The professionals avoid this — if you wish to be a bodybuilder, you need 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 one of the crucial aggressive “O”s in latest reminiscence, and Jewett had a strong exhibiting in a packed discipline.
- Jewett almost cracked into the highest 10 this yr 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 mentioned, for bodybuilding professionals like Jewett, leg coaching will be perilous.
Take squats — they’re simple to study however onerous to grasp. Jewett doesn’t endorse nixing the squat out of your leg coaching (and neither can we). However when you 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 next three months specializing in his contest prep food regimen 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 may make after competitors.
- “An entire revamp of [your] coaching, [adding] new lifts and excessive volumes, is the worst leg coaching mistake post-show,” Jewett mentioned.
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Why? As Jewett tells it, the post-show interval ought to be for “freshening up” for the offseason that follows. However there’s a caveat — all of it depends upon 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 depends upon 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 accomplished pre-peak.”
Bodybuilding competitions are extraordinarily vigorous. Between weeks of sustained calorie deficits, dwindling power, hours atop hours of mind-numbing cardio, and ritualistic posing, most bodybuilders make it to the end line with an almost empty gasoline tank.
- After competing, many bodybuilders will go for weeks or months off to get better, whereby they step by step improve energy and pivot to rebuilding any misplaced muscle or power. (1)
Jewett is on the cash. The weeks following a bodybuilding competitors usually are not the time to hurl your self right into a brand-new leg coaching routine filled with overseas workout routines or superior coaching protocols like drop units.
- “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 seems like. Spoiler alert: It’s just about the identical stuff he did previous to stepping on stage in Las Vegas.
With regards to leg coaching, Jewett adheres to the KISS precept. You most likely ought to, too. In the event you’re aiming in your first bodybuilding competitors, keep in mind to take it simple within the weeks that observe.
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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.
Featured Picture: @johnjewett3 / Instagram
