Title:
Review of Jordan Peters Training Methodology
Abstract
I undertook a 6 week gaining block of an upper/lower (4 days a week) based on the JP training principles. Using exercises that worked for me and being in a calorie surplus, I saw 6 weeks of consistent strength gains in the 5-9 rep range and the 10-12 rep ranges on all exercises. Slight deviations were taken from his baseline upper/lower split but i kept within the spirit of the programme (unless forced to change due to injuries).
Along with the strength increases on all exercises. I also saw an increase in weight and muscle mass (from a visual POV) (which I believe is more closely linked to nutrition though). My average body weight went from 225lbs to 236lbs (an 11lbs/ 5kg increase) in the 6 week block. While I noticeably gained size on my entire body, I also added some fat along the way. This is due to my love of cider and warm English bitter and while being in a surplus, I also wasn’t too strict about stopping the extra calories (from a piece of cake or something, while with the family).
Overall though I am really pleased with my results in a short timescale.
Principles
From reading the JP programmes there are several key principles by which his programmes are based:
- Failure training (failure of form)
- A top set (5-9 reps) & a back off set (10-12 reps) per exercise
- Multiple exercises to hit the entire muscle per workout
Detail
The JP upper/lower programme sets out multiple exercises all using the main principle of 1 all out set, followed by a back off set. Without giving away too much of the programme, the rep ranges are in general 5-9 for the main sets and 10-12 for the back off set which is around a 10% reduction from the first set. The progression model is quite simple, once you top the rep ranges you move up the weight.
The JP programmes do a good job at setting various exercises that challenge the muscles in different ways and I only changed this due to various injuries (from my 20 plus years playing rugby) and where I just felt an exercise more in the targeted muscle. This is from experience and not against the JP principles. I also deviated slightly more with legs as due to my various lower back injuries as I am slightly limited in what I can do.
As an overview I followed the following:
Monday – Upper 1
- DB Bench
- HS Row – lats focussed
- Incline HS Press
- High row – Upper back focussed
- Lat raises
- Bicep work
- Tricep Work
Tuesday – Lower 1
- Hack Squat
- Hamstring exercise
- Single Leg exercise
- Glute exercise
- Abs
- Calf work
Tricep Work
Thursday – Upper 2
- BB Incline Press
- Lats focussed exercise
- Pec Dec
- Upper back focussed exercise
- HS Shoulder Press
- Bicep work
- Tricep Work
Friday – Lower 2
- Hack Squat
- Hamstring exercise
- Single Leg exercise
- Glute exercise
- Abs
- Calf work
The original JP programmes have an extra exercise in the sessions but due to time and fatigue from these sessions I dropped down to do 2 chest focussed, 2 back focussed, 1 shoulder focus and then arm work each upper session. That seemed to be the sweet spot for me.
Diet
As a baseline I ate the following everyday:
- Pre -workout Coffee
- Intra workout shake
- Post workout 40g protein shake & 500ml lactose free milk & 50g oats (mixed in the shake)
- Snack – 6 boiled or scrambled eggs with 2 pieces of bread and butter
- Lunch – around 50g protein (either from chicken, beef or tuna) & around 125g rice
- Afternoon Snack - 40g protein shake & 500ml lactose free milk & fruit
- Dinner – varied every day but I always had around 50g protein (from different meats ), around 120-200g of carbs from either rice, potatoes, pasta etc.
I then said ‘yes’ rather than ‘no’ to cake or anything else the family offered me for a change. It should be noted that I didn’t ‘pig out’ just allowed myself in general to eat that little thing extra which on reflection I probably didn’t need on top of the other items.
Review
I find reviews very subjective, its as much about enjoyment as it is about progress with some of these things as actually proving results can be difficult. Notwithstanding the above I really enjoyed this 6 week gaining phase and enjoyed getting heavier but more importantly stronger in the higher rep ranges. Each session I was adding reps or weight and having the two sets really gives you enough volume on an exercise as you can give it your all. I noticed that I was hungry most of the time after my workouts, which for me is a sign I was growing and was working hard enough.
Part of the beauty of this system is the simplicity of the principles but the variety of the exercises meaning you are making progress, not just on one main lift but across the board. I also managed to recover really well on this amount of volume/ frequency, maybe that is the calorie surplus playing its part but I’ve giving my all on Monday and being recovered enough to go again on Thursday.
I need to talk about the negatives as its fair to give a balanced view but there really haven’t been many. I think personally, the baseline programme has too much volume for me, but once I dropped an exercise (per session) it worked for me perfectly. The second thing I’d say is that maybe using an upper/lower, certain muscles (like traps) don’t get the attention they need but this can be levelled at most upper/lowers out there. The last negative is more to say that you need to experienced enough to know what failure (or form) really is and you do need a week or two beforehand to make sure you get your weights right for the reps you want to fail at.
To summarise, the principles of the JP programming have massively improved my last 6 weeks. Strength has gone up and so has my weight, others have noticed and I’ve received a fair few complements which has been nice. Avoiding the qualitative side of things, the numbers don’t lie, each session I was pushing more tin and am really happy with this progress. As my final word, I am going to de-load for a week or two but will 100% be running this again and endorse it for others.
Highly recommended, i’d like to send a thank you to @Andrewgen_Receptors for stopping me programme hopping and stick to something and picking something really good.
@TrainForPain @cdep89 @aholding88 @throwawayfitness
Link to my log if you want to read the detail of the last 6 weeks.