If you want to be strong as f**k then you better eat big.
And there’s no one bigger or stronger on the entire planet than American strongman Brian Shaw.
The 6ft 8ins monster is a three-time World’s Strongest Man winner – and unsurprisingly his diet is huge.
Shaw, who took the 2011, 2013 and 2015 strongman world titles, did a fascinating YouTube Q&A with fans about what he eats and how much.
If you’re looking to pack on some size, get stronger or challenge him at the next WSM then he’s got some great tips.
How hard and often he trains dictates how much he eats – if he’s putting his body through hell with some monstrous weights then he will eat more calories to help him recover from the battering in the gym.
His calories fluctuate depending on his training volume. He listens to his body and if he feels tired and beat up from heavy lifting he will increase his food intake.
The 400lb man mountain says this can vary from 6,000 calories when he’s eating cleaner right up to 9,000 or 10,000 when he’s lifting heavy weights and preparing with a competition.
Shaw used to drink up to a gallon of milk a day (that’s 8 pints and nearly 3,000 calories in total) but now he has cut dairy from his diet. The reason? It causes inflammation to his body and he doesn’t perform well with it.
The 34-year-old US behemoth gets through 4lbs of prime grass-fed beef in a day at a cost of £20. That’s what he spends every single day, just on steak
Shaw reckons he shells out nearly £200 a week on his diet. That’s £10,000 worth of food over the course of a year.
As well as organic beef, Shaw also gets protein from lean white fish as well as salmon, which is full of omega 3 fatty acids which are beneficial to the joints of a guy that lifts obscene weights.
He also throws in some chicken and turkey to ensure he gets his protein from a diverse sources (to get a full range of different amino acid profiles – the building blocks of muscle).
He looks to at least get 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight every day (so 400g) up to 1.5g (600g) over six to eight meals a day.
“Eating is a job,” he says, “and that’s how I approach it. if I’m not eating enough and if I’m not eating the right foods. I’m not going to recover from training.
“Getting in enough calories is very important to me and it’s part of what I do every single day.”
We’re amazed he even finds time to train between meals…
