The advent of the internet is hugely responsible for the changing standards of a good physique. Fitness entities and bodybuilders these days carry a physique so impressive that many teenagers join the ‘dark side’ at a very young and vulnerable age. One such example of this is none other than the bodybuilding sensation Sam Sulek.
The 21-year-old bodybuilder and fitness creator has been in the limelight for quite a while now. With an immense following of over a million people on Instagram, Sam Sulek has inspired countless individuals in a very short span of time. But why is the fitness world currently divided into two sides? Why are many bodybuilding veterans bashing Sam Sulek and expressing their pity towards him? Let’s take a look.
Who is Sam Sulek?
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Sulek has been a physically active kid since his childhood years. With a long and successful record as a diver and a gymnast, Sulek took up lifting in his teenage years and fell in love with ‘getting big.’ However, the obsession was so intense that he is believed to be on abusive dosages of steroids at the moment, contributing to his humongous size and unreal strength that motivates many from the fitness world. However, the reason behind his getting criticized by influencers and bodybuilding veterans is also his unorthodox training and dieting style.
Sam Sulek’s diet and training methods
Sulek frequently shares his diet and training ideologies in his YouTube videos in an attempt to help his subscribers. However, some of the methods that he preaches go against the general fitness-related rules. Even though many modern bodybuilders rely on the concept of flexible dieting, Sulek is believed to take it too far, especially with his bulking diet. Reacting to his full day of eating, IFBB Pro Greg Doucette stated, “just ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch, two liters of chocolate milk, two liters of milk! Burgers, fries, donuts, and nothing but junk.”
The actual video saw Sulek sipping two litres of chocolate milk, followed by several packs of cereal for his lunch, and donuts for his dinner. This infuriated Doucette and many other fitness creators, who reacted to his diet and called him out for his poor dietary choices. Sulek, who is believed to have body dysmorphia, tends to go on a huge surplus when he is bulking, resulting in increased strength in the gym. However, his training methods also received a decent amount of criticism from several entities.
Even though Sulek has not admitted to his steroid usage, the unbelievable amount of muscle mass that he carries at such a low body fat percentage has led to speculations regarding him being on abusive dosages of steroids. Sulek, who is a proud ‘ego-lifter,’ and believes in partial reps for the most growth possible, also has severe acne-related problems which make people wonder if he is really natural. YouTuber Paris Demers gave his take on this and said, “He followed a poorly-constructed diet plan, made up of sugary and processed food.”
The TikTok sensation actually went viral initially for his unbelievable lifts in the gym. However, Athlean-X tends to believe that Sulek is like the Brock Lesnar of bodybuilding. He said, “You could do every single thing Brock Lesnar did and never be Brock Lesnar.” However, he added to this by pointing out that Sulek sometimes relies on a really short range of motion which is “outrageous” to witness.
Doucette also believes there are countless loopholes in Sulek’s training, especially when he goes on a cut. In one of his videos, Sulek confessed that he thinks stair master is too hard, reacting to this, Greg said, “He’s 100 percent wrong, the only reason he thinks the StairMaster is too hard is because he’s going at too quick of a pace.” He added to this by pointing out that he has reduced his calories so much that cardio would be problematic for him.
The hype about Sulek has been increasing so much that even five-time Classic Physique champion and Mr. Olympia competitor Urs Kalecinski discussed the teenager recently during their training session together. However, amidst all the criticisms, there are a few people who are standing with Sulek too.
Bodybuilding legends come to Sulek’s rescue
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Even though Sulek has been receiving criticism from many in the fitness industry, former IFBB Pro Lee Priest posted a video a while back on his Instagram and called out people making videos of him. “You C*nts Are Just Making Videos to Get Views From His Clout,” Priest pointed out. He further admitted in the video that during his teenage years, even Priest had a poor diet and still made a significant amount of progress because he was consistent with his training. “Can’t believe people are still going on about what he eats etc unbelievable,” Lee said.
Another prominent bodybuilder who took Sulek’s side was none other than Seth Feroce. The American bodybuilder who was one of the first people on YouTube to start the concept of ‘Natty Or Not,’ pointed out that Sulek is still a young kid who is figuring out and learning. He asked the viewers and fellow creators to not be so critical of him and to let him enjoy.
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Despite the criticisms that Sulek has been receiving, he tried to stay away from it as much as possible and never replied to any of it. Sulek appears to be fully focused on himself and seems unaffected by any words that are said about him. It is his humble nature and raw content that attracts viewers and makes his content relatable. What are your views on Sam Sulek? Let us know in the comments.
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