Sam Sulek made his pro debut at the 2026 Arnold and made an impressive showing just one year out from earning his IFBB Pro Card, but the social media star is hoping to bring a harder, leaner, physique to the 2026 Arnold UK after cracking the top ten in Columbus, and he says his pre-contest food consumption is one of the first things that he will tweak.
“For the Arnold, Columbus, the goal was to do better than the Arnold, Columbus of last year,” explained Sulek on March 8, regarding the hopes around his transition from amateur to pro. “Which I think I achieved for me. I definitely had kind of a cooler, harder look,” he added. “There was a couple of side-by-side shots, especially side triceps. There was a picture that somebody made where they kinda combined last year’s Sam versus this year’s Sam. ‘Yeah, I did a pretty job,’” he concluded.
Sam Sulek Plans Leaner Physique for Arnold UK
Sulek said that looking at the comparison shots, he felt that he’d hit his goal of making his physique look more akin to the professional division. And the results bear him out too, because the new pro achieved eighth place, beating established contenders like Paul Kanu and Hang Nui, and looking comfortable on stage against the overall winner, Wesley Vissers.
Inside Sam Sulek’s 10,000-Calorie Carb-Loading Day
Still, with the Arnold UK just days away, Sulek’s thoughts have now shifted to his next competition, and the bodybuilder told his YouTube followers that the plan is to run it back, but this time present an even fuller, leaner, and harder look. “How am I going to do that?” asked Sulek, rhetorically. “Well, treats are officially off the menu,” he explained. “There was certainly kind of a wild carb up day, as far as show day, in terms of total calorie intake.”
While “carbing-up” is an essential part of presenting a fuller physique on stage and can increase muscle glycogen stores by up to twice their normal resting level, it is advised that the carb loading phase should include foods that are unlikely to cause digestion issues leading to inflammation and even bloating. Those who saw Sulek’s vlog on the day of Arnold pre-judging will know that the big man was seriously testing his digestive tract, however, and he explained that on the day before pre-judging, he had eaten a whopping 10,000 calories, including 2,265 grams of carbs and 129 grams of fat. Sulek revealed that much of this came from ultra-processed foods like McDonald’s, hardly helping with a clean bulk. “So, we’re back on the deficit, cardio back in the mix,” he explained of the strategy leading up to his pro debut in the UK. Like all athletes, the big man is in a constant process of trial and error, but he appears to be learning through experience, and we can’t wait to see the package that Sam Sulek presents in Birmingham at the Arnold UK, taking place March 27 to 29, 2026.
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