Podcast Episode 26: Sadik Hadzovic on Training and Napping Like a Champ

Sadik Hadzovic: The story was about somebody...

Nick Collias: Wait, before you tell the story we should start the podcast.

Sadik: I thought we were starting. What the fuck? What the hell's going on? What kind of fucking show is this?

Nick: Hello there, everybody-

Sadik: It's crucial fucking shit.

Nick: Welcome to The Bodybuilding.com Podcast. I'm Nick. This guy over here just wandered in and started swearing at us.

Sadik: This guy just cursing. Get him out of here.

Nick: This is Heather Eastman over here.

Heather Eastman: Hello, everybody.

Nick: Anyway, this is Sadik Hadzovic. He's gonna tell us a story about protein donuts, I believe, right?

Sadik: Yeah, so what I was saying, we were actually talking about gluten-free muffins. People think that it has the word gluten free on it, that they can eat like five muffins, consecutively.

Nick: Gluten is the only bad thing in the whole world.

Sadik: Oh, yeah.

Heather: That as well and then the paleo-

Sadik: And now they have diabetes and they’re like, "But it was gluten free." Yeah, but that means it's gluten free. Doesn't mean that it's sugar free, and fat free, and you know. So, people, they have misconception of what health is. Oh, it says fat free, oh it says low calories, oh it says no artificial flavors, it must be healthy. But what doesn't it say?

Heather: Potato chips are gluten free. They're smart enough to put it right there on the bag.

Nick: Bag of sugar. Bag of sugar's gluten free.

Heather: "Bag of sugar is gluten free." There you go.

Sadik: That was a good one.

Nick: Anyway, I don't know. Do we need to introduce you? If you put the word Sadik into Google, you're the only thing that comes up these days. You've got pretty much page one, so I guess you don't even need a last name anymore.

Sadik: Listen, don't go too far into Google. I don't know what you guys might find, so-

Heather: Well actually it's funny you bring that up 'cause I googled you and found out that you are on IMDB, my favorite website other than Bodybuilding.com.

Sadik: I am? I didn't know that.

Nick: Were you in Star Wars?

Sadik: I was yeah-

Heather: “The Perfect Physique.”

Sadik: Had a major role in Star Wars. Started my acting career, but then I got demoted.

Nick: When you shave Chewbacca, this is what's underneath.

Heather: Tell me about that, 'cause I had no idea and boom, you pop up. IMDB is the first thing that pops up.

Nick: What was the movie?

Heather: It's called “The Perfect Physique,” and you made it two years ago.

Nick: Of course it is.

Sadik: “The Perfect Physique” man, yeah. Well “The Perfect Physique,” let me tell you about that movie. It was a movie I did not want to do, okay? It was a movie I did not want to do, but they paid me well, and I agreed to it four months ahead of time. Then three months passes, two months, next thing you know I'm one hour from my flight. I'm like, "I do not want to go." The reason I did not want to go, think about Real World with a bunch of dudes living in a house with their shirts off, and you're not allowed to leave the house.

Pretty much I'm around a bunch of jacked, tan, oiled-up dudes all day looking at yourself like, "Bro, your biceps." "Nah, look at your biceps." I'm like, "Yo, this is a movie? This is a movie." It was a documentary about fitness competitors and fitness models, and they put us all in the house. It was like 10 of us. Only like seven or eight of us made it onto camera, but met some really cool people. Some of those guys I really looked up to, and it was interesting…

Nick: Any fights break out or anything like that?

Sadik: The producer said, so there was like 10 guys. The producer came up to me on the last day of the show and she's like, "Sadik, I couldn't break you." And I said, "Oh, yeah?" I said, "What does that mean?" She's like, "Everyone I got to cry on camera, but you were the one guy that I hadn't been able to crack." Like, her goal, her personal goal was to make me cry on camera. I said, "You're gonna try and make me cry? You know what kind of masculine man I am?" I’m won’t even cry like…

Nick: …just tears rolling down pecs. That's what they're looking for.

Sadik: Believe it or not when I watch Forrest Gump or Lion King I do cry, but I'm not gonna cry because of fitness. You're not gonna get me on camera talking and crying.

Heather: There's no crying in fitness.

Sadik: Yeah. My diet is so hard. Let me cry. But no, you know what, it's actually… I didn't want to do it but we shot it like two and a half years ago and to this day I still get fans across the world. They're like, "Hey, I saw your documentary. I didn't know who you are, and now I love you." And the number one thing I hear is, "Yo, you were the coolest guy on the show because I felt like you were being yourself."

And I was being myself. I talked about this is what I love to do, don't get me wrong, but it's hard. You know, and everyone's like, "Oh, dieting is great. I love fish, and I love asparagus, and I love doing cardio for two hours a day."

Nick: For 12 years…

Sadik: Yeah, yeah so to me I'm like, "I don't really like this all the time. I just want to get a little jacked, and feel confident and like the way I look." And people respected me for that than saying, "Oh, this is so easy. Look at my six pack." 'Cause that's not what it is.

You know, there's a misconception, when I was younger growing up I'd go on these Internet websites and magazines, and I'd be like, "Wow, these guys have a six pack all year round, they look perfect. They're lifting these weights, they're making it look easy." I'm one of the best bodybuilders in the world, that is not easy. It is not easy. Don't be fooled guys.

Heather: And yet he smiles the entire time, 'cause that's something you mention on your Facebook Live is that just because you're dieting doesn't mean you get to be grumpy.

Sadik: Well, I don't smile all the time. I am a Gemini. We talked about this earlier while we were filming downstairs. I'm a Gemini, so I'm very moody, but I'm very aware of my moods so when I'm moody I just stay to myself, you know?

Nick: Go take a nap.

Sadik: Yeah. Go take a nap, or eat something and I'm fine.

Heather: He was jealous of your sleep schedule.

Nick: I watched this Facebook Live leg workout that you did this morning, and sure it was a great workout, but the thing that stuck out is you sleep eight hours, you get up, eat breakfast, go back to sleep for two hours, get up, eat, go back to sleep again-

Heather: You're like, "What do I have to do to get that job?"

Nick: How do you do that? It's like Captain Crunch and Nyquil? Is that your breakfast, or?

Sadik: Let me tell you how I do it. I used to not be able to do it.

Nick: Oh, you learned? This is a useful skill.

Sadik: What happened was momentum. I started off a typical skinny teenager, no confidence, just wanted to gain five pounds of muscle to feel good about himself so I could do well in the world-

Nick: Five pounds to go from what to what here?

Sadik: Five pounds went to like 115 pounds really.

Nick: 110 to 115.

Sadik: So, what happened was I had a whole career in real estate, I was in college, and just having a normal life and just having fitness as a hobby. Then I started getting recognized and started getting notoriety and fame, and that's great. But then you know, I started getting paid to do what I love. And then I started being able to help my family financially, and just this last year I'd been helping my mom pay the mortgage and it feels great.

So if I could continue doing well and continue feeding my family and making their lives easier, then if I got to sleep for 10 hours instead of 6 hours, I'm gonna do it. If it's gonna make me better at the end of the day at my craft, the opportunity that I have is such a small window of opportunity that if I don't make it happen now, and if I don't give 100% instead of giving 90% and I end up never achieving what I want to achieve, it's only my fault. For what? For an extra one or two hours of sleep a night, or an extra one or two naps during the day? It doesn't make sense. The sacrifice you're making to not follow your dream, and not go 110%, it's mind boggling.

Like, I know what's right and what's wrong. What's right is to work your butt off until you're the number one guy in the world, or until you're proud of yourself, or whatever your goal is. That's what's right. Do what's right, do what's gonna make you the best, and be the best. If you have the opportunity to do it, do it.

Nick: I just love that you're talking about giving 110%, and that equals taking a nap. That's such a cool juxtaposition.

Sadik: Isn't that funny?

Heather: You're talking like-

Nick: We're not talking about doing-

Heather: I'm jealous, and you're talking about how hard it is. I'm like what are you talking about? I could take a nap right now.

Nick: He's talking about taking a nap. But that-

Sadik: It was very hard for my ... For me to understand that less is more. Listen, bodybuilding is super simple, and I blame the Internet for complicating things. Bodybuilding is simple. What do you have to do? You have to A, B, and C. Lift heavy, eat a high protein diet, and sleep and recover. That's it. If you do those for many years, you're gonna see results. If you don't do it, it's not because of the supplements, and it's not because of the gym, or you don't have the trainer, or you don't have the genetics. It's because you're not following the blueprint.

How to become the best basketball player in the world. You do 500 jump shots every day before lunch, and then before you go to sleep or eat dinner, you do 500 jump shots. Then you study videos of famous basketball players. You watch videos of Michael Jordan. It's easy. You know, just do the damn work. It's not hard. I have no genetic ... Everyone says, "Oh, it's genetic, Sadik." Oh well you know what, you were born in America, and you have money to afford protein powders, and you have this and that. We don't have the same opportunities in India, or China, or anywhere. It's not about that.

Some of the best athletes in the world come from the most… poorest countries. It's about work ethic. You have it in here, or you don't have it in here. Simple as that. If you don't have it, you're never gonna have it. Sometimes it takes you to hit rock bottom to get there. Like I talked about, I got into fitness 'cause I was so insecure. I was so insecure at one point I had zero confidence that I didn't even want to be alive. That's what forced me to change. When I looked into the mirror, I got physically sick of what I saw because I thought I was too skinny that I wanted to gag when I looked at myself without a shirt.

I knew I needed, I had two choices. I could either run from this, or accept the fact that I'm gonna be nothing, or I'm gonna put myself through some pain for one hour a day working out, and force food down my mouth two or three times a day and grow. That's what I chose to do. Like I said, right or wrong. You got the right path, or the wrong path.

Nick: Gotta be willing to suck for a while, right?

Sadik: But you know what, they see things like this. They see instant, "Oh, take this pill. I'll instantly get big. Eat this. Eat this protein donut. You could have delicious protein." Like, come on man. You want to have protein, or you want to eat a donut? Tell me what you want? You can't have both.

Nick: But you're prepping right now, too. Is that what you say in the off season too?

Sadik: No, no, no, no. I'm one of these guys, listen, when I compete, I'm 110%. But… I traveled here with one of my best friends, Mark. Mark is great 'cause every time I'm with Mark, he tells me, "Sadik, I worry about you because sometimes you're too in the zone. Sometimes you need to take a step to make two steps forward." What is he making me do this weekend? He's forcing me to go to UFC.

We're gonna go to Anaheim, we're gonna watch Shawn Jones, TeamGAT, he's gonna get his title back, but this is something I would never do unless you have good friends to push you. He's not pushing me so that I fall off my plan and my routine, he's pushing me so that I can kind of recharge my spirit and then go back to the gym Monday and hit it hard. That's what good friends are for. So… There's waves. Work extremely hard, and then take a break. Then work extremely hard, and take a break. That's what life is.

Heather: That's good.

Sadik: You know, you go 100% too long, your hobby is gonna become old, and it's gonna become stale, and you're gonna give up and it's gonna be passionless. In 2015, I was competing, and in 2015 if you compare my photos of 2015 to now, you're gonna see a huge difference. Everyone's gonna say, "What is it? Was it your trainer? Was it your training? Was it your diet? Was it the supplement change?" I said, "No, it was a matter of restoring passion and fun into what I did."

'Cause I did what I did... You know training and dieting for so long, and I was so intense that it took the fun out of what I did. When you take the fun out of what you do, it reflects in the result. So now that I love what I do again, I love weight training. So, I force myself into a new division-

Nick: I was gonna say how does that work in this, yeah?

Sadik: Yeah, I competed in Men's Physique. Men's Physique I competed, in my last Olympia appearance I was 180 pounds onstage. Pretty much I was like starving myself to compete with these guys, 'cause I'm naturally 225-

Nick: Just straining to fit in there.

Sadik: I would lose 45 pounds just to fit in and I was like, "You know what, I hate the way I look." Now I feel like I've went backwards 10 years, and I'm looking in the mirror again and my shirt doesn't fit me right, and I don't feel confident, and I don't like the way I look. I was like, "You know what, I've got to force myself to compete with the big guys. I'm gonna gain 25 pounds of muscle in a year, and I'm gonna shock the world."

That's what I did, but being able to be a little fish in a big pond has allowed me to make my passion thrive again. I like to feel like the underdog. I like to feel like I have something to strive for. Not just hey, lose five more pounds. Okay, now lose five more pounds. All right, how about I lose another five pounds. How about no? It's bodybuilding, not body subtracting. It's not bodysubtracting.com. It's bodybuilder.com man, come on.

Nick: Did you find when you made that decision that your body was just grateful and it was like all right, pile the muscle on, or were those 25 pounds a battle?

Sadik: Let me tell you this, man. If I had to do it again, I don't know if I could do it. First of all, I'm a really confident guy, but I told my best friend Gina, I was like, "Gina, I'm gonna do the classic physique division." And she's like, "Are you sure? Those guys are like really big and shredded, and you're kind of normal." I was like you know what? This is how not confident I was. I was so not confident that I was like, "I'm a good guy, and I put good energy out there and I help a lot of people. So I'm gonna have faith in God that God's gonna help me do this."

That's crazy. My goal was to gain 25 pounds, I'd be happy if I gain 10 or 12, whatever. I gained 25, boom. How'd I do it? Instead of training seven days a week, what'd I do? I forced myself to train five days a week, and two days I was thinking about the gym all day. I forced myself to sleep, I forced myself to eat more. The food and supplements are pretty much the same. I had to eat a little bit more, but it's not anything different from Men's Physique to Classic Physique. The main thing was I needed to let my body recover, whereas Men's Physique I was trying to get skinny, skinny, skinny. Lose muscle, lose muscle, lose muscle that I had to overtrain to do well. Now, I have to train less to do better, so it's crazy.

Nick: Okay, I like it. So it's that nap again. It's that nap coming back. Trainings and nap.

Heather: It's that rest and recovery.

Sadik: It's not even training. You don't have to train, you don't even have to eat. Just nap. Just nap all day, guys. That's the secret.

Heather: I have heard stories of bodybuilders who gain muscle in the week they take off. They're just like, "Hey, man I got to take a step back." And they gain-

Nick: I remember I did a couple interviews with Mark Twight who's the guy who trained all the actors for ‘300’ and some of those big movies, and the number one rule they have, they train the shit out of those guys, but they have forced curfews, 10 hours of sleep a night minimum for everybody, and when they do that, they can absolutely transform these people in short periods of time. The sleep is the answer they say. More than-

Sadik: The sleep is the answer.

Nick: More than controlling your diet, training hard, all that. More sleep is the answer they say.

Sadik: Yeah, yeah. You know, when you're in college, I remember being in college. I would be proud of myself like, "Oh, I stay up to 4 a.m. every night. I'm fine. I wake up at 7 a.m. I'm cool."

Nick: Achieving more.

Heather: Way more done that way.

Sadik: It's cool.

Nick: It was interesting watching your leg workout this morning, too, because it's kind of a relaxed atmosphere. You're doing Facebook Live, you're taking questions and stuff, but you weren't ... There was kind of a relaxed atmosphere to your training, too. It seems like you don't necessarily go in there, eatin’ chalk, bleeding, screaming…

Heather: At one point you jumped off a machine 'cause you weren't feeling it. It's almost like you just kind of, you let the iron speak to you.

Nick: It's not your standard workout video-

Sadik: Well, what you guys didn't see was after the video was done, I did 30 sets all body workout, and then I finished up with 40 minutes of medium intensity cardio. Then what you're not gonna see is, when the camera's on, the camera's on and Sadik the personality is on. But when the camera's off, you're gonna see a guy that's drooling on himself. You're gonna see a guy that's saying f-bombs, and mean face. There's a time and a place, and I'm here right now for Bodybuilding.com. I'm trying to give the best information, and trying to help as many people as I could. Get the brand awareness out, get the product awareness out, and speak to my fans and relate to them.

Believe me, you're not gonna like me if I'm in beast mode on Instagram Live. On Instagram Live I'm in beast mode, I'll be like, "Get this camera out of my face, bro. I've got Olympia to win." But if you want to see some cool training footage, go to my Instagram, and you guys will see there's not one athlete that trains harder than me. There's not one athlete that gives what I give in the gym. Nobody. And if you show me one, I will gladly tell you that you're right, but I haven't seen one yet, and I've been in the industry for 12 years. Haven't seen nobody.

Nick: One of the cool things that I thought you said down there was you were saying you've got to find your own recipe. Sort of steal a little bit from Arnold's chest, steal a little bit from how Ronnie trained legs. What's your contribution to that, if somebody's finding their recipe, what should they take from you in that?

Sadik: What should they take from me? Um, I don't know. I'm funny.

Heather: Rest. Rest and recovery.

Sadik: I don't know. Who knows, you know?

Heather: But you did, you had some really good little tips that you were throwing in there and they were just so succinct and perfect. It's treat your hamstrings like your biceps. Get that squeeze.

Sadik: Yeah, I think I have something I was born with when I'm able to communicate with people, and people are receptive to me. I could be aggressive when I want to, but I'm kind of like very approachable. People feel comfortable and they listen to me when I speak. So, if someone could take something from me, a lot of people idolize my v-taper, or my delts. When I look in the mirror I don't see any of that. I'm just a normal dude that works out all the time. I'd never even act like I have any role titles. I don't act like I'm a professional athlete. I don't see myself in that way. I see myself just as I still live at home with my mom. That's what I see myself, a normal dude, and I have goals and I have so many things I haven't achieved. I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet.

Nick: Okay, so let's approach it a different way then. When did it really start clicking for you. Between 110 and 225/235, when did you kind of say, "You know what, I think I'm kinda figuring this out?"

Sadik: All right, so I started weight training because I wanted to feel more confident. I hated the way I looked. Then I reached my goal weight of 155. I said at 155 pounds I'm gonna feel comfortable in a t-shirt where I could approach an attractive woman. Or if I'm in a job interview, I could look a man in the eyes and talk to him. It went from that quickly to, "Oh man, I like to look good when I'm out hanging out in the clubs and I can pick up chicks." Kept on working out.

Next thing you know I'm like 190 pounds, keep working out. I was avid fan of Bodybuilding.com. I would look at guys like Steve Cook and other athletes and be like, "Wow, this is so freaking cool." I remember I saw a magazine cover with Steve Cook on it, I remember I was with my girlfriend at the time and I was like, "This is so cool. I know who this guy is." It's a goal of mine to get the same front cover of the same magazine with the same photographer on the front cover. Made that happen.

Then I joined a gym, it was called Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym, because I saw a video of Kai Greene on YouTube by accident. I saw this video of Kai Greene and I was just shocked. First of all, I was watching 'cause it was so outrageous. You could see the guy has 300 pounds of muscle, it didn't even look real. I was like, "This is freaking strange. I'm into this." I started watching, and somebody told me like, "Hey, that gym that he trains at is right by your house." I was like, "No way." I was like, "I can't join there, I'm too small."

Two months later it's my birthday, they buy me a gym membership. I go there, I was approached by the owner of the gym, his name was Steve Weinberger. Steve Weinberger's the head judge at Olympia. Huge, everyone knows who he is. He's the man. He said, "Hey Sadik, you have great physique, I think you should do a bodybuilding show, you'll do great." I said, "Nah man, that's not for me. I work out to look good for myself. I'm not a showoff."

Nick: Had you been to a show at that point?

Sadik: Listen, I'd been to a show. I'd been to a show, I swear to God. I felt so strange watching these grown men in oil, and tan, in Speedos. I didn't say a word to my friend that dragged me there. When we both got in the car, I'm like this. I'm like, "I feel dirty." "Me too, bro." I was like, "I can't wait to go home and shower, this is disgusting. What the hell did I just watch?" I felt so insecure what I just watched. I thought it was the most strangest thing. Like, I'd rather see somebody eat a worm or something, or do something disgusting on Fear Factor.

I'm like, "What did I just see? What did I just witness?" I was like, "I'm never gonna be a bodybuilder. This is so bizarre."

Heather: There's definitely two camps.

Sadik: Then two weeks later, doing bicep curls in the gym again, Steve Weinberger, "Come on Sadik, I know you said no." "Nah man, that's not for me, man." He's like, "It's men's physique." I was like, "What's men's physique?" And he shows me a picture. I was like, "These guys are wearing board… surfing shorts. What the hell is this stuff?" He was like, "You'd be great in it." I was like, "Nah."

One week later he asked me again. I said no again. It wasn't until like the fourth time I was approached, but he made his wife Bev Francis who is a famous bodybuilder-

Nick: Sure, one of the greats.

Sadik: She came up to me, and I can never say no to the woman. I don't know what it is. I'm born this way. When a woman charms me, I could never say no. I was like, "All right, I'll do it." Then I'm like, "What the hell did I agree to do?" I didn't diet, I didn't do any cardio, I didn't even know I was supposed to shave my legs. I didn't even know I was supposed to tan. I got a tan the day of the show. Thank God I had money in my pocket, otherwise I didn't even know. I went on stage and got second, and I didn't even try.

I got in the car and I started laughing to myself, and I thought, I was like, "I didn't even apply myself and I beat like 30 guys who'd been taking this serious. If I learn what I'm doing, I could be the best in the world." I'd never been the best in the world at anything. I've never had that aha moment where it's like, "Wow, I'm so proud of myself. I graduated on top of my class." I'd never done anything that really gave my life so much meaning and passion and purpose. It's so strange because walking around shirtless and, "Hey look at me. Look at my six pack…" is the furthest thing from Sadik that Sadik is.

I'm not that guy. Even when I had muscles before that show and I was looking great, I would work out for me, but even at the beach I felt insecure to take off my shirt because I knew I looked good. I didn't want other people to feel uncomfortable. I didn't even want to take off my shirt because I didn't want to be that showing off guy. I worked hard and I didn't care who knew it. I know what I created underneath this shirt, and it's not about what you guys think of me, it's not about hey look at me. It's like people that love cars. They don't get cars to show off, they get cars because it's like, "Hey you know what, when I was a little boy I always dreamed of having a Ferrari. Now I have one, I'm proud of myself."

It's not, "I want a Ferrari so I can pick up chicks, and impress people, and show people how much money I have." And my body is my Ferrari. I just want to have the perfect body that I always dreamed of having when I didn't have it. Now that I have it, I'm not gonna walk around, "Hey, I'm better than you because I nap for 12 hours and I eat six meals a day, and all I do is work out." I never act like that. There's no difference between me and somebody who just started weight training. It's two people that want the same thing, that are willing to work hard, and that's what it's about. That's what this sport needs more of. It needs athletes, or fitness personalities, or role models that are preaching that.

Big deal. You're the world's best bodybuilder. Big freaking deal. What do you do? You just sleep, eat, and train. It's not like, you didn't write a book. It's easy stuff. I could've been a great doctor or lawyer, but I didn't want to do it. I could've been a firefighter, I could've been like a hockey player, but I have no passion for that.

Nick: So that was your first prep, and it was like in zero prep-

Sadik: Zero prep.

Nick: Totally positive. What was your next one like? Did you have a totally awful one after that that made you go, "What am I doing committing to this?"

Sadik: No, the next one was great, man because what I started doing was what's great these days, I could go on the Internet and I could Google something, I could go to Bodybuilding.com, and I could see what high intensity interval training is, or I could see what fasted cardio means, or I could see what L-Carnitine is, or I could see what creatine, what the benefits are.

The information is instant, and you can learn so much little by little, or go through the magazines, "Oh, this is what Kai Greene goes for his back? Let me see if I could do the same exercises and see if it's effective for me." That's what's great. Slowly but surely through trial and error I learned what worked for me and what didn't work for me.

12 years later, I'm still switching trainers, I'm still switching nutritionists and trying new supplements 'cause I'm still learning my body, and that's what is making me like really love what I do is because I'm still not at that level, and I'm still striving to be the best in the world because once you're the best in the world it's kind of like when you're on top of the mountain and then what do you do?

I love the climb, and I love the journey, and I love the thrill of chasing down these guys one by one. I'm coming after you.

Nick: That's right. You got a big Olympia coming up.

Sadik: It's just another show because Olympia's my only show. It's my only show a year, so I'm the guy that's whistling and singing backstage, and everyone's all nervous. I'm like, "Yo, this is just another day, man. This is my fifth Olympia." Many people that never even believed they could do one Olympia. I did five Olympia's. I placed, I have fourth place-

Nick: Second place.

Sadik: Two runner ups, and now a third place. The only thing that's missing, I'm not going to fifth place. I'm only going up to first place and that's it, God willing. So, and if I don't, for some strange reason-

Nick: I wasn't gonna ask you.

Sadik: Some of the best shows and experiences I ever had were when I didn't win. I could lose to another man and if I see that that other man is better than me, I'm happy that he won. If I know I'm not number one, I'm glad number one won 'cause if I would've won knowing I'm not the best, then I'm not the best, but I've gotten second place at shows where I was like, "I know I'm the best. I don't need your approval. I'm gonna go hang out with my friends and family now, eat this cheesecake and have a good time 'cause I know what I achieved."

It's not about the thing. It's not about holding this gold thing in the air. That's not the trophy. The trophy is, you know, what'd you do for those 12 weeks? Did you give 110%? Did you miss out on a workout, or were you mean to your family, your friends? Did you inspire people, or were you selfish? That's what being a champion is, I'm the champion. Every single show I do, win or lose, I'm always the guy. I'm the guy people talk about, I'm the guy that's most improved, I'm the guy that everyone loves.

"Hey, you saw that guy with the long hair and the big nose though? That guy was incredible." They don't know anybody else, but they know me, and it's really cool. It is really great. So, win or lose it's always a win for me, so I'm very happy. But hell, with all that being said, I want to freaking win.

Nick: I was gonna say-

Heather: I was gonna say, everybody wants to win. No, it's a-

Sadik: Believe me, I want to win, and I cannot wait to win.

Heather: It's a sport where you're judged against everyone else, but really you're competing with yourself, and that sounds like that's the attitude-

Sadik: It's so cliché. Everyone thinks I'm lying when I say it. I'm like, "No, it's the truth." 'Cause once I start thinking about my opponents, I stop thinking about myself, and I don't see. I'm only focused on them. They're throwing you off your game. Focus on yourself, man. Focus on yourself.

Nick: Awesome.

Heather: Wise words, absolutely.

Nick: Yeah, I think that's a good message to end it on. Best of luck, we'll be watching-

Sadik: We're at it already? I'm just getting started, bro. What the hell?

Nick: Well, you've got another five workouts tomorrow and then we can talk after that.

Heather: There you go, we can do podcast number two.

Nick: Yeah, exactly.

Sadik: Wow, okay cool. You guys didn't dig deep. I thought you guys were gonna get personal.

Heather: Oh, we're gonna ask all the, you know…

Sadik: Tell us about when your daddy hit you?

Heather: We're gonna make you cry. If she couldn't break you in what, eight weeks spending all that time with those guys, how are we gonna break you in 30 minutes?

Sadik: I know, I know.

Nick: Olympia's the one that breaks. So when you win the Arnold nobody cries, but when you win the Olympia, you cry.

Heather: When you win the Olympia? That's when we will ... We will be there for those tears.

Sadik: I am not crying. When I win two or three times consecutively I will never cry. I promise you.

Nick: Not a tear at the Olympia.

Sadik: Come on, bro.

Nick: All right.

Sadik: But if you put on Lion King, I'm gonna cry.

Nick: They'll play the Lion King music as you walk out to accept the-

Sadik: Mufasa! Oh no! It is a sad movie, Disney.

Nick: Why'd you do that? Why'd you do that to Sadik?

Sadik: Seriously, man. I know you're trying to teach me a lesson, but still. I got street cred.

Heather: All right, we will hold you two that then.

Sadik: Yeah, I'm not crying. You crazy?

Nick: There might be a gif in there somewhere if you're doing that.

Sadik: Come on, dude. Crying 'cause I won. Are you crazy?

Nick: All right, Sadik, thanks for coming to talk to us.

Sadik: Thank you, brother.

Heather Eastman: Yes, thank you.

Sadik Hadzovic: Thank you so much.

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