Bodybuilding veteran Lee Priest has tried just about every training routine under the sun, giving him insight into the best practices for making gains at the gym. In his latest IFBB AMA YouTube video shared on August 5, 2024, Priest discussed if a pump equates to a great workout, full body training routines, and if it’s possible to gain 40 pounds of muscle in eight weeks.
Australia’s Lee Priest has long been admired in the bodybuilding community. Despite his lack of stature, his bubbly muscle fullness and granite conditioning defined his career. His competitive drive also carried him to success in the IFBB Pro League, having bested massive names in the sport like former eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman.
Priest’s longevity was on full display throughout his bodybuilding tenure, which spanned over two decades. His final on-stage appearance came at the 2013 NABBA Mr. Universe, a contest he won before sailing off into retirement. Although he no longer competes actively, Priest is known for offering insight, technique tips, and opinions on how to maximize training efforts, paving the way for bodybuilders who have followed in his footsteps.
Lee Priest Says Not Getting a Pump Doesn’t Mean It’s a ‘Sh** Workout,’ Reveals If You Can Gain 40 Lbs of Muscle in 8 Weeks
According to Priest, an expert in muscle building, you don’t need to achieve a pump during a workout to make gains.
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“People always say, ‘Do I need to train for a pump to make gains?’ Not necessarily, no. Even though getting a pump feels good and you feel great when you get a pump.
There’s been many days where I’d go train and I’d do an exercise and go fuck, I’m not getting a pump. I go do something else. I go heavy and light, not getting a pump.”
He remembers being unable to stimulate a pump in his chest during training, and while he worried about gains, the next day, Priest revealed that his chest was still sore — which many believe to be a telltale sign of an effective workout.
“I’d go through a whole chest workout and be like ‘I just wasted my time. I didn’t get a pump or anything.’ Then the next day, I’d be like oh my god, my chest is so sore. What I’m saying is, no.
You sometimes don’t need to get a pump. As long as you’re focused and working the muscle hard, and it’s working maybe just due to not enough sleep, not enough food, you’re just having the glycogen in there, not to fill out the muscles, not enough carbs,” shares Priest.
Priest believes ‘as long as you still train the muscles, it’s all still going to work.’
“No. Don’t always equate getting a great pump to having a good workout and not having a pump to getting a shit workout. As long as you still train the muscles, it’s all still going to work.”
As for gaining 40 pounds of muscle in eight weeks, Priest says not to get your hopes up. He does specify that 40 pounds of weight can be added in eight weeks but it won’t be all muscle.
“Can I gain 40 pounds of muscle in eight weeks? Good luck. You can gain 40 pounds in eight weeks but it wouldn’t be muscle. Sometimes people don’t realize how much muscle they gained, ‘I gained 40 pounds in my double chin there.’ What?”
Priest Explains How to Structure Full Body Workouts
Priest often used full body workouts, especially before the peak of his bodybuilding career. As he progressed as an athlete, they became less optimal because he began to lift heavier.
“I use to do them [full body workouts]. Now, as you get more progressed in the sport and you do more exercises and you do more volume and you’re really pushing the limits, doing a full body would be hard if you’re going super heavy.”
Priest says one way to structure a full body workout is by completing two exercises for the legs before moving on to a pair of exercises for the back, and then the chest.
“If you start off with legs and did a full leg workout then you went to do back, then you went to do chest, you’ll be there all day plus it would take forever. But now, if you’re doing a full body workout in the sense of, you’re picking two exercises, say for legs, I warm up and do leg extensions and after leg extensions say you do seven sets, really burn the hell out of them, pick a leg press or a squat and do seven sets, and just do the same thing there.
When you finish that, go to back, do a pulldown type and a chin, then a rowing movement, when you finish that, go to chest. Pick a press-type movement and a flye. You can still do full body and still do it pretty good but you’d have to limit the number of exercises and sets you’re doing but it does work. It’s not useless. Depending on your timeframes and how you like to go, sometimes you go three days a week.”
Lee Priest isn’t the only high-profile bodybuilding veteran to assess whether or not the pump is essential to workout gains. Former four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler also tackled the question. He says that he always judged the quality of his workout based on the pump he received. Above all else, Cutler said to focus on hydration, food intake, and repetitions for an effective pump.
From full body workouts to the importance of the pump, Lee Priest continues to give back to the bodybuilding community in retirement. He doesn’t hail the pump as the ultimate authority for muscle building as long as you’re still training with intensity.
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