Why Mike Sommerfeld Uses Myo Reps to Train Legs for the 2025 Olympia

With reigning six-time Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead’s retirement, 2025 Arnold Classic Physique winner Mike Sommerfeld is touted to become his likeliest successor at the 2025 Olympia in October.

In July 2025, Sommerfeld shared how he leverages myo reps, a high-intensity strategy in which mini-sets follow an initial activation set with short rest intervals. This rest-pause variant causes extreme muscle fatigue, aiming to recruit more high-threshold motor units.

Mike Sommerfeld’s Leg Day

• Machine Adductors 
• Seated & Lying Hamstring Curls
• Deadlifts
• Leg Extensions
• Leg Press

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ0_yhenZYI&ab_channel=MikeSommerfeld

Note: This video has been translated from German into English. As a result, some nuances or expressions may differ slightly from the original meaning.

Are Myo Reps Effective?

Research shows that intensity techniques, like myo reps, can produce similar muscle gains as traditional sets in less time. (1)(2) The former are typically used to isolate with moderate training loads, resulting in high local and lower systemic fatigue.

Are Myo Reps Good For More Than Saving Time?

Technique, effort, and proximity to failure influence muscle growth. Training while fatigued tends to slow rep pace and reduce momentum, which could improve form.

Every rep you mess up is a rep your competitor performs perfectly.

—Mike Sommerfeld

Cheat reps could offer a beneficial stimulus, but stricter reps should be the default, according to data.

The Role of Failure Reps

While research is conflicting on whether training to failure is essential at the elite level, failure reps likely are by emphasizing eccentrics. (3)(4) Though full range reps are beneficial, lengthened partials, or performing reps in the fully stretched position after reaching failure, have shown favorable results. (5)

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“If you’re a wimp, you can be as strong as you want—you just won’t access it,” says Sommerfeld, regarding mindset. Having a motivating training partner or playlist can help. (6) When physical strength is limited, maximize stimulus via more reps.

[Related: Wesley Vissers on Hypertrophy Science: “There Are No Studies on Guys Like Us”]

The Philosophy of Full Effort

Sleep, nutrition, and mental clarity are non-negotiables in Sommerfeld’s regimen. “The more and better you sleep, the better everything else works,” he affirmed.

Poor sleep quality negatively affects performance and increases stress, which are detrimental to physique transformation. Conversely, training can enhance sleep quality, though training too late could disrupt sleep. (7)

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References 

1. Prestes J, A Tibana R, de Araujo Sousa E, da Cunha Nascimento D, de Oliveira Rocha P, F Camarço N, Frade de Sousa NM, Willardson JM. Strength and Muscular Adaptations After 6 Weeks of Rest-Pause vs. Traditional Multiple-Sets Resistance Training in Trained Subjects. J Strength Cond Res. 2019 Jul;33 Suppl 1:S113-S121. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001923. PMID: 28617715.
2. Krzysztofik M, Wilk M, Wojdała G, Gołaś A. Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 4;16(24):4897. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244897. PMID: 31817252; PMCID: PMC6950543.
3. Refalo MC, Helms ER, Trexler ET, Hamilton DL, Fyfe JJ. Influence of Resistance Training Proximity-to-Failure on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2023 Mar;53(3):649-665. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01784-y. Epub 2022 Nov 5. PMID: 36334240; PMCID: PMC9935748.
4. Robinson ZP, Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Refalo MC, Jukic I, Steele J, Zourdos MC. Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions. Sports Med. 2024 Sep;54(9):2209-2231. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02069-2. Epub 2024 Jul 6. PMID: 38970765.
5. Wolf M, Androulakis Korakakis P, Piñero A, Mohan AE, Hermann T, Augustin F, Sapuppo M, Lin B, Coleman M, Burke R, Nippard J, Swinton PA, Schoenfeld BJ. Lengthened partial repetitions elicit similar muscular adaptations as full range of motion repetitions during resistance training in trained individuals. PeerJ. 2025 Feb 12;13:e18904. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18904. PMID: 39959841; PMCID: PMC11829627.
6. Terry PC, Karageorghis CI, Curran ML, Martin OV, Parsons-Smith RL. Effects of music in exercise and sport: A meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2020 Feb;146(2):91-117. doi: 10.1037/bul0000216. Epub 2019 Dec 5. PMID: 31804098.
7. Kovacevic A, Mavros Y, Heisz JJ, Fiatarone Singh MA. The effect of resistance exercise on sleep: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Med Rev. 2018 Jun;39:52-68. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2017.07.002. Epub 2017 Jul 19. PMID: 28919335.

Featured image: @mikethebadass on Instagram