Sam Sulek prefers to save the bulk of his calories for later in the day to prevent hunger pains.
The name Sam Sulek is becoming a household one in the bodybuilding space. He recently won his pro card at the 2025 Arnold Classic Amateur, after only stepping on stage just two weeks prior for the first time. That being said, it is no secret that he has a great physique. Today, our team at Generation Iron be following along with one of his most popular videos showcasing his meals and the exercises he does to get that bodybuilder back.
As a young bodybuilder, Sam Sulek has a massive following on social media. He initially wanted to be a professional diver but rose to fame on TikTok by sharing his bodybuilding experience. Sulek regularly shares his workout routines on platforms like Instagram and YouTube.
As a rookie, Sam Sulek didn’t necessarily have what experts would call the best regimen in terms of his diet or training, but he has since dialed it in and really shown off what he can do. There are also speculations that his growth may be aided by PED abuse. However, there is no evidence for this, even though many question his natty status.
Sam Sulek’s Back Workout
Sam Sulek heads to the gym a few hours after meal two to train his back muscles. He also does some exercises to target and grow his shoulders, specifically his rear delts. Below is a list of Sulek’s routine to maintain his bodybuilder back.
| Exercises |
| Medium Grip Lat Pulldowns |
| Chest Supported Seated Rows |
| Low-to-high Cable Rows |
| Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns |
| Cable Face Pulls |
| Reverse Pec Deck Flyes |
Medium Grip Lat Pulldowns
Sam Sulek uses lat pulldowns to train his bodybuilder back. He also does this exercise with a neutral grip, which allows him to lift more weight as the lats are in a better position bio-mechanically. Sulek does sets to failure, dropping the weight as he goes, and then does a few partial reps to failure, too.
The lat pulldown is a great compound exercise for your back, shoulders, and arms. A medium grip for this exercise works explicitly on your lats and upper back while emphasizing your biceps (1). You can also do this exercise seated or kneeling to target your lats differently.
Chest Supported Seated Rows
Sam Sulek did multiple sets of the chest-supported seated row on the machine. He does every rep slowly and controls the motion to maximize his gains. Sulek also adopts a pause and squeeze when doing this routine to activate his muscles further.
The chest-supported seated row is another excellent exercise for your back. It targets the major and minor lats, traps, rhomboids, biceps, and teres. The bench that supports your chest for this exercise helps maximize your back’s isolation regardless of your positioning.
Low-to-high Cable Rows
Sam Sulek did the low-to-high cable row in the seated position, which removes the need for stabilization. As a result, you can better focus on your mind-muscle connection, which research shows can lead to even more muscle growth during resistance training (2).
The low-to-high cable row specifically targets your lats, thus inducing muscle hypertrophy. This exercise is also a great way to increase your back strength. Using the cable machine for this keeps constant tension on your muscles throughout your range of motion.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
The wide-grip lat pulldown is an exercise that should be part of the arsenal of anyone looking to get a bodybuilder back. This exercise focuses on the outer part of your lats and reduces the tension in your forearms and biceps. The result of this is an exercise that makes your lats work even harder, leading to more muscle hypertrophy.
The wide grip lat pulldown is Sam Sulek’s fourth back routine for the day. He does multiple sets before heading to the next exercise on the list.
Cable Face Pulls
Sam Sulek starts his cable face pulls standing, believing you should firmly put your back on a surface. This helps to stabilize you and keeps the focus on your back and delts. He then ends with a few sets where he is lying on a bench.
The cable face pull is an exercise that targets your upper back, traps, and rear delts. It’s done on a cable machine and is excellent for shoulder mobility. You can use this routine to shape a thick and meaty bodybuilder back for more aesthetics.
Reverse Pec Deck Flyes
The reverse pec dec flye is another routine for your rear delts and upper back. However, it also recruits the lats, rhomboids, and traps. The reverse pec dec flye is an isolation exercise for building strength and muscle in the rear delts.
Sam Sulek did the reverse pec deck flye as his last exercise for this back workout. He cranked out a few sets, packing up to go home.
Sam Sulek’s Cutting Phase Full Day of Eating
In this cutting phase, Sam Sulek aims to eat only 2700 calories daily. Sulek admits that his diet is unconventional. He says,
“I’m not really eating dedicated meals. It’s more so I’m kind of just eating throughout the day, you know. So if I’m going to prepare something, I’m going to prepare it in a large batch, which is equivalent to a couple of meals.”
Below are his meals for the day.
Meal One
- Burger Buns
- Mustard Sauce
- Low Fat Mayonaise
- Processed Turkey Meat
- Multivitamins
Sam Sulek does fasted cardio in the morning, so his first meal of the day is post-cardio. He, however, takes caffeine tablets before his session.
Meal Two
- Cheddar Broccoli Rice
- Hot Sauce
- Ground Beef
Sulek studies engineering and plans his eating and training around his schooling. As a result, he doesn’t just eat this whole meal at once; instead, he splits it into two or three meals. This is also the meal before his workout.
Meal Three
- A Foot-long Subway Italian Sandwich
- 2 Cups of Non-Fat Chocolate Milk
Meal three is Sam Sulek’s post–workout meal, and he explains that he prefers to eat heavier later in the day. He also says that this could help you avoid cheating on your diet.
“I want to go to bed full. I’d rather have more of my food closer to the end of the day than in the beginning. Because you’re just asking for trouble if you get to like six O’clock and you only have 500 calories left for the night. I guarantee that an uninitiated lifter is just going to be like, ‘screw it’ and start munching on some kind of treat.”
Meal Four
- 8 Ounces of Steak
- Zero Calorie Lemonade
This is Sam Sulek’s final meal for the day before he goes to bed. This meal’s low carb, high protein content will help keep him feeling full till the following day.
Watch the full workout below:
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References
- Andersen, V., Fimland, M. S., Wiik, E., Skoglund, A., & Saeterbakken, A. H. (2014). Effects of grip width on muscle strength and activation in the lat pull-down. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 28(4), 1135–1142. https://doi.org/10.1097/JSC.0000000000000232
- Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Brandt, M., Jay, K., Colado, J. C., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European journal of applied physiology, 116(3), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7
