ACL tear in highschool set Natalie Hays on her journey right into a pure bodybuilding powerhouse.
Final up to date on March fifth, 2025
Natalie Hays is a girls’s natural bodybuilder. Her aggressive accolades embrace profitable the 2023 Ms. America, the 2023 Yorton Cup, the 2023 World Pure Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) World Championship, and the 2024 Natural Olympia.
Already a four-time world champion and the reigning Pure Olympia champion, Hays, 27, is keen so as to add extra titles to her resume. Dr. Mike Israetel of Renaissance Periodization lately delved into Natalie Hay’s backstory and guided her by way of a exercise.
Natalie Hays
Hays shared the story of her knee injury throughout her senior 12 months of highschool basketball. Regardless of tearing her ACL, she selected to not endure surgical procedure and as an alternative centered on rehabilitation by way of relentless coaching. Her dedication to excel in physical therapy grew to become nearly obsessive, main her to find bodybuilding.
Hays admitted that her journey to building muscle wasn’t fast, as she struggled to get her nutrition on monitor. Luckily, her father guided her, introducing her to foundational workout routines like bench presses and deadlifts, which grew to become the cornerstone of her health journey.
Natalie Hays’ Coaching Method
Hays has educated for 9 years and devoted the final 5 to weight coaching twice day by day. In 2024, she made her pure bodybuilding debut, and regardless of her success, Hays revealed that she struggled with emotions of melancholy after her victories.
Whereas she’s nonetheless attempting to know why, she attracts parallels to experiences shared by Olympians like Michael Phelps, who’ve spoken overtly about post-competition struggles. Hays means that underlying circumstances similar to ADHD and OCD would possibly play a job.
Hays’ routine maintains her day by day construction. She finds competing is commonly disruptive — the reveals weren’t as rewarding because the considered returning house and resuming her on a regular basis habits, which introduced her consolation and stability.
I wish to simply keep house, eat my meals, practice twice a day, go to mattress, do my routine, and simply rise up and try this once more.
—Natalie Hays
Superset 1 — Pull-Ups to Deficit Push-Ups
Dr. Israetel directed Hays to superset pull-ups and push-ups with out relaxation. The aim was most effort in each set. As soon as she accomplished the push-ups, she was allowed a short 15 to 30-second relaxation earlier than returning to pull-ups. She accomplished three units.
Hays carried out pull-ups utilizing a neutral grip. Dr. Israetel highlighted the significance of sluggish, managed actions with a short pause on the backside of every rep. As she approached her ultimate rep, Dr. Israetel remarked, “Sluggish, as in the event you’re going to do one other. Extremely sluggish, all the best way all the way down to the dangle and leap.”
She dove straight into her deficit push-ups, following Dr. Israetel’s recommendation to decrease her chest to the bottom and pause briefly on the backside of every rep.
Superset 2 — Flexion Dumbbell Row to Incline Dumbbell Press
Dr. Israetel instructed Hays to undertake a deadlift stance, maintaining her ft barely narrower than shoulder-width and sustaining a good lower back as she pushes her glutes again. This place creates vital stress in her hamstrings. From there, she gently lowered a pair of weights towards the bottom earlier than rowing them as much as her chest.
Dr. Israetel careworn the significance of managed actions all through. Hays admitted that this coaching model feels completely different from what she’s used to.
This coaching model is superior for actually good muscle growth stimulus; lot of physique to cowl and not using a ton of time.
—Mike Israetel
Tremendous Vary of Movement Lateral (50 Rep Big Set)
Hays carried out managed lateral raises, lifting easily and reducing slowly. Dr. Israetel referred to this method as “tremendous range of motion.” Hays accomplished 15 to twenty reps for every set, totaling 50 reps, with strategic relaxation pauses in between.
Hays integrated just a few partial reps to failure throughout every giant set. She concluded with a static maintain, pausing within the lateral elevate place for just a few seconds.
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Featured picture: @nph_fit on Instagram