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Bodybuilding

Check Out the Arm Workout Samson Dauda Used Before His 2023 Arnold Classic Win

The "Nigerian Lion" used his last training day for an arm pump.

Written by Phil Blechman
Last updated on March 10th, 2023

The 2023 Arnold Classic crowned a first-time champion in Samson Dauda on March 4, 2023, in Columbus, OH. The decision by the judges was a nailbiter between the “Nigerian Lion” and runner-up Nick Walker.

The commentary team covering the Men’s Open at the Arnold Classic was torn on who brought the better package between the top two athletes but agreed that it could have gone either way. The judges on the day felt Dauda brought a better physique.

On March 9, 2023, Dauda published to his YouTube channel a video that displayed his final arm workout before pre-judging on March 3, 2023. Check out that video below, followed by a breakdown of his arm routine:

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Dauda’s Arm Workout One Day Before 2023 Arnold Classic

While the number of sets and reps was not disclosed in the video, the exercises performed by Dauda are below:

For the preacher curls, Dauda’s coach Milos Sarcev placed the weight plate on the highest weight-sleeve on the machine. That meant more tension was applied to the biceps at peak contraction, training the biceps heavier in their shortened position.

Sarcev moved the weight plate to lower weight sleeves after 10 or so reps. While this appears akin to a drop set, the weight distribution throughout the set biases the biceps throughout their different ranges — shortened, midrange, and lengthened.

Without rest, Dauda superset the preacher curls with triceps pushdowns. The machine used appeared to have a narrow grip compared to Dauda’s wider frame, which compelled him to let his elbows flare outward. This wasn’t disruptive to his form, however, as the intention in triceps pushdowns is to achieve as much elbow flexion as possible to put the emphasis of the concentric on the triceps as opposed to the chest or front delts.

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The third movement was a repetition of the first, except with weight evenly distributed along all three points of range. In a similar drop set fashion, after 10 or so reps, the bottom weight plate was removed, followed by the top weight plate, and then Dauda took the weight in the midrange to failure.
 
Another working set on the triceps pushdown machine finished the superset before hitting single-arm dumbbell hammer curls. For the curls, Dauda sat on a weight bench with a back pad rather than perform the reps standing. Sitting with a back pad offered Dauda more stability to keep the load entirely on the biceps and not allow any body language to influence the movement.
 
The hammer curls were superset with triceps extensions. For the first set of extensions, Dauda used a narrow grip attachment before switching to rope for the subsequent sets.
 

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On to the 2023 Olympia

Although not everyone agreed with Dauda’s victory at the 2023 Arnold Classic, including 1983 Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout, the scorecards stand. Aside from the $300,000 check that accompanied Dauda’s victory, the biggest prize was a qualification for the 2023 Olympia contest on Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.

As Dauda just ranked higher than the 2022 Mr. Olympia bronze medalist (Walker), we’ll see if he can further improve his physique to oust reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan to claim the most coveted title in bodybuilding.

Featured image: @samson__dauda on Instagram