Josh Vogel, an NPC bodybuilder and powerlifter, shares his training philosophy and experience. He discusses his background, his approach to balancing bodybuilding and powerlifting, and the valuable lessons he’s learned from training alongside elite athletes like Ben Pulaski. Josh emphasizes the importance of the mind-muscle connection, especially in bodybuilding-style training, and how it can influence muscle growth.
His training routine involves prioritizing weak points, like shoulders and arms, with higher frequency and volume. He typically trains each body part twice a week when not preparing for a powerlifting meet. However, during meet preparation, the focus shifts to the “big three” lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift), performed three times a week. Accessory exercises are still included but with reduced volume.
Josh collaborates with coaches for both nutrition and powerlifting programming, benefiting from expert guidance and personalized plans. Training at a private gym alongside world-class athletes provides him with a unique learning environment and access to innovative training equipment. He discusses the benefits of specialized equipment like the Pulaski bench, designed for optimal scapular retraction during dumbbell flyes, and Prime equipment, which allows for variable weight loading throughout different ranges of motion. This customization allows athletes to target specific weaknesses within a lift, such as the initial phase of a bench press or the specific angles of a seated row.
Balancing bodybuilding and powerlifting requires careful planning and adjustments to training. Josh prefers to focus on powerlifting during the offseason due to the demanding nature of contest preparation diets, which can significantly impact strength performance. He shares his experience of modifying his training split during contest prep, including eliminating squats to prioritize recovery and using alternative exercises like hack squats and leg press.
Josh emphasizes the importance of specificity in bodybuilding training, tailoring frequency and volume to individual needs and strengths. He highlights how prioritizing lagging body parts while maintaining the development of stronger areas can lead to a more balanced and aesthetically pleasing physique. He also discusses his experience with two-a-day training splits during the final stages of contest preparation, involving short, high-intensity sessions with a focus on one all-out set per exercise.
Training to failure is a topic Josh believes requires careful consideration. While he acknowledges its potential benefits, he stresses the importance of individual recovery capacity, sleep, nutrition, and overall lifestyle factors. He differentiates between absolute failure, where further reps are impossible, and the near-failure achievable with a spotter’s encouragement.
In terms of nutrition, Josh follows a flexible dieting approach, tracking macros while allowing for occasional indulgences. He emphasizes the importance of consuming sufficient protein, particularly during the offseason, and shares how tracking helps him stay on track with his goals. He also discusses the benefits of structured meal plans during contest prep for simplifying food choices and ensuring consistency, especially in pre- and post-workout nutrition.
Josh’s contest prep involves a high-protein diet with gradually decreasing carbohydrates and fats. He describes the mental and physical challenges of the final weeks of prep, including feeling flat and depleted despite consistent adherence to the plan. He highlights the importance of a well-executed peak week strategy for maximizing fullness and stage presence.
His peak week experience involved manipulating macronutrients, particularly carbohydrates, to optimize his physique for the stage. He recounts the challenges of achieving the desired fullness, sometimes requiring frequent meals and adjustments even in the final hours leading up to the competition.
Josh also shares his approach to post-contest recovery, choosing to prioritize intuitive eating and focusing on returning to a stable offseason weight rather than following a strict reverse diet. He believes that the mental and physical demands of contest prep warrant a period of normalized eating habits and emphasizes the importance of prioritizing overall health and well-being.
