Jeff Nippard unveils his ambitious new "Muscle Lab," a comprehensive facility designed for both advanced training and scientific research. The lab comprises two distinct gyms: a light-toned, strength-focused gym and a dark-toned, bodybuilding-focused gym, both equipped with high-end, carefully selected machinery. The core of the facility is a dedicated research lab featuring a GE Lunar iDXA machine for precise body composition analysis and a Philips Affiniti 50 Ultrasound System for direct muscle thickness measurements. Additionally, it houses an EMG machine for muscle activation studies and a BIA machine for rapid body composition scans. This setup allows Nippard to conduct and film in-depth, peer-reviewed studies to advance fitness science and make it more accessible. A new podcast room completes the facility, enabling high-quality content creation.
Floor plan of Jeff Nippard's Muscle Lab, showing the Dark Gym, Light Gym, Podcast Room, and the main Muscle Lab.
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Jeff Nippard unveils his "Muscle Lab," a facility built over two years, designed not just for personal training but also as a full-blown muscle research facility.
Floor plan of Jeff Nippard's Muscle Lab, showing the Dark Gym, Light Gym, Podcast Room, and the main Muscle Lab.
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The entire facility is divided into four main areas:
A dark gym focused on bodybuilding machines.
A light gym focused on strength training equipment.
A new podcast room.
A dedicated research lab, which is the most expensive and scientifically advanced part of the facility.
The Jeff Nippard Muscle Lab sign on a metallic wall in the research area.
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The entrance features a lobby with custom art and a "JN" logo mat, leading to both gym sides.
Allows for emphasis on different parts of the range of motion by adjusting plate loading (bottom for squeeze, middle for mid-range, top for stretch).
An infographic showing how plate placement on the Prime leg extension machine affects the resistance curve, making it hardest at the squeeze.
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An infographic showing how plate placement on the Prime leg extension machine affects the resistance curve, making it hardest at the stretch.
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Unique for its deep knee angle, allowing for a greater stretch.
Versatile with adjustable seat positions to target gluteus maximus (seat forward for stretch), gluteus medius (seat back for angle), or inner thighs (adduction).
An anatomical infographic highlighting the gluteus medius muscles, shown alongside Jeff Nippard demonstrating a hip abduction exercise with the seat adjusted.
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Preferred for its deep angle, which mimics a seated leg curl for a significant stretch.
Jeff Nippard demonstrating the Prime Lying Leg Curl machine, highlighting the deep angle for hamstring stretch.
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Also features adjustable cam settings to overload different parts of the range of motion (stretch, mid-range, squeeze).
An infographic illustrating how cam settings on the Prime lying leg curl machine can be adjusted to make the exercise hardest at the squeeze, midrange, or stretch.
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An underrated, "nostalgia piece" that allows for a bent-hip position to reduce back stress while maintaining a straight leg for a deep stretch on the gastrocnemius.
Jeff Nippard demonstrating a donkey calf raise on the Precor machine, highlighting the bent hip position to reduce back stress.
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Excellent for targeting the mid-back (mid-traps, rhomboids, rear delts) with a horizontal angle.
Jeff Nippard demonstrating a seal row on the Atlantis Seal Row machine for mid-back engagement.
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Adjustable bench angle allows for more lat-focused rows.
An animated graphic highlights the latissimus dorsi muscles as Jeff Nippard demonstrates a lat-focused row on the adjustable seal row machine.
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Similar to the leg extension, plate loading can be adjusted to overload the squeeze, mid-range, or stretch portion of the movement.
An infographic illustrating how plate placement on the Prime chest-supported row machine affects the resistance curve, making it hardest at the stretch, midrange, or squeeze.
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Primarily used as a glute exercise by rounding the back, forcing glutes to handle hip extension.
Jeff Nippard demonstrates the 45-degree back extension, rounding his back to emphasize glute activation during hip extension.
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Shoulder Press Muscle Activation Test with Will Tennyson [9:09]
An EMG (electromyography) test was conducted on a shoulder press machine using electrodes on the front, side, and rear delts of Will Tennyson and Jeff Nippard.
Will Tennyson having EMG electrodes applied to his front, side, and rear deltoids for muscle activation testing.
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Confirmed similar findings with high side delt activation.
An EMG results graph comparing muscle activation during a shoulder press for Will Tennyson and Jeff Nippard, showing high side delt activation for both.
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Conclusion: For them, the shoulder press is not just a front delt exercise but also significantly activates the side delts, supporting the inclusion of vertical presses.
Jeff demonstrates his preferred method of sitting to the side on a pec deck to achieve a full range of motion for the rear delts, unlike facing the machine which only allows half reps.
Will Tennyson performs a modified rear delt fly on a pec deck with EMG electrodes, demonstrating the side-sitting technique for full range of motion.
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EMG results showed high rear delt activation with this modification and very little front/side delt activation, confirming its effectiveness for isolation.
An EMG results graph displaying muscle activation during a rear delt fly, showing significantly higher activation in the rear delts for both Will Tennyson and Jeff Nippard.
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The gym has an advanced lighting system with individual dimmers for all lights and spotlights, allowing for dramatic effects like "thumbnail lighting" to enhance muscle definition for filming.
Jeff Nippard showcasing the dramatic "thumbnail lighting" in his dark gym, enhancing muscle shadows and definition.
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This dedicated research room is the scientific core of the Muscle Lab, designed to answer various fitness questions through rigorous experimentation.
Floor plan of Jeff Nippard's Muscle Lab, highlighting the dedicated research facility where scientific studies will be conducted.
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An interior view of the Jeff Nippard Muscle Lab research facility, equipped with various scientific instruments.
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Research Goals
Conduct experiments on topics like the impact of "junk food" vs. "clean food" diets on body fat and blood work, or muscle loss in bodybuilders ceasing steroid use.
An infographic proposing a twin study comparing a "dirty" diet (junk food) and a "clean" diet, both with same calories and workout.
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Personal experiments, such as maintaining single-digit body fat year-round.
Jeff Nippard writing research study ideas on a whiteboard, including a twin study, enhanced bodybuilder study, and biceps study.
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An assistant measuring Jeff Nippard's bicep circumference for an experiment.
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Jeff Nippard undergoing a DEXA scan in the Jeff Nippard Muscle Lab.
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An assistant conducting an ultrasound scan on Jeff Nippard's leg to measure muscle thickness.
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A medical professional preparing to draw blood from Jeff Nippard for hormone level analysis.
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Measures muscle thickness directly, down to the millimeter, for highly accurate muscle growth experiments.
The Philips Affiniti 50 Ultrasound System, used for direct and precise muscle thickness measurements.
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Enables studies such as comparing bicep growth from training twice a week versus every day.
An infographic illustrating a proposed biceps training experiment comparing training one arm twice a week (control) versus the other arm every day.
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A detailed ultrasound scan showing layers of skin, fat, and biceps muscle tissue, used to measure muscle thickness.
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Vision for Research
Conduct high-quality, peer-reviewed studies for scientific journals.
Make science more accessible and entertaining by filming subjects and showcasing their progress, a first in exercise science research.
Address limitations of current studies by conducting large-scale research with hundreds of subjects to overcome small sample sizes.
A comparison of "lengthened partials" and "full ROM" exercises from a previous study conducted by Jeff Nippard.
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Text snippets from research papers, highlighting common small sample sizes (e.g., eight or nine participants) in training studies.
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Used for muscle activation studies, with a planned validation study to determine if higher electrical activity directly predicts long-term hypertrophy.
An infographic outlining an EMG validation study to test if higher electrical activity correlates with hypertrophy over the long term.
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The substantial investment for the lab, including the $200,000 DEXA machine, was entirely funded by community support through Jeff's training programs.
A before and after comparison of Jeff Nippard's body fat percentage reduction from 20.6% to 10.3%.
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