We continue our docuseries about Sadik Hadzovic’s prep for this year’s Arnold Classic.
As you saw in the first episode of this two-part series, Sadik is making his return to the Men’s Physique division after a year away from competing and several years of competing in Classic Physique.
The Muscle & Strength crew spent 3 days filming with Sadik to get a true behind the scenes insight into what it takes to be an elite Men’s Physique competitor.
Today’s part 2 highlights the training aspect of competing.
Sadik Hadzovic | What It Takes | Ep. 2
We start the morning off at Sadik’s house, the morning after his 1600g high carbohydrate day.
Upon waking, Sadik felt he looked like “shit”. All night, he had a ridiculous amount of stomach pain and gas. It shows the importance of experimenting weeks out from a show so you know what kind of refeed will make you feel and look the best on stage.
Prior to heading to the gym, Sadik takes half a scoop of Nitraflex. It is an incredibly strong pre-workout, so half the scoop is plenty to get him through his workouts.
“The reason you need a good nutritionist behind you is because when you get to these 4, 3, 2 weeks out – there’s doubt that arises. There’s anxiety that arises. There’s that fear of not being good enough that arises. So, sometimes having an extra set of eyeballs on you… means everything, because you don’t get these 12 weeks back.” – Sadik Hadzovic
For his pre-workout meal, he consumes 3.5 ounces of broccoli, 8 ounces of chicken breakfast, and his infamous pre-workout pickle.
Sadik feels he needs 45min-1hour to digest his pre-workout meal. Otherwise, the digestion process takes away from his pumps in the gym.
At the gym, we meet up with Sadik’s coach, Dr. Mike Camp.
“Often times, people are like hey Sadik, you’re one of the best in the world at what you do - Why do YOU need a trainer? Why does Michael Jordan have a shooting coach? Why does Kobe have a shooting coach? These are the best guys in the world. Why? Because, that person’s committed to making you 10% better, 20% better, 30% better.” - Sadik Hadzovic
In the one hour he trains, he wants to train as hard as possible. Mike Camp and his training partners are there to make sure he gets to that level.
Mike says Sadik is second to none when it comes to commitment and dedication. He shows up on time and never asks questions. He’s meticulous with his form and controls the whole rep during all his exercises.
“The most important thing with a training partner is not their achievements, their size, how long they’ve been training. The most important thing about a training partner is to be comfortable around them, to vibe out well, where they can read your mind without even talking to you.” – Sadik Hadzovic
Vlad Petric, Sadik’s training partner, says there’s really no difference when it comes to training. The difference is mostly the prep work involved and maybe some of the weight that is used during exercises.
“The gym is my happy hour. The gym is my Friday night. The gym is like me hanging out with my friends. This is what I live for. There’s nothing else I look forward to besides having the most intense training session as I possibly can.” – Sadik Hadzovic
The sport is built off of genetics. Can you change? Yes. But it takes meticulous nutrition, training hard, consistency, and setting the right goals.
Most guys, whether they compete in Men’s Physique, Classic, or bodybuilding – they love to train. They want to work hard and put on muscle. So, it then becomes fine-tuning how much muscle you put on and making sure you’re keeping it all in proportions.
The last time Sadik competed at Men’s Physique, he weighed in at 179. Now he’s 218. So, he’s gained 30lbs of stage muscle – putting on thickness in all the right places while keeping his waist slim. He’s really looking forward to this show a lot.
The priority of this prep was adding thickness to the upper chest and mid-back. Starting back in October, they hit chest and back twice a week for 8 weeks. Then, they transitioned to hitting delts 2-3 times per week.
There wasn’t any change in lifting methods. It was all about prioritizing muscles that needed to grow.
"How do you be the best in the world at something if you have balance? If you want to be the best in the world at something you go 100%. You let this thing consume you… that’s what being the best in the world is… I’m always trying to remain hungry like I’m climbing the ladder instead of being on top of the ladder." –Sadik Hadzovic
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