Sam Sulek’s Upper Body Workouts in Preparation for the 2025 Arnold Amateur
Sam Sulek has set his sights on securing his IFBB Pro League card at the prestigious Arnold Amateur.
Marking a significant milestone in his competitive bodybuilding journey, Sulek made his official debut at the 2025 NPC Legends Classic in Las Vegas, delivering an outstanding performance. Dominating the Classic Physique category, he emerged victorious, clinching the overall title.
This impressive win not only solidifies his presence in the competitive bodybuilding scene but also grants him the opportunity to battle for supremacy at the Arnold Amateur.
Despite ongoing debates surrounding his unconventional training methodology, Sulek has effectively silenced critics with a commanding stage presence and undeniable results.
His next mission?
Conquering the 2025 Arnold Amateur Classic Physique division, scheduled to take place in Columbus, Ohio, from February 27 to March 2, 2025. This article delves into his recent high-intensity arm, back, and chest workouts as he fine-tunes his physique for the competition.
Sam Sulek’s Training Blueprint for the 2025 Arnold Amateur
As Sulek prepares for the Arnold Amateur, his core training principles remain unchanged. He maintains his structured approach to caloric intake, progressive overload resistance training, and cardiovascular conditioning. However, he has emphasized the necessity of ramping up his cardio sessions to further enhance conditioning and overall stage presentation. Studies indicate that incorporating cardiovascular training into a regimen can improve heart rate efficiency and boost overall cardiovascular health (1). Below is a breakdown of his meticulously designed chest workout regimen.
Chest Workout
Exercises
Incline Bench Press
Chest Fly
Bent-Over Cable Fly
Incline Bench Press
Sulek initiates his chest workout with the incline bench press, utilizing a plate-loaded machine to maximize upper pectoral engagement. He executes slow, controlled reps to maintain constant tension, performing three challenging sets. To push muscular hypertrophy to its limits, he includes additional sets taken to absolute failure, incorporating several partial reps to further fatigue the muscle fibers. Research suggests that training to failure can significantly enhance muscular hypertrophy, promoting greater overall muscle mass gains (2).
Machine Chest Fly
Following his incline presses, Sulek transitions into the machine chest fly to isolate the pectorals further. Employing a strategic lifting tempo, he integrates two to three-second concentric holds on each repetition, ensuring a powerful contraction and deep engagement of the chest fibers.
Bent-Over Cable Fly
Originally intending to perform a chest press variation, Sulek opts instead for the bent-over cable fly. This movement allows him to fully stretch and contract the pecs, adding another layer of intensity to his training session. By prioritizing controlled execution and peak contractions, he maximizes chest development leading into the Arnold Amateur.
“Had to mission abort those machine chest press sets because I was getting way too much front delts,” Sulek explained. “So instead, let’s do some slightly bent over light blood flow inducing flies, a bit pumpish, but this is contrasting the squeezing sets of pec deck earlier, which had long holds.”
After his chest exercises, he does about 30 minutes of cardio and calls it off for his chest day. “I think a full hour might be a little bit much, especially since I did an hour in the morning,” Sulek said.
Back Workout
Before getting into his back workouts, Sulek does cardio for about an hour.
Exercises
MAG Grip
Lat Pulldown
Seated Row
Wide Grip Straight Bar Seated Row
Half Pulldown Half Row
MAG Grip Lat Pulldown
Sam Sulek kicks off his back workout with a MAG grip lat pulldown, an attachment designed to minimize forearm fatigue and maximize back engagement. This ergonomic grip enhances muscle activation by reducing reliance on grip strength, allowing for deeper lat contraction. Sulek executes each rep with a controlled, full range of motion, optimizing lat fiber recruitment. He pushes his limits with three intense sets, taking each one to absolute failure.
Machine Seated Row
The next movement in Sulek’s routine is the machine seated row, a staple for developing mid-back thickness. He maintains a strict posture with his chest up and shoulders retracted, ensuring maximum engagement of the rhomboids and traps. After a solid first set, he strategically reduces the weight for his second, incorporating four-second isometric holds at peak contraction. He finishes the set with high-intensity reps, pushing his muscles to failure.
Wide-Grip Straight Bar Seated Row
Transitioning to another row variation, Sulek utilizes a wide straight bar on a low cable pulley for a seated row. This grip variation places greater emphasis on the upper back, particularly the rear delts and traps. He holds each rep at peak contraction for three seconds, intensifying the mind-muscle connection. To fully exhaust the muscles, he wraps up the set with high-rep partials, squeezing out every last ounce of effort.
Half Pulldown, Half Row Hybrid
Sulek then moves on to a unique hybrid exercise that blends a pulldown and a row. Using rotating D-handles, he transitions between an overhand and neutral grip, ensuring comprehensive stimulation of the lats, traps, and rear delts. This dynamic movement allows for a versatile range of motion, hitting multiple angles in a single exercise. As with the rest of his session, he takes this set to failure, maximizing intensity.
Following his brutal back workout, Sulek fine-tunes his physique with a posing session before wrapping up his training with 30 minutes of steady-state cardio.
Arm Workout
Exercises
Triceps Pushdown
EZ Bar Curl
Tricep Dip
V Bar Cable Curl
Superset —Tricep Pushdown & Cable Curl
Triceps Pushdown
Sam Sulek kicks off his arm day with cable triceps pushdowns, emphasizing strict form and muscle engagement. He executes each rep with a slow, controlled eccentric phase and a forceful concentric contraction, ensuring full range of motion for optimal triceps activation. Sulek pushes himself to muscular failure across three intense sets before advancing to the next movement.
EZ Bar Curl
“Let’s actually begin with some slow, controlled EZ bar curls,” Sulek states. Each repetition features a deliberate pause at peak contraction and a slow, tension-filled eccentric phase, maximizing biceps recruitment and time under tension.
Triceps Dip
“Good squeeze, slow eccentric, nothing crazy,” Sulek remarks as he tackles triceps dips on the dip machine. He performs two challenging sets, incorporating partial reps to intensify the muscle burn and enhance metabolic stress for maximum growth.
V-Bar Cable Curl
During the standing V-bar cable curls, Sulek maintains strict form, focusing on isolating the biceps and minimizing momentum. He completes two methodical sets, emphasizing peak contraction and controlled negatives for hypertrophy.
Superset — Triceps Pushdown & Cable Curl
To cap off his arm workout, Sulek transitions into a high-intensity superset, alternating between explosive triceps pushdowns and strict cable curls. This final burnout maximizes pump and muscular fatigue, ensuring complete arm stimulation. He concludes his session with classic bodybuilding poses, flexing to showcase his fully pumped arms.
“There we go. Arms complete, triceps, biceps both pumped up as much as I can muster.”
Wrapping Up
From a passionate fitness enthusiast uploading workout videos on YouTube to an emerging force in professional bodybuilding, Sam Sulek’s relentless dedication to training has propelled him to a triumphant debut—and this is only the start. Already recognized as a top contender, Sulek now sets his sights on the Arnold Amateur in the coming weeks.
