Coach Milos Sarcev and Samson Dauda are feeling extra confident less than three months from the biggest show of the year. In a recent IFBB AMA YouTube video, Sarcev and Dauda discussed injuries, training habits, his rate of progression, being a humble champion, and back improvements for the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest.
Standing tall with beautiful structure and aesthetics, Samson Dauda fought his way to the top of the Men’s Open class show after show. In 2022, he enjoyed a breakout season that saw him pick up a pair of fourth-place finishes at the 2022 Arnold Classic and Boston Pro. Even though he was unable to reach the podium in both events, fans, and veterans of the sport acknowledged with more conditioning in the future, he’d have very few weaknesses.
At his first Mr. Olympia gathering in 2022, Dauda was placed next to Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay during prejudging and gave the then-reigning two-time champion a run for his money. Ultimately, Dauda secured sixth place, one spot behind Ramy but sent shockwaves through the community following the performance.
Dauda wasted no time after Olympia. He bet on himself at the 2023 Arnold Classic, where he battled with Andrew Jacked and Nick Walker for $300,000. It was close, but ‘The Nigerian Lion’s’ shape and structure clinched him the win. In light of his success, Dauda and Milos Sarcev can already visualize the Sandow trophy, but first, they will have to bring up his back density and width if they want a shot at gold.
Samson Dauda Talks 2023 Mr. Olympia Progress, Sarcev Says He’s Training like Ronnie Coleman
According to Sarcev, the only factor that could stop Samson Dauda from success is an injury. He added that he worries about Dauda when he’s pushing the limits of his weight.
“The only thing that could stop him at this time is an injury. And you know, that’s why you don’t take a risk. You see, put yourself in Samson’s position, he’s this close to be Mr. Olympia. To be forever and ever one of the guys. That’s his potential. Even me sometimes I’m thinking, ‘Is Samson going to go to the gym?’ I just want that one little extra. Believe me Samson, I have these nightmares all the time, of course. You were 330 pounds of powerhouse, right?” says Milos Sarcev.
Sarcev compared Samson’s training methods to Ronnie Coleman‘s because he lifts heavy weights but ‘manages all the way through’ the movement. Above all else, Dauda says he focuses on lifting as much weight as possible in a safe manner.
“Samson, I mean, he didn’t do a single sloppy move [in training]. That comes to when I was questioning Ronnie Coleman if you knew then what you know now, would you go lighter? He says, ‘Hell no, that was light for me.’ That’s how I look at it for Samson. He is managing the weight and squeezing all the way though,” explained Sarcev.
“Every single chest workout [for the Arnold] that was basically the routine I did. So week after week, I was so massive, I was like okay, how can I still get to the maximum strength that I can push safely? Even though, yeah, I could probably go heavier but for me to get the maximum benefit from the exercise, that was the maximum that I can do safely,” shared Samson Dauda.
Looking back on the last few years, Dauda has been blown away with his progression, which he largely credits Milos Sarcev for.
“Milos sort of said to me, ‘Look, I’ve sort of seen the way your body responds. I really think in the off-season I can put 30 pounds on you.’ I sort of laugh it off because coaches always say they’re going to do this and going to do that. It’s sort of just words. But then we have our first off-season and literally I’m exploding faster than I can even wrap my mind around.
At that point I was like 300 pounds just in the off-season, that whole – it wasn’t even the off-season it was like months. We blew up to 330 pounds,” added Dauda. “I’m thinking at some point it’s got to stop, I’m thinking it has to shut down and every week I step on the scale, it goes up again, it goes up again. And it just carried on that way, it’s almost – it actually starts to frighten you, yourself.”
Sarcev underlined that Dauda is a humble champion in a selfish sport like bodybuilding.
“Samson is a humble champion. You know, he’s not one of those me me me me right? There is that fine line between confidence and arrogance,” said Sarcev. “Bruce Lee said it the best, I’m never going to say that I’m number one, but I never going to accept I’m number two.”
Thus far, Samson Dauda said he’s injury-free. He mentioned that he switches exercises from the off-season to contest prep because he’s more flexible and mobile when he’s not pushing 330 pounds.
“That’s one thing I’ve always been lucky with. I didn’t have that. I think the only probably part is the lower back pumps were crazy. But in terms of joints or anything, they are completely fine. We never really have any joint problems or anything like that anywhere. But yeah, I think I’ve always sort of been fortunate to not have injuries like that anywhere,” shared Dauda.
“I alternate exercises from prep to off-season where in the off-season I have way less mobility. Things like pull-ups, I’ll do that in prep but I can’t, good luck doing that at 330 pounds plus. It’s a lot different.”
“This year it’s been completely different, this year, it’s been like okay I just fill out. This is me now.”
In addition to acquiring mass, Sarcev mentioned that Dauda is working on the way in which he displays his back during different poses.
“The improvements have been made in all the right places. First, he needed to widen his shoulders. Now he’s scary. The video you put a few days ago on Instagram, that most muscular and breaking into the new one, it looked like you grew three inches on each side right? Then, we are building up the back because now he is criticized that yeah for the Olympia, the level of the championship physique, you have to improve the back. The back has improved leaps and bounds already. Now we are widening and widening,” added Sarcev.
“It’s also about positioning and presenting and pulling out [the back]. Sometimes you can hit the pose and you just didn’t do your physique a favor.”
“We looked at the pose and looked at the pictures and the way we hit my shots from the back. We made adjustments based on that picture. What you [Samson Dauda] tend to do, you dont’ open your rhomboid all the way,” shared Dauda.
Aside from heavy training, Samson Dauda has kept fans updated on his progress before his sophomore Olympia appearance. Dauda has offered insight into his nutrition and diet plans in the lead-up to the event.
In addition, Dauda has sharpened his skills on stage by taking part in a number of guest posings. Back in May, he joined Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker, Hunter Labrada, and Shaun Clarida at the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro weekend.
Entering Olympia with hype from winning the Arnold Classic, Samson Dauda plans to bring the perfect combination of mass, symmetry, and conditioning in November. Should he perform at his best, he’ll have the opportunity to take the title from the reigning champion Hadi Choopan.
RELATED: Milos Sarcev Talks Weaknesses of Samson Dauda and Nick Walker 3 Months from 2023 Olympia
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