There’s never a dull moment on camera when bodybuilding influencer Sam Sulek is talking. His massive surge in popularity led to him becoming a household name in fitness. In a recent offering on YouTube, Sulek discussed bulking, his favorite form of cardio, and not letting excuses get in the way of building muscle.
“If you got something that you want, what is stopping you from getting it in all honesty,” shares Sam Sulek.
Sporting a laid-back demeanor and ripped physique, Sam Sulek has quickly made waves in bodybuilding despite having yet to compete. At just 21 years old, Sulek gained considerable fame thanks to his impressive size, witty personality, and hulking strength.
Boasting millions of followers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, Sulek’s casual gym content turned him into a star. While Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford favors a clean diet mostly, Sulek has taken a different approach to nutrition. From chugging gallons of chocolate milk to demolishing boxes of Krispie Kreme donuts, Sulek’s dietary choices may surprise some but it’s working for him.
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Sam Sulek Discusses Getting Jacked, Cardio Methods, and Overcoming Excuses
First, Sulek started off his moment of reflection by discussing the importance of sleep for hypertrophy.
“I woke up like 45 minutes ago. My one 8:30 class for today got canceled, and that correlates to an extra couple of hours of sleep for me. In a bodybuilding context, an early morning class being canceled… that’s conducive for gains you know.
I think we’re all aware that all of your actual growth is going on when you’re sleeping, when you’re chilling. The longer you can stay in bed and dream around in your REM sleep cycles, the better. I think we all know that,” said Sam Sulek.
As for Sulek’s favorite form of cardio, he underlined the calorie-burning benefits of the recumbent bike.
“Statistically, I know the majority of you guys don’t want to hear it but I just, I lay out the benefits every time. You could lead a lifter to water but you can’t make them drink as it were. 30 minutes of cardio a day, seated bike, but it doesn’t have to be the seated bike you can do whatever you want. Stairmaster, fucking treadmill, go on a run or whatever,” stated Sulek.
“I guess I could [run around the block], I don’t really want to. For me, the kind of cardio I like the most is the recumbent bike. It just makes sense. I can burn a pretty good amount of calories in a pretty good amount of time. If I were to walk on the treadmill, it’s going to take me 45 minutes for the machine to say that I burned 300 calories.”
According to Sulek, cardio constitutes “30 minutes of doing something where your heart rate is significantly elevated for a constant amount of time.”
“On the seated bike, you know, I can do 300 calories in 30 minutes, and that’s usually what I go for. Well, that’s my kind of minimum requirement in my mind. I’ll do sometimes, I’ll get up to like 400 calories or the machine will say it’s 400 calories in 30 minutes. It’s just a number though.
Really, what I kind of consider what I would count as my cardio is just, or for anybody, 30 minutes of doing something where your heart rate is significantly elevated for a constant amount of time. So if you wanna fucking play ball or whatever else you do, if your heart rate is up in the 140s, 150s for 30 minutes straight, guess what man? That counts.”
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He specified that he doesn’t like stair steppers because it “feels like a lot of work.”
“When it comes to stairstepper or the Stairmaster, I’m not a fan. It kind of feels like a lot of work. But it’s really no problem for me to sit on the bike.”
Next, Sulek explained how to get jacked, underlining the significance of not losing track of set goals.
“The beginner is just thinking, ‘I want to be fucking big. I want to get fucking huge.’ And maybe for a couple reasons, ‘I want to get bigger than so and so to show them,’ or maybe they just idolize somebody who is fucking yolked out of their mind. But the main way far distant future end goal is I want to get fucking jacked right.
So if that’s the goal and you got that solidified in your mind and you don’t completely lose track of it and you actually want to get there then it would just make sense that everyday that should be your shit,” states Sam Sulek.
In Sulek’s opinion, most people have a “self-reflective awakening” as they continue to train.
“For most people, well the majority of people, there’s an awakening, a self-reflective awakening where you can actually understand the fact that you’re not just floating through space in your life.”
Sulek acknowledges the impact of external factors on training, recalling a time when he faced criticism at the beginning of his lifting journey
“Outside shit, sure, it will fuck with you. Things will get in your way or whatever but that’s just an extra challenge for you to deal with. There’s nothing – I mean – the only thing stopping you from doing something is let’s say people are going to talk smack about you or whatever, I’ve got a fair amount of I don’t want to say hate, yeah I do want to say hate, I’m not talking right now, I mean way back when I started lifting.”
In light of Sam Sulek’s growing fame, several bodybuilders have given their thoughts on his rise in fitness. Reigning five-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead was blown away by Sulek, hinting that he could take the ‘reins’ one day when he chooses to retire.
Nick “The Mutant” Walker and others argue that Sulek is sending a risky message to younger audiences, implying they can attain a physique like his by consistently following his advice and content. Fan backlash over Sulek reached a boiling point, prompting Lee Priest to step in and defend the young influencer.
Sam Sulek’s physique even caught the attention of Joe Rogan. The podcast host discussed Sulek’s physique and use of steroids during a recent Joe Rogan Experience episode. In Rogan’s opinion, he could hear the steroids in Sam’s voice and figured his end goal was to continue adding size.
Fans eagerly anticipate Sam Sulek’s future, hoping to witness him on a bodybuilding stage, challenging the world’s top physiques.
Watch the full YouTube video from Sam Sulek’s YouTube channel below:
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