Johnnie Jackson’s contest prep
On stage, Johnnie Jackson was a man whose physique spoke before he did: a dense back, a dry body and years of work behind it. Here is a practical overview of how he prepared for contests, what he ate, how he trained and what final finishing touch he added before walking on stage.
Johnnie Jackson and his contest condition
Johnnie Jackson was born on January 30, 1971. He was 173 cm tall, weighed 100 kg in contest shape and 115 kg in the off-season. When he stepped on stage at the Ironman Pro International last February, it was clear the work had been done, but his prep was not yet ideal. Out of 16 competitors, he barely made the top ten.
Three months later the picture was different. At the Night of Champions, with more than 40 competitors, he was much drier and sharper. Many saw him in second place behind Victor Martinez, but the final result was fifth place. That was enough to earn a spot at the Mr. Olympia.
Johnnie Jackson’s weekly training program
While preparing for contests, Johnnie trained 4 times a week. The program was simple and tough: each major muscle group got its own day, and there were three rest days.
- Monday – chest, biceps
- Tuesday – legs
- Wednesday – off
- Thursday – shoulders, triceps
- Friday – back
- Saturday – off
- Sunday – off
He tried to work his calves in almost every workout, but did not train his abs separately. His explanation was blunt: years of heavy, intense training had already built up his midsection. In terms of strength, he ranked among the world’s top 5 lifters in both the up to 100 kg and up to 110 kg categories.
For large muscle groups, such as chest and back, he did 5 exercises. Each exercise had 4 sets, so 20 sets per muscle group in total. Shoulders, quads, hamstrings and biceps got 12 sets each. The rep count usually stayed in the 10-15 range, sometimes up to 20 repetitions.
The back was his strong point. His pre-contest back routine looked like this:
- Deadlift – 4 x 10-15
- Barbell rows to the stomach – 4 x 10-15
- Bent-over dumbbell rows – 4 x 10-15
- Seated machine rows to the stomach – 4 x 10-15
- Back extensions – 4 x 10-15
Contest prep: cardio and food
In the off-season Johnnie did no cardio. When the 12-week prep began, he went in hard right away: every day, 7 days a week, until the final week. In the morning before eating, he ran outdoors for 4-5 miles, or 5-8 km. It took 30 to 45 minutes. He had served 10 years in the military, so getting up early was no problem for him.
In the evening came a second session. He set the treadmill to a flat surface and walked for an hour at 6.5-7 km/h. Honestly, that is a very brutal volume, especially when calories and water are being controlled at the same time.
In the final week, with the contest on Saturday, his nutrition was precise. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: 340-450 g of cooked chicken and 100 g of vegetables, five to six times a day. He ate the sixth meal when he stayed up later in the evening.
On Thursday the chicken stayed the same: 5-6 times 340-450 g of chicken fillet. For the carbohydrate load, each meal got an addition of 150 g of rice, 50 g of corn and 50 g of sweet potatoes. Friday was similar, but the last meal changed: 340 g of red meat, 75 g of carbohydrates from boiled potatoes and 100 g of vegetables.
Saturday was show day. Meal 1: 340 g of red meat and 3-4 whole eggs. Meal 2 (3 hours later): 100 g of carbohydrates from sweet potatoes. Meal 2 came at least 2.5-3 h before the contest, so that his stomach would not be too full on stage. Against cramps, he took Gatorade backstage, added a little salt and drank a couple of sips when needed.
Water, posing and the final finishing touch
Water intake in Jackson’s prep was extreme. During the last four weeks before the contest he drank only 3 L of water a day. The last time he drank water was on Tuesday night, four days before the contest. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday he used about 600 ml of Diet Pepsi to help the food go down. He believed that caffeine helped him look drier.
His last workout was on the Monday of contest week. He did two sets of 12-20 repetitions for each body part, legs included. He started posing practice 12 weeks before the contest, twice a week. He went through four simulated contests: a free routine, mandatory poses and holding poses for as long as on the real stage. One session lasted about 45 minutes.
He started tanning about 6 weeks before the contest, 15-30 minutes a day. On Thursday and Friday he applied Pro Tan, one coat in the morning and another during the day. The last coat of Pro Tan went on the morning of contest day. Backstage, he pumped his muscles full of blood with weights, then stretched and posed.
Another interesting trick was the Epsom salt bath. On the Sunday evening before the contest, he put a kilo of Epsom salt into a hot bath and soaked in it for about 20 minutes. If he looked better on Monday morning, he repeated the same thing on Monday evening. If his body was holding water, he skipped the bath.
Johnnie Jackson’s supplements and daily menu
- Meal 1: 5 egg whites, 170 g (dry weight) of oat flakes porridge.
- Meal 2: a protein shake with 60 g of protein and less than 10 g of carbohydrates.
- Meal 3: 340-450 g of halibut, weighed before cooking, 170 g of white rice or one large boiled potato, 100 g of broccoli.
- Meal 4 (pre-workout): a protein/carbohydrate bar with about 30 g of protein and carbohydrates.
- Meal 5 (right after the workout): a protein shake with 60 g of protein and under 10 g of carbohydrates.
- Meal 6 (30-60 minutes after the workout): 340 g of beef sirloin, 100 g of broccoli.
- Meal 7: a protein shake with 60 g of protein and less than 10 g of carbohydrates.
The notes were just as specific: Johnnie had one cheat meal about every three days and kept the gaps between meals at four hours. In the first six weeks of the 12-week prep period, he drank 11.4 L of water a day. For the next two weeks he drank 5.7 L of water a day. Then he cut his water intake in half again and kept it there until the carbohydrate cut-back.
- Fat burners
- Protein powders
- Protein bars
- Creatine
- Glutamine
- Multivitamins/multiminerals
- Vitamin C
- Natural diuretics
FAQ
Did Johnnie Jackson train abs during contest prep?
No. He felt that heavy training had already built up his midsection enough.
How many times a week did he train for contests?
He did strength training 4 times a week. During prep, he added cardio every day.
What was his greatest strength on stage?
His back. Kilogram for kilogram, he was one of the strongest bodybuilders, and his back stood out on stage in particular.
Author: MuscleMag
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