Bodybuilder Jeff Nippard put his body through a one-year gauntlet to see how much muscle he could gain.
Jeff Nippard is an extremely prominent figure in both fitness and bodybuilding. Over the course of his career in the fitness world, Nippard has preached many different science-based methods to adding muscle. But the question he wanted to answer was, how much muscle could he add in one year?
[RELATED: Jeff Nippard’s Smartest Push, Pull, Legs Routine]
To answer this question, Nippard decided to put himself through his own one-year transformation. He vowed to not skip a workout and tracked everything he ate during this time. Nippard, along with his untrained brother Brad, participated in this challenge. It featured a six-month bulk followed by recomposition and cutting.
Nippard’s dedication to bodybuilding led him to win the title of Mr. Junior Canada at 22. As a powerlifter, he boasts impressive lifts: a 502-pound squat, a 336-pound bench press, and a 518-pound deadlift, achieving an all-time best Wilks score of 446. The Wilks score is a formula used to measure the strength of powerlifters relative to their body weight, allowing comparisons across different weight classes.
To begin this experiment, Nippard went through a DEXA scan and ultra sound to measure his muscles. Before beginning, he set a goal of gaining four pounds of muscle while Brad’s goal was nine pounds.
| Full Name: Jeff Nippard (Natural Bodybuilder and Powerlifter) | ||
| Weight | Height | Date Of Birth |
| 178 lbs | 5’5″ | 10/6/1990 |
| Division | Era | Nationality |
| Bodybuilding | 2010s, 2020s | Canadian |
Workout Routine
The Nippard brothers did the same workout routine over the course of this experiment. It was broken down into sessions. First, there would be two strength sessions of upper- and lower-body and three push-pull-leg sessions each week. There were also two rest days mixed in.
“Even on heavy compound lifts like leg presses and squats, I’m pushing until I cannot get the wait up.”
While in the gym, Jeff Nippard followed three very specific methods:
- Train to failure on the last set
- Focus only on proven exercises
- Strict progressive overloading
Diet Plan & Supplements
Jeff Nippard put together a nutrition plan that was 15% higher than his maintenance calories. Both Jeff and Brad packed in 3,000 calories each day. This included 150g protein, 410g carbs, and 85g fats.
Along with consistent sleep schedules, which were also being tracked, the brothers took multiple supplements each day:
- Ashwagandha
- Caffeine
- Creatine
- Fish Oil
- Magnesium
- Multivitamin
- Protein Powder
- Vitamin D
Jeff Nippard did a check-in at the six-month mark following the end of the bulking portion of the experiment. Both brothers added 15 pounds. Jeff gained 4.5 pounds of lean mass while putting on 11 pounds of fat. Brad retained 13 lean pounds and lost 1.2% body fat.
“This shows the power of muscle building. My body fat went from 15% to just over 20%.”
Final Results
The bulking session was followed by a recomp and cut phase. After his body fat went up to around 20%, Jeff Nippard focused on adding muscle while cutting down on fat. To help with this, he dropped down to 2,800 daily calories for three months. He ended up losing 0.8 pounds of lean mass.
“It’s disappointing but expected. At my level of advancement, you need a caloric surplus to keep gaining muscle. Maintenance calories probably won’t cut it.”
At the very end of the experiment, both Nippard brothers were tested once again.
Jeff Nippard retained 2.7 pounds of lean mass while dropping his body fat percentage from 15.8 to 14.5. Brad Nippard gained 10 pounds of lean mass and lost 10 pounds of fat.
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