Sam Sulek is almost set to make his pro debut and enter the Arnold Classic, so the decisions that he makes in the run up to the most important night of his bodybuilding career to date are critical. Fortunately, the 24-year-old remains characteristically chilled about this monumental moment, but he did share some strategy in a recent YouTube video.
Sulek went from social media star to bona fide bodybuilder when he earned his IFBB Pro card by racking up a win in the Classic Physique division of the 2025 NPC Arnold Amateur. This year, he’ll join the pros in Columbus, Ohio. So, to perfect his physique, the influencer explained that he’s currently eating around 2,600 calories per day while leaning down for the stage, but he’s not opposed to bumping that up a little in the coming days, if he feels that his training requires the extra fuel. This flexibility has been a hallmark of his Arnold prep.
Sam Sulek’s Strategy for Getting Stage Ready for the 2026 Arnold
In his vlog, posted 23 days out from the biggest event of his career thus far, Sulek revealed that his current weight is 229 pounds. Over the next two weeks, he aims to bring this number down to 227-228 pounds. “Even just 228, that’s good with me,” he told his 4.41 million YouTube Subscribers. While the rising star must meet a weight limit of 227 pounds as per Classic division rules, Sulek knows that he will drop even more weight in the final days and hours before showtime.
“The weight isn’t what I care about,” shared Sulek. “I don’t have to struggle to make weight. Like, I’m right there. The day before weigh-ins, when I pull my water and kind of dry out a little bit, that’s gonna drop me like 5 pounds,” shared the bodybuilder. “So, I’m going to be well under that 227, don’t even have to think about it.”
Instead, Sulek is thinking about how he will appear on stage from a visual perspective. “The number on the scale is an indicator of how my weight is changing, but I just wanna get a little grainier, a little more peeled, you know, thin out the fat layer on my sides, and my lower back, and my glutes, to get all these little extra lines kinda creeping out.”
Sulek also revealed that he’d wondered if he had gotten to the right weight a little too quickly, around 3 weeks ago, but he was able to be flexible on his calorie intake and made sure to feed himself and pause the diet so that his muscle mass wouldn’t suffer. “Abso-freaking-lutely perfect,” he concluded.
Sam Sulek will attempt to bring the perfect package to the 2026 Arnold on March 5-9, and the Arnold UK on March 27-29.
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