Bodybuilder Jeff Nippard is known for using science as his lodestar for his workouts. He does the same for his friends and clients. Enter fitness entrepreneur, influencer, and bodybuilder Christian Guzman. Recently, Nippard used science to build a pull workout for Guzman.
On July 21, 2023, Christian Guzman uploaded a video of Jeff Nippard taking him through the pull training session to his YouTube. Watch the full workout here:
At the time of the video’s recording, Guzman was 11 days out from the 2023 NPC USA Bodybuilding Championship. (As of this writing, the competition happened on July 29.)
Nippard and Guzman’s Science-Based Pull Workout
- Single-Arm High Lat Row: 3 x 8-10 (+3-5 myo-reps; +3-5 lengthened partial reps)
- Chest-Supported Prime Machine Row: 3 x 10-12
- Kelso Shrug (on Seal Row Bench): 3 x 10-12
- Reverse Pec Deck: 3 x 10-12
- Machine Preacher Curl: 3 x 10-12
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Single-Arm High Lat Row
Nippard had Guzman perform Hammer Strength iso-lateral high rows to engage his lats. However, Nippard demonstrated that to get that deep stretch, Guzman should twist his body toward the arm that’s pulling so he face’s the handle as it’s pulled through the range of motion).
Guzman moves slowly on the eccentrics and explosively on the concentrics to the midline. Nippard suggests flaring the elbow slightly so the arm moves straight.
During this exercise, the duo dabbles in myo-reps and partial reps. Myo-reps are comprised of near-failure sets in the 12-30 rep range, followed by three to five-rep mini-sets with 20-30 seconds of rest in between.
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Myo-reps are similar drop sets without the drop in weight. Nippard told Guzman, “With myo-reps, you’re getting more of those effective reps towards the end of a set where the muscle is nearly exhausted.”
As the name suggests, partial reps are half-reps. “It seems that long-length partials on many exercises [are] actually better than [a] full range of motion [for hypertrophy],” Nippard established. “If you were to isolate what part of the range of motion gives you the most hypertrophy, it’s not uniform.”
So once Guzman can’t move through his full range of motion, he switched to lengthened partial reps to maximize muscle growth. However, Nippard warned Guzman to maintain proper form during myo-reps and lengthened partial reps.
You still have control [over] the positive and the negative.
[Related: How to Do the Cuban Press for Stronger, Healthier Shoulders]
Chest-Supported Prime Machine Row
This exercise offers Guzman and Nippard a mixture of lat and mid-back work. Nippard suggested it’s better to overload the beginning of the range of motion because humans’ backs are stronger in the starting part of a pull; the lengthened range of motion is the most hypertrophic area.
Kelso Shrugs (on Seal Row Bench)
These shrugs involve a barbell and weight plates pulled underneath a weight bench that Guzman laid on. By shrugging at this angle, Guzman works his rear deltoids and traps more while avoiding unnecessary biceps movements. Nippard describes it as “shrugging back for the mid-traps.”
Reverse Pec Deck and Machine Preacher Curl
The duo swapped to accessory work. To get the correct angle for the reverse pec deck, Guzman and Nippard leaned against the bench so their arms could move back in a straight line to better engage their posterior delts.
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[Read More: Our Favorite Forearm Workouts, + the Best Forearm Exercises]
As for the preacher curls, Nippard suggested letting the wrists slack for better mind-muscle connection with the biceps. He mentioned that some people find this takes the forearms out of the equation, which helps.
In the end, if they didn’t have access to this equipment, a pull-up, a row, and a biceps curl would be enough for an effective workout, according to Nippard. While science can help guide the programming and form, the most important aspect of training is what athletes can maintain. As Nippard says at the end of the video, “Optimal goes out the window if it’s not sustainable.”
Featured image: @jeffnippard on Instagram
