Sadik Hadzovic

Bodybuilder, Fitness Model

As a child growing up in a war-torn country, Sadik Hadzovic idolized his comic book heroes and hoped one day to create his own dream physique. By the time Sadik turned 28, he successfully won numerous high-profile competitions and secured his place at the top of the industry.

However, it hasn’t always been easy for Sadik and his family as they fled their home country as refugees, he still managed to shock the world with his awesome physique and impressive competitive history.

This is his story:

“I became a beast to rid myself the pain of being a man”

Athlete Statistics

“My biggest accomplishments are winning 3 IFBB Pro League titles and qualifying for the Mr. Olympia 2 consecutive years in a row”

Accomplishments

• 2011 NPC Eastern USA Championships – 3rd
• 2012 NPC Metropolitan Championships – 1st
• 2012 NPC Metropolitan Championships – 1st
• 2012 NPC Junior USA Championships Men’s Physique Division – 2nd Class B
• 2012 NPC Junior National Championships – 1st
• 2012 IFBB Greater Gulf States Pro – 2nd
• 2012 IFBB Orange County Muscle Classic – 2nd
• 2012 IFBB Valenti Gold Cup Pro – 1st
• 2013 IFBB New York Pro – 1st
• 2013 IFBB Olympia Weekend – 4th
• 2014 IFBB PBW Tampa Pro – 1st
• 2014 IFBB Olympia Weekend – 2nd
• 2015 IFBB Arnold Sports Festival – 1st
• 2015 IFBB Olympia weekend – 2nd

“I always have been fascinated by the physiques in comic books and action figures that I played with as a child. Since a young age, I knew how I wanted to look like, and I wanted to resemble those action figures, comic book characters, and superheroes.”

Biography

Early Years

Born in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sadik Hadzovic experienced a tough childhood. His family moved to America as refugees, in an attempt to find a better life. Young Sadik was forced into the unknown.

In the big apple, New York, he was brought up with a strict no-nonsense mentality. His parents were very hard working, and they instilled the same work ethic in Sadik as a child.

It was this drive and determination to succeed, that led him onto the path of fitness.

Start of the Fitness Journey

From an early age, Sadik found comfort in weight training, using the gym as an outlet for any frustrations or bumps in the road he experienced. He began to notice his confidence would boost whenever he exercised. However, being an underweight kid, he thought it was impossible to pack on muscle.

Growing up, most of his idols were superheroes, and he secretly desired to look like them. It was at the age of 15, in 2002, Sadik started to become unhappy with the way he looked, his skinny frame and lack of muscles began to reduce his confidence. 

He stepped up his training, doing hundreds of bicep curls and push-ups. He began working relentlessly to build a superhero body.

“I always envisioned myself with a well built, superhero like body and after looking in the mirror one day, I said NOW IS THE TIME”

Sadik after winning the Arnold Sports Festival

Early Mistakes

For the next few years, Sadik continued to work hard in the gym, slowly progressing towards his goal. But he noticed that his efforts in the gym weren’t paying off.

Determined to look like his heroes, he took a step back and analyzed where he was going wrong. Through a lack of patience, he found that he wasn’t paying attention to his diet –  force feeding himself 2,000 calorie meals a day wasn’t doing the job. Sadik knew he had to educate himself on nutrition and step up his game if he wanted to attain his dream physique.

Progress and First Competition

After eating more frequently with smaller meals, and tracking his macros, he began to see some serious results. Finally, he was on the way to realizing his ambition. For the next decade, he continued to train rigorously to pack on the extra muscle.

By the age of 24, after years of hard graft, he developed a formidable physique and a passion for fitness. He was proud of how far he’d come, and was keen to see where his journey would take him. He set his sights on becoming a professional bodybuilder.

Moving away from his initial goal of looking like his comic-book heroes, he set his sights on becoming a professional bodybuilder. It wasn’t long until he stepped on stage as a competitor.

In 2011, he entered his first competition, the NPC Eastern USA Championship. Although he didn’t win, he stood on the podium and finished a respectable 3rd place. He came out with valuable experience and met many like-minded athletes. This inspired him to train even harder and come back stronger and bigger than before.

Sadik was more motivated than ever to succeed in the industry.

Sadik on stage at the NPC Eastern USA Championship.

Success and Pro Card

After having a taste of competing, Sadik was hungry for more. Through intense training, he continued to sculpt an impressive body, never taking any days off from the gym. He gained the nickname “The Physique”, after being appreciated for sculpting a muscular body with such a tight waist. He was on the way to constructing a frame that the golden age of bodybuilding would be proud of.

A year later, he entered the 2012 NPC Metropolitan Championships. He took home his first trophy after placing 1st. But he was only getting started.

That same year, he entered three more shows and walked away with two more victories. He quickly became one of the most promising young up-comers in the industry. After placing second in the 2012 NPC Junior USA Championships Men’s Physique Division, he was able to enter the Junior National Championships.

Although he was up against tough competition, with the likes of Anton Antipov fighting for the gold, Sadik’s winning streak continued. He became the 2012 NPC Junior National Champion. It was at this point that Sadik finally realized he’d made his goal and made his lifelong dream into a reality.

At the age of 25, Sadik had won his Pro Card, fulfilling his ambition of becoming a professional bodybuilder.

An IFBB Athlete

Sadik wasted no time in entering more competitions, he wanted to keep his momentum going strong. He aimed to carry his success into the pro divisions – and that’s exactly what he did.

He placed 2nd in his first professional competition, the 2012 IFBB Greater Gulf States Pro. This was an incredible achievement for “The Physique”, he gained more recognition with every show that he entered.

Among these competitions was a victory in the 2015 Arnold Sports Festival and a few 2nd places in the Mr. Olympia competition. This was the culmination of hard work and patience. After spending his childhood aspiring to be like his heroes, he had begun to inspire others to reach their own dreams.

Since 2015, Sadik’s gained a reputation for his kindness, using any spare time to give advice to young athletes online and sharing his passion for fitness.

“My greatest weakness is not being able to take a day off. I love the gym to much. I am in the gym a minimum of 365 days a year. Not even injuries can keep me from exercising and weight training”

Training

Sadik has always trained with heavy weights and a higher rep range. He believes that this kind of training has been the key to him packing on muscle while staying lean.

Being an ectomorph, he noticed that steady state cardio gave him a flat look. Instead, he trains with HIIT for cardio – 1-minute sprints followed by 1-minute intervals, for 30 minutes per session.

Unlike other bodybuilders, Sadik doesn’t take any days off from the gym. He trains hard all-year-round, always working towards being the best.

“What is off season? I take pride in being top condition 365 days a year. Being both a fitness model and mens physique competitor its important for me to always be ready and in shape”

Workout Plan:

Monday: Back

• Deadlifts 5×11-13
• Lat Pull Downs 4×11-13
• Bent Over Barbell Rows 4×11-13
• Underhand Pull Ups 3×11-13
• Seated Cable Rows 4×11-13
• Overhand Pull Ups 1 set to failure

Tuesday: Chest

• Incline Dumbbell Fly’s 4×11-13
• Incline Barbell Bench Press 5×11-13
• Machine Fly’s 4×11-13
• Bench Press 5×11-13
• Cable Fly’s 3×11-13
• Decline Machine Press 4×11-13
• Push Ups 1 set to failure

Wednesday: Cardio

• Interval Sprints (1 minute rest, 1 minute sprint for 5 sets)

Thursday: Legs

• Leg Press 5×11-13
• Leg Extensions 5×11-13
• Lying Leg Curl 5×11-13
• Donkey Calf Raises 6×11-13
• Squats 4×11-13
• Walking Lunges to failure

Friday: Arms

• Seated Preacher Curls 4×11-13
• French Curls (on decline) 5×11-13
• Standing Hammer Curls 4×11-13
• Tricep Pushdowns 5×11-13
• Heavy Barbell Curl 3×11-13
• Seated Overhead Tricep Extensions 3×11-13

Saturday: Abs

• Cable Crunches 4×11-13
• Arm & Leg Raises With Exercise Ball 4×11-13
• Alternating Leg Ups 4×11-13
• Running Plank 4×11-13
• Torso Twist with Medicine Ball 4×11-13
• Alternating Toe Touches 4×11-13
• Hanging Leg Raises 1 set to failure

Sunday: Shoulders

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5×11-13
• Seated Dumbbell Side Raises 5×11-13
• Seated Dumbbell Front Raises 3×11-13
• Barbell Shrugs 4×11-13
• Barbell Standing Military Press 4×11-13
• Standing Dumbbell Arnold Presses 3×11-13

“I didn’t start seeing mass gains till I realized the importance of eating clean and frequently”

Nutrition

Interestingly, Sadik usually stays away from dairy products as he follows the paleo diet all-year-round. He eats around 2,500-2,750 calories per day to maintain his physique, at a ratio of 2:1 protein to carbs. He keeps his proteins and fats up, as he believes this is the best for his body.

Unlike other bodybuilders, Sadik’s more loose with his diet and allows himself two cheat meals, instead of the typical one meal. His favorite foods to eat are pizza and sushi.

Sadik has a fairly limited list of foods he can eat on the paleo diet: Egg whites, bison steaks, tilapia fish, tuna fish, salmon, lean turkey breast, nuts, and all types of vegetables.

Diet Plan:

• Meal 1: 1/2 lb. of Lean Chicken or Turkey or 8-10 Egg Whites, with 1/2 a cup of Oats
• Meal 2: 1/2 lb. of Red Meat & 1 cup of White Rice
• Meal 3: 1/2 lb. of Fish & a large Potato
• Meal 4: Protein Shake
• Meal 5: 1/2 lb. of Fish, with Asparagus or Broccoli
• Meal 6: 1/2 Lean Protein Chicken or Turkey or 8-10 Egg Whites, with some Egg Yolks or Almonds

Supplements Stack:

• Whey Protein
• Yohimbine
• L-Carnitine
• Glutamine
• Creatine
• Fish Oils
• Multivitamins

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“My motivation comes from all the people I have inspired to exercise”

Idols and Influences

Sadik has had many influences during his career, with many other athletes pushing him on to be the best.

“I am fortunate enough to train at a gym where many of the top bodybuilders train and I pull alot of inspiration from watching these athletes train”

However, he considers the Austrian Oak, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as his main influence. He looks up to him for taking bodybuilding into the mainstream.

Sadik also admires Dorian Yates for his high-intensity workouts and Sergio Olivia for achieving one of the greatest V-tapers in history.

“My ultimate goal is to help others realize the importance of exercising and adopting a healthy lifestyle”

What can we learn from Sadik Hadzovic

Hadik has taught us that you shouldn’t sit back and dream about your ambitions. During his childhood, he wanted to build a physique like his superheroes, and it wasn’t until he entered the gym that he began to fulfill his passion.

If we can learn anything from Sadik, it’s that hard work leads to success. His intense training never stops, as he works out every day of the year – it’s this kind of work ethic that had allowed him to attain an incredible physique.