Popular Reviews of The Jeff Nippard Podcast

I watched the following episodes from The Jeff Nippard Podcast: Volume vs Intensity, Hard Training & Progressions (ft. Dr. Eric Helms) Failure, Fatigue & Truly HARD Training feat. John Meadows TRAINING VOLUME & HYPERTROPHY: How Much Do You Need? ft. Dr. Mike Israetel I found Jeff Nippard probably a couple to a few years ago when I first started researching how to optimize my lifting sessions. I grew to like Jeff because he shares similar goals with me (balancing getting stronger with looking better), he uses a scientific approach to training, and he produces well-structured and quality content. I was drawn to this series of his podcasts because I recently started messing with the intensity-volume spectrum in my own training. Most of my experience has consisted of sets at RPE (rate of perceived exertion) 9-10, because I didn’t feel like I was working hard enough if I did any less. I found myself mindlessly pushing 8+ sets of squats/bench with 0 reps in reserve for 3+ hours and didn’t think anything else could be more efficient. The combination of my draining workouts and the fact that Jeff Nippard deemed it necessary to create a 5-episode series on the matter inclined me to give it a listen. Some questions I had before I started listening were: Can I get similar gains with a lower RPE? Would training with a lower RPE 4 times per week be more effective than training 1-2 high RPE sessions? How much volume is enough? How much RPE is enough? Should the same RPE be used for strength training and hypertrophy? The various perspectives that this series offered has developed my understanding of the topic enough that I am confident to change up my routine. It was too difficult to decide a favorite of the podcasts I listened to because they all contributed to answering my questions. Dr. Eric Meadows bettered my understanding of the intensity-volume trade-off, Dr. Mike Israetel gave me a grasp of the pros and cons of training to failure, and John Meadows emphasized the importance of beyond-failure sets. The knowledge I’ve accumulated from this podcast is in line with what I have experienced since I’ve started the Smolov program for squat and the Smolov Jr. Program for bench. Some sets feel like cake, but my strength and size gains have been tremendous. This idea of intensity vs volume is something worth checking out for all levels of lifters, as the answers vary based on experience and lifting goals. While my issue was being too intense, a lot of lifters, like Jeff mentioned, aren’t training hard enough. This topic is definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in bettering your understanding of training.