Sadik Hadzovic is just 35 years old, but he’s already competed in 18 IFBB Pro League competitions in both the Men’s Physique and Classic Physique categories. He’s won the prestigious New York Pro bodybuilding competition twice (2013 and 2022), earned gold at the 2015 Arnold Men’s Physique Classic, and has competed in five Mr. Olympia competitions.
How do you build that physique? Truth is, it’s not about diet, and it’s not about the workout. Instead, you need a perfect combination of both diet and training, an art form that Hadzovic and many other athletes have worked to master. Your training and diet complement each other, and understanding how the two disciplines interact is key to your ability to pack on major muscle and strength.
The art of muscle-building and ab-shredding is always about a blend of things. Hadzovic works to maintain a perfectly calibrated approach to eating and training. This year, he has to get this mix just right, because he has major goals. “My goal now,” he says, “is to win the Olympia.”
Not sure how he’s going to pull it off? Take a look at a day in the life of his pre-Olympia training and diet regimens.
The Workout
There’s nothing frilly or special about Hadzovic’s weight training routine. His regular sessions consist of walking on the treadmill for a few minutes, performing a short series of mobility movements, and hammering one or two body parts with a barrage of heavy weights for a lot of total volume (31 sets in the example below).
He trains five days per week: legs on Monday, chest and triceps on Tuesday, back on Thursday, chest and shoulders on Friday, and back and biceps on Saturday. Dr. Michael Camp, DPT, CSCS, CES creates Hadzovic’s routines and updates them frequently. And Hadzovic always trains hard. “People don’t train intensely enough,” Hadzovic says. “They’re either taking too long between sets, or when they’re doing their set, they’re just counting reps. You want to do a weight that’s just beyond your comfort level…if you can lift a weight comfortably for 10 reps and aren’t out of breath, you’re not really training.”
One of his favorite days is that back-and-biceps session.
WARMUP: Treadmill walk, 10 minutes.
Hadzovic starts on the treadmill, just to get his blood flowing and start to elevate his heart rate slightly. He’s not going hard here, just getting moving.
EXERCISE 1: Foam Roller T-Spine Mobility
This warmup gets Hadzovic’s back loosened up. That back mobility is key to setting him up for success. He does 1 set of 10 reps.
EXERCISE 2: Cat-Camel/Y-T-Ws
The bodybuilder continues to warm up his back with the cat-camel stretch, which has him alternately arching and rounding his back. After that, he begins to build stability in his mid-back with Y/T/Ws. He does 1 set of 10 reps of each move.
EXERCISE 3: Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown, superset with Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
Hadzovic does four sets of his main exercise pairing. He starts with the straight-arm lat pulldown, which wakes up his lats. It also prefatigues his lats for wide-grip pulldowns. He does 4 sets of 8-10 reps of each move.
EXERCISE 4: Plate-Loaded Row
Hadzovic has done vertical pulling; now he’ll take on a horizontal row that builds mid-back thickness. He pushes this heavy, too, doing 12 reps the first set, then 10, then 8, and finally, 6.
EXERCISE 5: Behind-the-Neck Lat Pulldown
Then it’s back to vertical pulling, so Hadzovic can carve detail into his lats and pile up more good contractions. He does 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps here. This isn’t a lift for everyone, though, so don’t be afraid to do a different pulldown, like a one-arm pulldown, in this spot instead.
EXERCISE 6: Machine Preacher Curl
Now, Hadzovic turns his attention to his arms. He starts with machine preacher curls, opening with an isolation exercise. He does 4 sets of 8-10.
EXERCISE 7: Standing EZ-Bar Paused Curl
His biceps are already pumped, and now it’s onto high-rep work. Hadzovic does 3 sets of 10-12 here, holding for 3 seconds at the top of each rep. This is a long set; it takes 40-50 seconds to get through.
EXERCISE 8: Incline Dumbbell Curl
It’s another 3 sets of 10-12 here, and again Hadzovic holds for 3 seconds at the top of each rep. He’s getting a deeper stretch on his biceps here, because his elbows are behind his torso at the start.
EXERCISE 9: Hammer Curl
This classic move hammers Hadzovic’s brachialis, a key muscle that helps your biceps really pop. He’s piled up a lot of volume by the time he’s here: He’s already done more than 100 reps of arm exercises alone.
EXERCISE 10: Standing Bent-Over Rear Delt Cable Raise
Hadzovic finishes with a little more back work, this time integrating his rear delts as well. He does 3 sets of 10-12 reps here. This is a lightweight move, the only lightweight move Hadzovic will do all day.
The Diet
Hadzovic follows a classic bodybuilding diet, relying on ample amounts of protein (1.5 grams per pound of body weight, he says) and easy-to-digest carbohydrates for energy. Aside from a single tablespoon of nut butter, all the fat Hadzovic consumes is from the other foods he eats.
“The relationship between eating and training is super important,” Hadzovic says. “It’s the same difference as having a race car and putting in 83 octane versus 93 octane. I want to use race fuel on my engine.”
It’s just not as much fuel as you might expect. Eight weeks out from the Mr. Olympia (when this interview was conducted), Hadzovic says he has 15 pounds of water and fat to lose from his frame. He must eat enough to hit the gym hard while losing up to half a pound a day in the final four weeks of his prep. On this day, that’s less than 2,500 calories.
It can vary. Hadzovic has daily check-ins with his nutritionist, Kash Guidry. If Hadzovic appears flat — “which means the muscles aren’t popping,” he explains — he’ll swap out a chicken breast at one meal for a fattier filet steak. Or he’ll add 50 grams of white rice to his pre- or post-training meal. “I eat the same 15 foods all year,” Hadzovic quips. “I’m constantly in this meditative state where it’s normal to eat a high protein meal every two hours; it’s normal to drink two gallons of water daily; it’s normal to do 45 minutes of intense cardio.”
Sadik’s Diet
Meal 1:
8 Egg Whites, 1 yolk
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup blueberries
It’s all about eggs for Hadzovic to start the day. Eggs are a complete protein, delivering all the amino acids your body needs.
Meal 2:
7 oz Chicken breast
7 oz Red potatoes
Chicken breast is one of the most revered protein sources there is. Hadzovic adds red potatoes to the mix to insert some complex carbs into his diet as well.
Meal 3:
7 oz chicken breast
6 oz cooked jasmine rice
Yes, it’s more chicken breast and carbs. The jasmine rice mixes thing up for Hadzovic’s palette. Also note that Hadzovic isn’t afraid of white rice.
Meal 4:
Protein Shake
Hadzovic has just finished his workout as he downs his fourth “meal”, a classic protein shake. He’s replenishing protein into his body post-workout – and very soon he’ll have his largest meal.
Meal 5:
8 oz 96/4 Beef
5 oz cooked jasmine rice
Hadzovic now downs six ounces of beef. This is his third different protein source of the day, too (after eggs and chicken), a diverse approach that helps keep his whole nutrient profile balanced.
Meal 6:
8 Egg Whites, 1 Yolk
1 tbsp almond butter
And here’s the final meal. Hadzovic started the day with eggs, and he ends the same way. But now, as he wraps up his day full of eating, he skips the carbs and instead swallows some almond butter, his lone dose of fats. (The rest of his fat intake was mostly from his protein sources).
Calories: 2,111
Protein: 251 grams
Carbs: 154 grams
Fat: 47 grams
The Wrap-Up
You don’t need to be a professional bodybuilder to snatch some solid takeaways from Hadzovic. To build muscle, what you do doesn’t matter as much as the intention behind what you’re doing. Train hard and strive to do a little more each time.
Getting in shape doesn’t call for the level of dietary discipline Hadzovic adheres to year-round. If you want to lose a little body fat, you must create a caloric deficit and stick with it for a few months. When you want to build muscle, add a few hundred clean calories and stick to that for a few months to bulk up.
Consistency is the key. After all, Hadzovic may be nearing the peak of his aesthetic potential, but it took him well over a decade to get there.
W.H. Sharpe is a Colorado native who resides in Vermont—the only East Coast state that appeases his passion for skiing. His other hobbies include hiking with his dog and putting his pizza stone to use. W.H. writes about health, training, and nutrition.
