Preparing for Future Nuclear Fallout — Eddie Hall’s Home Gym Bunker Is Worth $1 Million

In early July 2025, the 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Eddie Hall welcomed close friend and four-time WSM Brian Shaw to tour Hall’s dedicated training facility. Hall walked through his basement setup, sharing how he integrates training, recovery, and family life into this $1 million wellness hub, featuring state-of-the-art technology, pools, and more.

Hall will face fellow Strongman Robert Oberst at the Strongest Arm on Earth armwrestling contest on Aug. 15, 2025, alongside the Strongest Man on Earth (SMoE) contest, promoted by Shaw within the 2025 Shaw Classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4AFtpHjgX8&ab_channel=SHAWSTRENGTH

Recovery Chamber

One of the first highlights of the tour is Hall’s hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a tool in his recovery regimen. The ability to recover determines how quickly one makes strength gains, builds muscle, and improves performance.

Oxygen therapy (HBOT) has demonstrated a range of healing benefits, including targeting hypoxemia, inflammation, and oxidative stress, which negatively impact physical and mental performance. (1) 

“An hour in this is the same as having 12 hours outside of normal recovery time,” Hall explained. “It feels like your body has slept for 12 hours.”

Shaw, who owns a hyperbaric chamber, added, “It’s incredible.” Hall uses the chamber between his two daily training sessions.

Hall’s Special Machine Weaponry

One of Hall’s secret weapons is his plate-loaded machines, many from Hammer Strength. “This is a lot of the kit that I used just to train to win WSM,” he revealed.

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Hall’s shoulder press machine can load up to seven plates per side. “I believe it’s one of the best builders for shoulder power.”

Hall credited leg presses as “the secret foundation to [his] deadlift.” In 2016, Hall became the first to deadlift 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds). Leg press stability allows for any implement’s heaviest loading potential and is Hall’s go-to deadlift cue:

Leg press the earth away from you.

—Eddie Hall

Therapeutic Arsenal

Hall’s recovery toolkit features a high-tech lineup of red light therapy, shockwave therapy, cryotherapy chamber, and electrical stimulation. (2)(3)(4)(5)

The Backyard Spa

The recovery experience continues with a 12-meter swimming pool, infrared sauna, and hot and cold plunge tubs. Swimming is an excellent, low-impact, joint-friendly active recovery method.

Swimming is big in my recovery.

—Eddie Hall

Cold therapy may reduce inflammation and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies and 3,177 subjects found various benefits for the body and mind. However, more research is needed on the long-term effects of cold immersion therapy. (6)(7)

Repetitive cold immersion could also impair muscle growth, one paper revealed. (8)

Vitamin D Sunbed

There is a full-body UVB/UVA sunbed in the spa room. Living in the UK, Hall noted that, “Vitamin D levels drop massively… supplementing is great, but the most efficient and natural way is through light.” 

Sun exposure promotes natural vitamin D synthesis, which benefits bone health and immune function. (9) However, experimental findings suggest vitamin D supplements raise vitamin D levels more effectively than casual sun exposure, though sunlight may be important for sleep, mood, immune health, and cancer prevention. (10)(11) 

A Private Health & Performance Fortress

Hall’s underground facility is designed for a healthy, injury-free lifestyle. “It’s the only way we can live a life,” Hall said. “Access [at home] is such a massive asset.”

Plans are even underway for a nuclear bunker gym, Hall revealed, “You have to have a gym if you’re staying underground for a month.”

More Strongman Content

• Why Mitchell Hooper Missed His First Podium In 3 Years: “Strongman Makes You Less Athletic”
• Get Strong by Training for 30 Minutes Every Day
• 14-Year-Old Bubba Pritchett Deadlifts 600 Pounds in Training

References 

1. Patel SH, Joseph JJ, Gandhi TR, Mehta A, Shah A. A Review of Emerging Evidence and Clinical Applications of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. J Intensive Care Med. 2025 Mar;40(3):341-351. doi: 10.1177/08850666241313136. Epub 2025 Jan 15. PMID: 39814353.
2. Leal-Junior EC, Vanin AA, Miranda EF, de Carvalho Pde T, Dal Corso S, Bjordal JM. Effect of phototherapy (low-level laser therapy and light-emitting diode therapy) on exercise performance and markers of exercise recovery: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci. 2015 Feb;30(2):925-39. doi: 10.1007/s10103-013-1465-4. Epub 2013 Nov 19. PMID: 24249354.
3. Aguirra P, do Nascimento AP, Casonatto J, Ribeiro AS, Pacagnelli FL, de Oliveira RG, Aguiar AF. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the acute effects of photobiomodulation therapy on the maximum number of repetitions in resistance exercise in young adults. Lasers Med Sci. 2025 Apr 10;40(1):184. doi: 10.1007/s10103-025-04441-8. PMID: 40205065.
4. Zissler A, Steinbacher P, Zimmermann R, Pittner S, Stoiber W, Bathke AC, Sänger AM. Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Accelerates Regeneration After Acute Skeletal Muscle Injury. Am J Sports Med. 2017 Mar;45(3):676-684. doi: 10.1177/0363546516668622. Epub 2016 Oct 13. PMID: 27729321.
5. Notarnicola A, Covelli I, Maccagnano G, Marvulli R, Mastromauro L, Ianieri G, Boodhoo S, Turitto A, Petruzzella L, Farì G, Bianchi FP, Tafuri S, Moretti B. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy on muscle tissue: the effects on healthy athletes. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2018 Jan-Feb;32(1):185-193. PMID: 29504386.
6. Cain, T., Brinsley, J., Bennett, H., Nelson, M., Maher, C., & Singh, B. (2025). Effects of cold-water immersion on health and wellbeing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 20(1), e0317615. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317615
7. Almahayni, O., & Hammond, L. (2024). Does the Wim Hof Method have a beneficial impact on physiological and psychological outcomes in healthy and non-healthy participants? A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 19(3), e0286933. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286933
8. Fuchs CJ, Kouw IWK, Churchward-Venne TA, Smeets JSJ, Senden JM, Lichtenbelt WDVM, Verdijk LB, van Loon LJC. Postexercise cooling impairs muscle protein synthesis rates in recreational athletes. J Physiol. 2020 Feb;598(4):755-772. doi: 10.1113/JP278996. Epub 2019 Dec 29. PMID: 31788800; PMCID: PMC7028023.
9. Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6 Suppl):1678S-88S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1678S. PMID: 15585788.
10. Moradi S, Shahdadian F, Mohammadi H, Rouhani MH. A comparison of the effect of supplementation and sunlight exposure on serum vitamin D and parathyroid hormone: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2020;60(11):1881-1889. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2019.1611538. Epub 2019 May 20. PMID: 31107101.
11. Mendes MM, Hart KH, Williams EL, Mendis J, Lanham-New SA, Botelho PB. Vitamin D Supplementation and Sunlight Exposure on Serum Vitamin D Concentrations in 2 Parallel, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trials. J Nutr. 2021 Oct 1;151(10):3137-3150. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab209. PMID: 34255034.

Featured image: @eddiehallwsm on Instagram