The professionals keep away from this — if you wish to be a bodybuilder, it’s best to, too.
Final up to date on October twenty third, 2024
John Jewett is the Eleventh-best Males’s Open bodybuilder on the earth. That’s not a knock; the 2024 Mr. Olympia was some of the aggressive “O”s in current reminiscence, and Jewett had a strong exhibiting in a packed discipline.
- Jewett almost cracked into the highest 10 this 12 months in his first effort as a Males’s Open Olympia competitor. He’s proven out within the 212 division on the Olympia since 2019.
That stated, for bodybuilding professionals like Jewett, leg coaching could be perilous.
Take squats — they’re straightforward to study however arduous to grasp. Jewett doesn’t endorse nixing the squat out of your leg coaching (and neither do we). However if you happen to haven’t been squatting a lot, the week after a bodybuilding competitors ain’t the time to start out. Right here’s what Jewett has to say on successfully navigating that post-competition interval.
John Jewett: The Worst Leg Coaching Mistake for a Professional Bodybuilder
Jewett gained the Vancouver Professional in July, reserving his ticket to the 2024 Olympia. He then spent the following three months specializing in his contest prep food plan and exercises, together with his leg coaching.
However after the stage went darkish, it was nose-to-grindstone for Jewett yet again. On Oct. 19, 2024, Jewett mentioned probably the most insidious mistake a younger bodybuilder might make after competitors.
- “An entire revamp of [your] coaching, [adding] new lifts and excessive volumes, is the worst leg training mistake post-show,” Jewett stated.
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Why? As Jewett tells it, the post-show interval must be for “freshening up” for the offseason that follows. However there’s a caveat — all of it will depend on how a lot fatigue you generated throughout each peak week and the precise bodybuilding competitors itself.
“The diploma of scaling your coaching up or down will depend on how a lot fatigue was carried into peak week,” Jewett defined. “For me, fatigue was very low … so week one among leg coaching was the identical as I had achieved pre-peak.”
Bodybuilding competitions are extraordinarily vigorous. Between weeks of sustained calorie deficits, dwindling strength, hours atop hours of mind-numbing cardio, and ritualistic posing, most bodybuilders make it to the end line with a virtually empty fuel tank.
- After competing, many bodybuilders will go for weeks or months off to recuperate, whereby they step by step enhance energy and pivot to rebuilding any misplaced muscle or energy. (1)
Jewett is on the cash. The weeks following a bodybuilding competitors are usually not the time to hurl your self right into a brand-new leg coaching routine filled with overseas workouts or superior coaching protocols like drop sets.
- “As soon as previous this post-show part, a quantity evaluation can happen and I can push up as restoration permits,” Jewett remarked.
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Right here’s what Jewett’s post-Olympia leg coaching appears like. Spoiler alert: It’s just about the identical stuff he did previous to stepping on stage in Las Vegas.
Relating to leg coaching, Jewett adheres to the KISS precept. You in all probability ought to, too. If you happen to’re aiming in your first bodybuilding competitors, keep in mind to take it straightforward within the weeks that comply with.
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References
- Roberts BM, Helms ER, Trexler ET, Fitschen PJ. Dietary Suggestions for Physique Athletes. J Hum Kinet. 2020 Jan 31;71:79-108. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2019-0096. PMID: 32148575; PMCID: PMC7052702.
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