Johnnie O Jackson’s Workout Routine and Diet Plan

Johnnie Otis Jackson popularly known as Johnnie O. Jackson is an IFBB pro bodybuilder. He is popular amongst bodybuilding freaks for his enormous size and musculature.

Apart from being in great shape, Johnnie also possesses great strength. He has won 6 pro shows in his career. He was even awarded the title of World’s Strongest Bodybuilder in the year 2009.

You might get surprised to know that he performs incline bench press with over 400 lbs. He even went on to raw deadlift 832 lbs in 2012.

One can easily find his videos on YouTube where he is seen sharing his words of wisdom for training different muscle groups optimally.

Through this post, we will be throwing light on Johnnie O. Jackson’s workout routine and diet plan. Let’s get to know what all training and nutrition secrets made him a phenomenal bodybuilder.

Johnnie O. Jackson’s Workout Routine

Johnnie is undoubtedly one of the largest bodybuilders of current times. He stands tall at 5 feet 8 inches and his weight is around 260 lbs.

Johnnie O. Jackson’s workout routine is targeted toward building up his muscle mass. To serve that purpose, he hits each of his muscle groups with a huge variety of exercises to fully stimulate them.

Johnnie implements the concept of “high intensity, high volume” in his training program. He uses heavier weights on most of the exercises and also performs a higher number of repetitions on them.

This approach puts great stress on his muscle fibers which translates into more muscular growth.

To further enhance the intensity of his exercise routine, Johnnie makes use of certain intensity techniques. Some of his most preferred ones are drop sets, cheating reps, forced reps, and partial reps.

By using those intensity techniques he is able to train his muscle groups beyond failure. This acts as a catalyst in the process of muscle building.

Johnnie hits the gym 5 days a week. He follows a conventional bro split and trains each of his muscle groups just once a week.

He claims that such a kind of workout split is ideal for advanced bodybuilders to reap size gains.

Now, let’s have a look at the exercises that Johnnie performs for each of his muscle groups:-

Legs

• Leg extensions- 6 sets of 15 reps (including two warm-up sets)
• Barbell back squats- 5-6 sets of 10-15 reps
• Leg press- 4 sets of 15 reps
• Hack squats- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Lying leg curls- 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Seated leg curls- 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Chest

• Incline barbell press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Flat bench press(with different grips)- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Decline barbell press- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Weighted parallel bar dips- 4 drop sets till failure
• Pec dec flys supersetted with machine chest press- 4 sets of 15 reps/AMRAP respectively
• Cable crossovers- 3 sets of AMRAP

Back

• Deadlifts- 4 sets of 4-6 reps
• Weighted pull ups- 3 sets of AMRAP
• Barbell bent-over rows- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Lat pulldowns- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Seated cable rows- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Hyperextensions- 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Shoulders

• Barbell overhead press- 5 sets of 8-10 reps (including 2 warm-up sets)
• Lateral raises- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Front raises- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Rear delt flys- 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Upright rows- 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Arms

• Barbell curls- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Preacher curls- 3 sets of 12 reps
• Dumbbell curls- 3 sets of 12 reps
• Tricep dip machine- 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Rope pushdowns- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Tricep cable pushdowns- 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Sticking to the Basics

Undoubtedly, Johnnie is an advanced bodybuilder with numerous years of training experience. But he still prefers to perform the basic compound and isolation lifts.

For instance, when it comes to his chest training routine, the good old-school barbell bench press finds a prominent spot in it. Talking about its effectiveness he says,

“A lot of people preach and talk about getting away from bench press and the heavy compound movements. I don’t know why they skip the flat bench – this is the bread and butter of bodybuilding, it changes your physique! I’m down for it, I always do it.”

Rest Periods

Johnnie usually keeps his rest periods in between his working sets pretty low. Doing so enables him to enhance the intensity of his workout routine which makes it more rewarding in terms of muscle gains.

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Johnnie O. Jackson’s Diet Plan

Johnnie O. Jackson’s diet plan is all about eating clean. After all, that’s what fetches his body with all the essential nutrients that it requires for recovery and growth.

Being an advanced bodybuilder, Johnnie understands the nutritional requirements of his body pretty well. He ensures to feed it accordingly to get the best out of his workout sessions.

Johnnie O. Jackson’s diet plan has decent amounts of both proteins and carbs. The former assists his body to repair muscle tissues whereas the latter maintains his monstrous size.

In general, Johnnie eats around 7-8 meals a day. He eats after every 2-3 hours. This approach keeps his metabolism fast. It also helps him to stay in great shape despite eating like a horse.

Now let’s have a look at the food items that are included in Johnnie O. Jackson’s meal plan for the day:-

Meal 1- Breakfast

• 1½ cups of liquid egg whites
• 3 whole eggs
• Grits
• 2 pieces of wheat toast
• 8 oz. steak

Meal 2- Lunch

• 2½ white rice
• Tilapia
• Black beans
• 10 oz. of chicken

Meal 3- Dinner

• Steak
• Potatoes

Johnnie also makes it a point to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Doing so keeps his body adequately hydrated.

Off-Season Diet Plan

Johnnie’s off-season diet plan is a lot different from his on-season diet plan. In the off-season he likes to eat numerous food items that can help him to put on size.

Let’s have a look at his off-season meal plan:-

Meal 1

• 12 donuts (6 chocolate and 6 glazed)
• A bottle of soft drink

Meal 2

• Steak bagel meal
• A bottle of soft drink

Meal 3

• Eggs
• Pancakes
• Potatoes

Meal 4

• Fries
• 2 quarter pounders with cheese
• 2 apple pies
• A bottle of soft drink

Meal 5

• Fries
• 2 quarter pounders with cheese
• 2 apple pies
• A bottle of soft drink

Meal 6

• Fries
• 2 quarter pounders with cheese
• 2 apple pies
• A bottle of soft drink

Post-Workout Nutrition

Johnnie tends to give great importance to his post-workout meal. He does so because, after a strenuous training session, his body is in a deprived state.

Fetching it with nutritious food items at that time replenishes the body and also speeds up the process of muscle repair.

Johnnie’s post-workout meal consists of 10 oz. of steak and 12 ounces of sweet potatoes or yams.

Johnnie O. Jackson’s Supplements

Despite relying on a variety of nutritious whole-food items to feed his body, Johnnie also includes a few supplements into his nutrition plan. He claims that there are certain nutrients that can only be derived from supplements in the present times.

Johnnie O. Jackson’s supplements stack includes the following:-

• Whey protein
• BCAAs
• Vitamin D
• Multivitamin

Consuming whey protein and BCAA keeps Johnnie’s body in an anabolic state. Their rich amino acid profile promotes muscle recovery and growth.

Johnnie also takes a vitamin D and multivitamin supplement to fetch his body micronutrients. Doing so makes his nutrition plan complete and wholesome.

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Wrapping Up

Johnnie O. Jackson is undoubtedly an iconic bodybuilder of the current times. His physique exudes both strength and aesthetics. And the credit for this goes to his well-structured training program and nutrition plan.

Undoubtedly, Johnnie is a genetic freak when it comes to muscle building. But it’s not just his genes that have made him who he is. His dedication and discipline which he has showed over the years day in and day out also have a major role to play in it.

He still trains as intensely as he used to train when he was just starting out. He is passionate about bodybuilding and his passion gets exhibited by the world-class physique that he has maintained over the years and still continues to do so.