Samson Dauda is making sure that he eats everything right to defend the Arnold Classic title in 2024. The event is set to take place from Mar. 1-3, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.
Samson Dauda is a Nigerian-British bodybuilder who has made rapid progress in his career over the last two years. Dauda made his professional debut with a fifth-place finish at the 2018 EVLS Prague Pro and became an instant sensation because of his massive size, muscle definition, and conditioning.
He earned his first pro show win at the 2021 EVLS Prague Pro and made massive progress in the years that followed. Dauda first stepped on the Olympia stage in 2022 with a sixth-place finish behind former two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay.
He made a quick turnaround and returned to competition at the 2023 Arnold Classic. ‘The Nigerian Lion’ defeated Nick Walker to take home the Arnold Classic trophy and secured the invitation to the 2023 Olympia. In his second Olympia appearance, Dauda surged into the top three behind champion Derek Lunsford and runner-up Hadi Choopan.
Samson Dauda’s 2023 competitive season concluded with a thumping victory at the 2023 Romania Muscle Fest Pro. He will now attempt to defend his Arnold Classic title at the 2024 Arnold Sports Festival that will take place from Feb. 29-Mar. 3, 2024, in Columbus Ohio.
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Samson Dauda’s Full Day of Eating
Eight weeks out of the 2024 Arnold Classic, Samson Dauda shared the competition prep diet he is following to get stage-ready.
“Literally 99 percent of my food is all whole food. They’re all whole food meals that are prepared at home, prepared from scratch.”
Meal 1
Dauda starts his day with a 30-minute fasted state cardio session in the morning and then proceeds to eat the first meal of the day. He suffered a partial hamstring tear while training recently and has been struggling to work around the injury. However, that does not stop him from going about his daily routine to make sure that he comes back with the second Arnold Classic trophy of his career.
To keep the body in a well-fed state, he eats the first meal which consists of:
- Oats – 100 grams
- Whey Protein Isolate – 1 scoop
- Eggs – 4 whole
Meal 2
Dauda follows a simple formula for dieting all year round – ‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’ Through years of trial and error, the IFBB Pro bodybuilder has figured out the foods that work for him and he adheres to eating them irrespective of the time of year.
“Between the prep and (off-season), my meal doesn’t change all year round. I eat the same meal in the same structure. The only difference is the portions go up, and the portions come down based on the off-season and prep.”
He eats his meal as a ‘part of job’ and not to satiate the taste buds. The second meal is a basic meat and potato combination that does the job well and helps him achieve the goal he is set out to. He pre-cooks two weeks’ worth of his proteins like chicken and steak in advance to avoid spending too much time cooking at mealtime.
It consists of:
- Steak – 200 grams
- Sweet Potato (steamed) – 300 grams
Meal 3
Dauda eats a high-protein diet which is essential for bodybuilders to maintain the necessary muscle mass. However, he tries to eat protein from different sources and switches the protein sources through different meals of the day.
“The ability to switch different protein sources just gives you that ability to digest different sorts of food. Never restricting your diet to just one source of protein really helps with not just the digestion but muscle growth as well.”
As he explains that, Samson Dauda goes on to have the next meal.
He switches the protein source as explained and eats the meal that consists of:
- Rice – 2 cups
- Lean Minced Beef – 180 grams
Meal 4 and Meal 5
The fourth and fifth meals of Samson Dauda’s day essentially have the same composition. He concludes eating before 9 PM. The rice Dauda eats in this meal is the last bit of carbohydrates he consumes until the next noon. However, it is an essential part of his job and he endures the carb cravings until the next day.
Both meals consist of:
- Rice – 1.5 cups
- Chicken – 250 grams
- Green Vegetables
During the off-season, Dauda eats one more meal before going to bed as the goal is to gain muscle. Additionally, the meal closer to bedtime keeps him satiated and keeps late-night hunger pangs at bay.
Watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Samson Dauda’s personal YouTube channel:
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