Who Is Amit Sapir?
Israel’s Tel Aviv is home to IFBB Pro bodybuilder and Olympic powerlifter Amit Sapir. He is a well-known athlete who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and has since participated in bodybuilding and squat contests all around the world.
Short Career Of Amit Sapir
Amit Sapir claims he was a skinny youngster growing up who couldn’t find the perfect routine to make gains, despite being an Olympian now and being well-known for his commitment to weightlifting.
At age 16, he decided to start lifting high weights for himself after being motivated by the powerlifters at his gym.
He was recruited by the Israeli Olympic team after making significant advancements in the Tel Aviv powerlifting scene.
Sadly, he sustained an injury that prevented him from winning a medal in 2004, but he choose to pursue a career as a Canadian bodybuilder instead.
In the present, Amit has established himself as a squatting record-breaker. He placed third in a professional physique competition, but he is renowned internationally for simultaneously breaking four different squat records. Here is Amit’s narrative:
Every powerlifter who wants to squat heavily should be able to look at my name in the record books and say, “This a**hole made it very difficult for us to get here,” when I retire.
Body Measurements of Amit Sapir
| Full Name: | Amit Sapir |
| DATE OF BIRTH: | 20 February 1982 |
| ERA: | 2000 |
| PROFESSION: | IFBB Professional Bodybuilder, Olympic Powerlifter, Sponsored Athlete |
| NATIONALITY: | Israeli |
| AGE: | 40 |
| HEIGHT: | 5’7″ (170cm) |
| WEIGHT: | 215 to 225 lbs (93.0 – 102.1kg) |
Accomplishments
- Olympic Athlete
- All-time world squat record at 766 pounds
Competitions
- 2005 IFBB World Amateur Championships WelterWeight, Did not place
- 2006 IFBB European Amateur Championships WelterWeight, 8th
- 2006 IFBB World Amateur Championships WelterWeight
- 2007 IFBB World Amateur Championships Light-MiddleWeight, 12th
- 2008 IFBB European Amateur Championships Light-MiddleWeight, 5th
- 2009 IFBB European Amateur Championships MiddleWeight, 4th
- 2010 IFBB Detroit Pro Championships, 15th
- 2010 IFBB Sacramento Pro Championships, 16th
- 2011 IFBB Sacramento Pro Championships, 9th
- 2011 IFBB Toronto Pro Invitational LightWeight, 3rd
- 2011s IFBB Mr. Olympia LightWeight, 12th
Biography
Beginnings of Bodybuilding
Israel’s Tel Aviv is where Amit spent his formative years. He says that despite his early interest in exercise, he spent the majority of his youth as a “pencil-thin” boy from the “shallow end of the bodybuilding gene pool.”
He says he began exercising in his teens and “bounced about from program to program looking for the secret” when he was 16 years old. For young Amit, taking this path didn’t provide any observable outcomes; instead, he merely remained perplexed.
He claims that despite feeling upset with his lack of development, he never considered giving up.
He started to participate in internet forums where people discussed weightlifting and bodybuilding technique because he was confident that hard work would help him achieve his objectives.
Amit Sapir read everything he could from these forums and researched healthy eating and exercise. He also succeeded in locating a capable trainer who assisted him in developing his body to the point where becoming a pro was a possibility.
Olympic Preparation Training
Amit developed a strong body and studied exercises like the squat as he developed his passion for lifting high weights. At his gym, he observed powerlifters working out, and their enthusiasm for their sport immediately drew him in.
Amit Sapir decided to make “powerlifting” his sport on that day. He started going to the gym frequently to get in shape for powerlifting and master the skills required to get to the professional level. After years of training and improvement in the gym, the Israeli Olympic weightlifting team noticed his potential and scouted him.
Amit was enlisted around the same time to serve a three-year term in the Israeli military.
While some nations might have allowed the Olympian to train for both the Olympics and the military at the same time, Israel insisted that he do both. Amit lacked the assistance he need as a result of the Olympic program’s appalling underfunding.
He had to combine his military training and his workouts, but he still succeeded in getting into the 69kg division in Athens. He participated despite suffering a serious shoulder injury before leaving for the competition, however, he didn’t place.
“I nevertheless went because I had to do it. It’s the Olympics, after all, right?
Arriving in Canada
In 2004, as soon as Amit got back from Athens, he was taken to the hospital. He was informed that the only way to fix his shoulder was through surgery, which would require an 18-month hiatus from lifting. Amit declined to have the procedure done as a result.
He needed to find another means to stay in the gym at this point because he was nearing the end of his professional powerlifting career and was severely hurt.
Then he decided to employ his weightlifting abilities to develop the body of his dreams. He turned to bodybuilding.
Amit believed that Canada would be the best country in which to start his career and learn the ropes.
The nation possessed everything Amit could desire, as well as everything Israel lacked, including qualified bodybuilding coaches. He purchased a one-way flight and pursued his ideals.
Choosing a Mentor
Through an internet forum question and answer thread, Amit got in touch with his first bodybuilding coach.
Amit was aware of Christian Thibaudeau’s expertise in bodybuilding because he was a well-known coach who contributed to the well-liked Iron Magazine in the late 1990s. After exchanging messages on the website, Christian decided to give Amit a free coaching session.
“I’m sure all the questions I asked him still give him nightmares,”
Amit had to start over in the bodybuilding world even though he was an Olympian. Amit had exceptional deadlift and squat strength, but he fell far short of professional standards in bench presses and curls.
Because Olympic lifters don’t bench press, he claimed, “I could hardly do a plate on either side. You know, what the hell is that?
Increasing His Effort
Amit started to see enormous changes as he gradually focused on his toughest workouts. His aesthetic proportions improved as a result of a significant improvement in his bench press in particular. Now was the time, he and his coach agreed, to pursue the Pro-Card.
When Amit finished eighth at the IFBB European Amateur Championships in 2006, he turned professional. He fought until 2011 as a professional, and he managed to place third once, which gave him great satisfaction.
Amit’s goals for his post-bodybuilding career included the world squat record. He squatted 821 pounds in the 220-pound class to achieve his goal of simultaneously holding the squat record in four different weight classes.
He was able to reach 804 pounds in the 198-pound division in 2016 and then increased to 828 pounds in the 242 class three months later.
Training
Continuity & Intensity
Amit Sapir typically prefers to lift as much weight as he can, selecting the 1–5 rep range for each set to challenge himself.
Although he claims to like this method, he thinks that because it doesn’t result in the muscle growth needed at the top levels, it probably isn’t the ideal option for bodybuilding.
He tries different strategies as a result. Amit also adds high rep sets like super sets and drop sets in addition to the 1 to 5 rep range.
These sets are what he refers to as his “intensifier,” which he employs to push a muscle to a greater degree of exhaustion.
Movement Compounds
Amit also emphasizes compound motions in his workout. To become “as strong as possible,” he inserts as much weight as he can into the bar or machine. He typically begins his sessions with the hardest barbell motions before switching to the machines.
Training For Competitions
His exercise regimen is “extremely specific” while he is getting ready to pose for competitions. He offers a nine to ten-day cycle in which powerlifting is done three days per cycle. He sets aside three days for each exercise: one for the squat, one for the deadlift, and one for the bench press.
Routine
Day 1 Legs
- Deadlift from Floor, 8 drop sets (8,6,4,3,2 reps)
- Kneeling Hamstring Curl, 5 sets 6-8 reps
- Barbell Lunge, 4 sets 6-8 reps
- Lying Leg Curl, 5 sets 8-10 reps
- Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlift, 4 sets 10 reps
Day 2 Chest
- Incline barbell press, 7 sets 4-6 reps
- Low incline dumbbell flyes, 5 sets 8-10 reps
- Wide chest hammer press, 4 sets 6-10 reps
- Weighted dip, 3 sets 8-10 reps
Day 3 OFF
Day 4 Back
- Weighted chin-up, 8 sets 4-8 reps
- High row hammer strength, 4 sets 8-10 reps
- Bent over barbell row, 4 sets 6-8 reps
- T-bar row, 3 sets 6-8 reps
- One-arm dumbbell row, 3 sets 8-10 reps
Day 5 Shoulders
- Seated behind the neck press, 6 sets 4-8 reps
- Smith machine front press 3 sets 6-8 reps
- Standing dumbbell lateral raise 4 sets 8-10 reps
- Upright barbell row, 3 sets 6-10 reps
- Bent over dumbbell raise, 4 sets 8-10 reps
Day 6 OFF
Day 7 Quads
- Front squat, 8 sets 4-8 reps
- Back squat, 4 sets 4-8 reps
- Hack squat/leg press, 3 sets 8-10 reps
- Barbell lunge, 4 sets 8-10 reps
- Leg Extension, 3 sets 10-12 reps
Day 8 Arms
- Close-Grip Bench Press, 6 sets 4-8 reps
- Dumbbell Skull Crusher, 4 sets 8-10 reps
- Weighted Dip (narrow grip), 4 sets 6-10 reps
- Rope Pushdown, 4 sets 8-10 reps
- Standing Barbell Curl, 6 sets 8-10 reps
- Standing Hammer Curl, 4 sets 6-10 reps
- Seated Dumbbell Curl, 3 sets 8-10 reps
- Seated Concentration Dumbbell Curl, 3 sets 8-10 reps
Day 9 & 10 OFF
Nutrition
Diet for Powerlifting
Amit monitors his calorie intake to maintain a healthy weight. However, powerlifting requires him to consume a lot of calories, therefore he consumes a wide range of protein and fat foods like lean meats and nuts.
He can meet his weekly and daily macronutrient requirements by eating these items.
What Amit Sapir Can Teach Us?
Amit Sapir has demonstrated how significant progress may be made despite obstacles. A severe shoulder injury ended his chances of competing in the Olympics.
He decided to overcome the injury and pursue a career as a professional bodybuilder. He has now returned to powerlifting and has won squat competitions.
If you experience a setback in your quest for fitness, it could be helpful to see the setback as an invitation to take a different course of action, much like Amit did.