (2) isn’t unnecessarily complicated, and (3) doesn’t require a big time investment.
Solomon, would you ever try street lifting, like weighted dips and pullups and such? or are you just more of an aesthetics lifter? Either way good video :)
I’m glad that you liked the video! I adore body weight exercises, and don’t see them as antithetical to aesthetic goals. The weighted chin-up in particular has been a favourite of mine for years. I do them every week.
9:03 The difference is that the 1RM changes as you progress in the program. It is calling for 85% of your 1RM 3 weeks ago, now now. So the calculator and eric helms quote does not apply. 16:00 I agree that the increase week to week is not linear, but does it have to be? Your video did not make it clear that strength curves have to be linear and i know nothing about strength training. 17:50 I agree that jeff's definition of a max is equivocal here, so i agree with you. 21:28 I agree again, that sounds wrong to me... In addition, if there are two weeks where you are not accruing adaptations, that makes week 4 even worse! 27:48 I think it's not that big of a deal but yeah... Weird that he wrote that. Other than the first point, i like this video and appreciate the criticism in the community. By the way, i'd love to hear your opinion on mike israatel?
Hey there, thanks for the comment, and I’m glad you liked my video overall. My thoughts: (1) Your first point is one I address in the video (maybe you missed it; it’s around the 7:12 mark). You write that “1RM changes as you progress in the program”. Sure, but at the intermediate to advanced level, there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that your 1RM will progress so dramatically in just 3 weeks that you’ll be able to do Jeff’s impossible workout. (2) In terms of my comments on the week to week absolute intensity increases, I just wanted to highlight that the program seems to start out in a reasonable way, and then becomes completely unreasonable out of nowhere. It’s funny, and weird, and was worth pointing out. I think we’re on the same page about everything else. In terms of my thoughts on Israetel, that’s a can of worms, and I don’t want to spend all night writing a comment. Stick around though. :)
