Jeff Nippard’s 5 Science-Backed Tips for Hypertrophy

Canadian bodybuilder, powerlifter, coach, and fitness content creator Jeff Nippard typically debunks “bro science” with scientific evidence-based training, diet, and recovery guides on his YouTube channel. On Oct. 29, 2023, Nippard published a video wherein he delved into the five most effective ways for promoting hypertrophy. At a glance, those five tips are:

Jeff Nippard’s Five Crucial Bodybuilding Principles

Here are Nippard’s five science-backed tips for muscle growth:

• Tension Is King
• Use Bodybuilding Technique
• Effort
• Give a Reason To Grow
• High-Tension Exercises

Check out the video below, followed by a detailed breakdown of each of the above principles:

[Related: 2023 Olympia Results — Complete Official Scorecards]

Tension Is King

“Tension is universally recognized as the primary factor driving muscle growth,” said Nippard. Tension pertains to the strain muscles endure as they elongate and contract under load. A 2019 systemic review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health concluded that “effective hypertrophy-oriented training should comprise a combination of mechanical tension and metabolic stress.” (1)

Use Bodybuilding Technique

For maximum tension, a lifter should restrict the use of momentum to ensure the target muscle is moving the weight. Nippard recommended three ways to optimize the bodybuilding technique — training muscles, not movements, meaning that the goal is to put the target muscles under tension to or near mechanical failure with every set:

1. Employ two-to-four-second negatives. The eccentric phase results in greater hypertrophy than concentrics when performed with the same load. (2)
2. Don’t rush reps when form starts to deteriorate toward the end of a set.
   • Nippard cautioned against this. “Reps toward the end of a set are the most hypertrophic, and the negative is the most important part of each rep.”
   • A Sports Medicine study found that “a combination of slower movement in the eccentric phase with a faster movement during the concentric phase” is most favorable to promote hypertrophy. (3)
   • The following technique involves combining a full range of motion sets with partial rep sets. Contrary to popular belief, a full ROM isn’t always better for hypertrophy. “Partial reps are sometimes more effective, but only when they’re done in the stretched aspect of the lift,” said Nippard. (4)
3. Limit the use of momentum, as it can shift tension off the primary target muscles, hampering stimulation. 

[Related: Every Winner of the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Competition]

Effort

Most gymgoers don’t push their sets hard enough to maximize muscle growth. A randomized control trial in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology found that training close to failure maximizes hypertrophy. (5) Nippard recommended performing two to three sets on most exercises, leaving one or two reps in the tank for the first two sets and training to mechanical failure in the last. 

Give Your Muscles a Reason To Grow

Incorporate the progressive overload principle into your workouts by changing some variables each week. Increasing the reps or weights is the simplest way to overload muscles. Nippard advises changing the rep tempo to increase the time under tension. It can also improve the mind-muscle connection and maximize muscle contraction. (6)

High-Tension Exercises

Nippard opined that although free-weight exercises like the squat, bench press, deadlift, pull-ups, and bent-over rows can help build an aesthetically appealing physique, but that approach is too basic to maximize muscle hypertrophy. Smaller (read: supporting) muscles usually go understimulated in compound exercises, making a free-weight-only training program suboptimal for hypertrophy. 

Machine or cable exercises are effective for loading target muscles, leading to less muscular fatigue than free weights, and are safer to train to failure with. A study by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests that machine and cable exercises are as effective as free-weight lifts for building strength and muscle mass. (7)

More Training Content

1. How To Do the Inchworm Exercise Correctly (+ Guides and Tips)
2. How to Use a Massage Gun, According to a PT
3. Demystifying Your Fat-Burning Heart Rate Zone

References

1. 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;16(24):4897. Published 2019 Dec 4. doi:10.3390/ijerph16244897
2. Thomas MH, Burns SP. Increasing Lean Mass and Strength: A Comparison of High Frequency Strength Training to Lower Frequency Strength Training. Int J Exerc Sci. 2016;9(2):159-167. Published 2016 Apr 1.
3. Wilk M, Zajac A, Tufano JJ. The Influence of Movement Tempo During Resistance Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy Responses: A Review. Sports Med. 2021;51(8):1629-1650. doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01465-2
4. Wolf, M., Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Fisher, J., Schoenfeld, B., & Steele, J. (2023). Partial Vs Full Range of Motion Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.47206/ijsc.v3i1.182
5. Chang YK, Etnier JL. Exploring the dose-response relationship between resistance exercise intensity and cognitive function. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2009 Oct;31(5):640-56. doi: 10.1123/jsep.31.5.640. PMID: 20016113.
6. Schoenfeld BJ, Vigotsky A, Contreras B, Golden S, Alto A, Larson R, Winkelman N, Paoli A. Differential effects of attentional focus strategies during long-term resistance training. Eur J Sport Sci. 2018 Jun;18(5):705-712. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1447020. Epub 2018 Mar 13. PMID: 29533715.
7. Hernández-Belmonte A, Martínez-Cava A, Buendía-Romero Á, Franco-López F, Pallarés JG. Free-Weight and Machine-Based Training Are Equally Effective on Strength and Hypertrophy: Challenging a Traditional Myth. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023 Aug 2. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003271. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37535335.

Featured image: @jeffnippard on Instagram

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