Sam Sulek is one of the most talked-about physiques in bodybuilding, famous for his old-school aesthetic, freakish size, and unapologetically high-volume approach. His rise to millions of YouTube subscribers came not from polished production but from raw, unfiltered gym footage that made serious lifters take notice.
This article breaks down Sam Sulek's complete workout routine in 2026. You get his full training split, AM and PM session structure, exact exercises with sets and reps, and the supplements he uses to fuel twice-daily training.
Sam trains almost every day with no scheduled rest days, running a 4-day rotating bodybuilding split paired with daily morning cardio. His philosophy is brutally simple: show up, train hard, eat big, and repeat.
Training Philosophy
Sam Sulek's training philosophy strips everything back to its core: show up every day, train with maximum effort, and let consistency do the rest. He does not follow a strict periodized program or obsess over optimization.
He trains by feel, but that feel is almost always all-out.
His approach mirrors the golden-era bodybuilders he grew up watching. Volume is high, intensity is higher, and rest days happen only when the body demands them.
"I'm not reinventing the wheel. I just show up and I go hard every single time.
That's really it."
Sam trains to failure on the vast majority of his sets, consistently pushing past the point where most lifters stop. He stays in the 8 to 12 rep range for most exercises, with a slow, controlled eccentric on every movement to maximize time under tension.
He is also one of the few prominent bodybuilders who publicly champions daily cardio. Low-intensity steady-state cardio on a stationary bike every morning is a non-negotiable part of his routine, separate from his lifting sessions by at least three to four hours.
Weekly Training Split
Sam uses a 4-day rotating split with no fixed weekly schedule. He trains the days in order and cycles through without rest days unless he genuinely needs one.
Each day targets a specific muscle group, and his AM session is always cardio while his PM session is the main weight training block.
| Day | AM Session | PM Session |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 30 min stationary bike (LISS) | Chest and Side Delts |
| Day 2 | 30 min stationary bike (LISS) | Back and Rear Delts |
| Day 3 | 30 min stationary bike (LISS) | Arms (Biceps and Triceps) |
| Day 4 | 30 min stationary bike (LISS) | Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Calves) |
| Rest | As needed (no fixed schedule) | Active recovery or full rest |
Day 1: Chest and Side Delts
Sam's chest sessions lead with incline movements to build upper chest thickness before moving to isolation work for the pump. He uses both dumbbells and cables to hit the muscle from multiple angles, always chasing a deep stretch and peak contraction.
Side delt work follows chest to round out the shoulder width that defines his classic physique look. Cable lateral raises and machine work dominate this portion of the session.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 8-12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 3 | 8-12 |
| Pec Deck Machine Flyes | 4 | 10-15 |
| Low Cable Flyes (cross-body) | 3 | 12-15 |
| Cable Lateral Raises | 4 | 12-15 |
| Machine Lateral Raises | 3 | 12-15 |
Day 2: Back and Rear Delts
Back day is built around vertical and horizontal pulling movements to develop both width and thickness. Sam prioritizes a strong mind-muscle connection on all pulling exercises, avoiding the tendency to use momentum at heavy weights.
Rear delts receive dedicated volume at the end of the session, trained with cables and reverse flyes to balance shoulder development front to back.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Lat Pulldown (wide grip) | 4 | 8-12 |
| Seated Cable Row (close grip) | 4 | 8-12 |
| Single-Arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Machine Row (chest-supported) | 3 | 10-12 |
| Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown | 3 | 12-15 |
| Rear Delt Cable Flyes | 4 | 12-15 |
| Reverse Pec Deck | 3 | 12-15 |
Day 3: Arms (Biceps and Triceps)
Arm day is arguably Sam's most popular content on YouTube, with his deliberate, slow-tempo execution drawing widespread attention. He starts with triceps using cable pushdowns, then moves to biceps with EZ bar and dumbbell curls before alternating between both muscle groups for the pump.
His technique on curls is distinctive: slow eccentric, a one-second hold at peak contraction, and full range of motion on every rep. He does not sacrifice form for weight.
"The pump is real. You can feel when you're doing it right.
Slow it down and actually feel the muscle working."
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Cable Tricep Pushdown (rope) | 4 | 10-12 |
| Overhead Cable Tricep Extension | 3 | 10-12 |
| Tricep Dips (machine or parallel bars) | 3 | 10-15 |
| EZ Bar Curl (slow eccentric) | 4 | 10-12 |
| Barbell Bicep Curl | 4 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable Curl (for peak contraction) | 3 | 12-15 |
Day 4: Legs
Sam's leg sessions target quads, hamstrings, and calves with a combination of compound movements and isolation work. He is a strong advocate of leg extensions and leg curls as foundational leg exercises, praising their ability to isolate the target muscle without the technical demands of heavy squatting.
Squats and leg press provide the compound stimulus, while leg extensions and curls finish each muscle group with targeted volume. Calves are trained at the end with high reps to drive blood into the muscle.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension (warm-up sets) | 3 | 15-20 |
| Barbell Back Squat | 4 | 8-12 |
| Leg Press | 4 | 10-15 |
| Leg Extension (working sets) | 4 | 10-15 |
| Lying Leg Curl | 4 | 10-12 |
| Seated Leg Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 15-20 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3 | 15-20 |
Pre-Workout Protocol
Sam front-loads his pre-workout nutrition heavily. He eats a high-carbohydrate meal at least three to four hours before his weight session, typically targeting 400 or more grams of carbohydrates to ensure his glycogen stores are fully topped off.
His pre-workout fuel is not always conventional. Whole milk, cereal, fast food, and carb-dense snacks all appear in his pre-training meals because his primary goal is caloric density and fast fuel, not clean eating aesthetics.
"You have to eat. You cannot train like this on empty.
The food is what makes the session possible."
On the supplement side, Sam uses a pre-workout, creatine, and electrolytes before his sessions. Hydration is a priority: he starts every morning with at least one liter of water mixed with a full electrolyte packet before any cardio begins.
Post-Workout Recovery
Sam's post-workout approach prioritizes getting nutrition in fast after training. He targets a high-protein, high-carbohydrate meal immediately after his session to kickstart muscle protein synthesis and replenish glycogen used during training.
He regularly logs 7,000 or more calories per day during his building phases, which means post-workout meals are large and not necessarily clean. Muscle growth at his level requires a surplus, and he does not overthink the food sources.
Sleep is the most underrated part of his recovery. Sam consistently prioritizes sleep to allow the volume he accumulates each week to translate into actual muscle tissue growth.
Fish oil is a daily recovery staple. He takes four to five capsules per day specifically to protect his joints from the accumulated stress of near-daily heavy lifting across multiple sessions.
Sam Sulek's Workout Supplements
Sam keeps his supplement stack practical and focused on the fundamentals. He publicly recommends creatine above all else, followed by a handful of basics that support performance, recovery, and joint health at his training volume.
The System
Sam Sulek's system is not complicated. It is consistent, high-effort, and built around the fundamentals that have produced elite physiques for decades: train every muscle hard, eat enough food, sleep well, and repeat without overthinking the small details.
The twice-daily structure is the foundation. Morning cardio on the stationary bike primes his metabolism and burns calories without impacting his strength for the PM lifting session.
Three to four hours of separation ensures each session gets maximum effort.
The 4-day rotating split means no muscle group waits too long before it gets hit again. Because there are no fixed rest days, the split cycles continuously, and the frequency adds up faster than a traditional 7-day weekly plan.
High volume combined with training to failure is the growth stimulus. Sam regularly accumulates 20 or more total sets per muscle group across a session.
He keeps rest periods short enough to maintain the pump but long enough to generate real strength on his working sets.
"Volume is how you grow. You can't be afraid of the work.
More sets, more reps, more sessions. That's the job."
The eating strategy completes the system. Sam does not restrict food choices or follow a rigid meal plan.
His goal is caloric surplus, and he hits it consistently at 7,000 or more calories per day during his building phases, with carbohydrates making up a large portion of his total intake to fuel his training volume.
The simplicity is the point. Sam's physique is a direct result of doing the unglamorous work consistently at a very high level, day after day, without distraction from trend-chasing or program-hopping.
Explore Similar Routines
Sam Sulek's high-volume, old-school approach shares DNA with some of the greatest bodybuilding physiques ever built. If his training philosophy resonates with you, these routines are worth exploring next.
- Chris Bumstead's Workout Routine. Classic physique champion with a refined, aesthetic-focused training split
- David Laid's Workout Routine. Evidence-based training from one of YouTube's most respected natural physiques
- Sam Sulek's Supplement List. The full breakdown of every supplement Sam uses and recommends
- Arnold Schwarzenegger's Workout Routine. The original high-volume, twice-daily bodybuilding blueprint that Sam draws inspiration from
- Phil Heath's Workout Routine. Seven-time Mr. Olympia's precision approach to building a complete physique
Around the core fuel, Sam keeps it simple: BCAAs and glutamine to feed the muscle through long, grueling sessions, plus a full electrolyte packet in at least a liter of water every morning before cardio to stay hydrated through high-volume training.