Men’s Physique standout Sadik Hadzovic is closing in on his next bodybuilding competition. In a recent YouTube video, Hadzovic revealed how to grow the legs without barbell squats and gave his thoughts on the validity of the anabolic window. In addition, he updated fans on his preparations for the nearing 2024 Tampa Pro, taking place on August 1.
The world is ready to witness Sadik Hadzovic back on stage. During former four-time Men’s Physique Olympia Jeremy Buendia’s reign, Hadzovic proved to be one of his toughest opponents. While he never laid claim to the coveted title, many figured it was only a matter of time before Hadzovic tasted gold in the growing division.
The Bosnian-American bodybuilder made waves in 2022, having secured first place at Jim Manion’s annual Pittsburgh Pro show. Weeks later, he clinched a third-place position at the New York Pro. Despite qualifying for Olympia that year, Hadzovic decided to sit out of the marquee contest. Resting his body for all of 2023, he plans to return better than ever in just under two months.
Sadik Hadzovic ‘Down Two Pounds in a Week,’ Talks 2024 Tampa Pro Preparations and Growing Legs Without Barbell Squats
With 11 weeks until showtime, Hadzovic admits the weight is coming off faster than he would like.
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“I’m 11 weeks out. I’m down two pounds in a week. I started dieting last week and I’m already down two pounds which is like most people would be happy, like stoked about that, me, I’m not stoked about that. My metabolism is so fucking fast man.”
He described his fast metabolism as a blessing and a curse. To ensure he retains enough muscle mass, he intends to include some re-feed meals and cheat meals into his routine.
“It’s a blessing and a curse. I want to keep as much muscle mass and muscle tone as I possibly can so I don’t really want to be losing at this rate, this far out from a show. We’ll definitely have to start incorporating some re-feed meals and some cheat meals.”
Although barbell squats have become a staple in other athletes’ workouts, Hadzovic believes it ‘only takes one heavy set’ of an exercise to stimulate growth. Most importantly, he says to prioritize the quality of eating, training, and sleeping.
“It only takes one heavy set to stimulate growth. I can be done with the whole day of working out right now, I’m not going to but I could be.
As a competitor, you can only control three things: your eating, your training, and your sleeping. Just focus on those three things.”
He effectively trained his legs by feeling the contractions and lifting heavy using proper form. In his latest session, Hadzovic taxed his lower body with the single-leg leg press, heavy squats, and high-volume goblet squats.
“It doesn’t seem like the most intense leg day in the world, but not every workout is going to be super intense. As long as you feel the contraction, lifting heavy, form is good, you’re going to grow. This is one of those growing days for me.
Activated my central nervous system a few times, first on a single leg leg press, second on the heavy squat, and thirdly after a high-volume goblet squat so I had three opportunities for growth. That’s it, three quad movements heavy, two hamstring movements heavy, two heavy ab movements. That’s all it takes,” says Sadik Hadzovic.
Despite many in the fitness community refuting the validity of the anabolic window, Hadzovic believes eating directly post-workout offers significant benefits for muscle growth. He adds that consuming 5-6 ‘protein-packed’ meals will better serve your muscle-building needs than two helpings per day with large amounts of protein.
“I used the word anabolic window which is frowned upon because people are like oh it’s bullshit the anabolic window. So it’s not bullshit, but what I like to say about people that refute my anabolic window philosophy, is what is the benefit of not eating directly post-workout?
You could talk about elevated levels of growth hormone throughout the body, we can say that, but the goal here is to create dense thick muscle tissue. How are you going to develop muscle tissue if you don’t hit your macronutrient requirement for protein? So, you can’t simply eat one or two huge protein meals a day otherwise you’re walking around with a distended stomach all the time, so you’re eating five to six protein-packed meals. This way you can meet those macronutrient requirements so you can build muscle.”
Considering his next competition is rapidly approaching, Sadik Hadzovic has been open about how he is building muscle. He shared three meals he eats daily to craft his physique, underlining that they are time-efficient and ideal for bodybuilders during prep.
From leg training tips to the importance of the anabolic window, Sadik Hadzovic is tackling his prep in a calculated manner. Time will tell if his efforts pay off at the 2024 Tampa Pro on August 1.
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