Samson Dauda is laser-focused on success heading into his title defense at the 2025 Mr. Olympia. In a YouTube video shared on August 17, 2025, he joined Quinton Eriya for a brutal chest and calves workout eight weeks from stepping onstage.
Dauda was crowned the 19th Mr. Olympia champion in 2024, having defeated Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford at the event’s 60th anniversary. Not only did Dauda secure the sport’s most prestigious title, but he also collected a $600,000 purse — the highest Olympia payout in history.
Known for competing often, Dauda gambled and took his talents to the 2025 Arnold Classic. However, he lacked the same hardness he displayed at the Olympia, and as a result, Lunsford narrowly surpassed him on the scorecards. Dauda will have his shot at revenge soon and has made sure his training intensity stays on track ahead of his next outing.
Samson Dauda Attacks Chest and Calves Workout With Quinton Eriya Ahead of 2025 Mr. Olympia
Find their exercise selections from the YouTube video below:
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- Angled Linear Hack Squat Calf Raise – Superset A
- Seated Calf Raise Machine – Superset B
- Incline Smith Machine Press
- Machine Chest Press – Superset A
- Standing Fly Machine – Superset B
- Seated Cable Fly
Angled Linear Hack Squat Calf Raise + Seated Calf Raise Machine – Superset
Right before the workout, Dauda gave an update on his prep heading into his title defense. He stressed that his main goal is to step onstage more shredded than ever before. The two decided to take a note out of Jay Cutler’s playbook and start with calves on chest day. They used supersets to keep intensity high, which can also help burn extra calories, something Dauda is prioritizing before his next contest.
“Now, we literally are at the point where we don’t have any major weaknesses. The main thing is one simple goal: get absolutely freakin shredded. That means going deeper than we’ve ever pushed before. That means doing it faster and being ahead of schedule and pushing ourselves even deeper.”
Incline Smith Machine Press
Dauda starts light to get accustomed to how each machine feels; this allows him to perform the movements safely and avoid injuries.
“Big compound, we’re going Smith machine incline starting with chest, nice and light to get used to how the Smith machine feels, and with each set, we go up, and we max out at the top,” shared Dauda.
Dauda focused on explosivity during sets, along with five-second eccentrics to capitalize on time under tension.
“15 reps in total, the first five is fast up and explosive, then come down slow, using five seconds and then fast up, come down slow, five seconds. You get the first five, then the next 10, just smash them out as fast as you can.”
Machine Chest Press + Standing Fly Machine – Superset
On the machine chest press, Dauda and Eriya discussed how this particular setup benefits taller competitors.
“It’s different from a lot of the ones I used, the hammer strength, but that’s a good feeling, really good feeling,” shared Eriya.
“She’s a two-piece machine,” replied Dauda. “For taller guys, when I go in this one, I was like this is spot-on.”
Seated Cable Fly
As a finisher, the two gave each other assisted reps to failure on the seated cable fly. Then, Dauda and Eriya polished their posing before wrapping up for the day.
“Our first workout together, Saturday, so we just hit our calf and chest, nice, interesting, and beautiful workout. We had a lot of fun with that. It was really good. We went through a few rounds of posing as well to see where exactly we are at and where things are going.”
Despite losing his coach, Matt Jansen, Eriya has bounced back with statement performances this year. He recently took second place at the Tampa Pro and turned around fast to secure third place at the Texas Pro, won by Jordan Hutchinson. Currently, Eriya is preparing to earn his Olympia qualification in three weeks at a European show.
Working alongside Dauda, Eriya is learning how the number one bodybuilder in the world trains. Fans look forward to seeing Dauda step onstage in less than eight weeks at the 2025 Mr. Olympia, set for October 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch the full video from the Samson Dauda YouTube channel below:
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