Hafthor Bjornsson, the 2018 World’s Strongest Man champion, is known for eating a lot of calories per day during training. He has shared his 8,000 calorie training diet which utilizes the vertical diet developed by bodybuilder, strength athlete, and Bjornsson’s nutrition coach, Stan Efferding.
In preparation for the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic taking place this weekend in Columbus Ohio, an event Bjornsson has won the last two years in a row, the six foot nine, four hundred plus pound strongman has increased his daily intake to 10,000 calories per day.
He walks us through his full day of eating in a video on his YouTube Channel which you can check out below:
[Related: Watch the BarBend team attempt to eat Hafthor Bjornsson’s 8,000 calorie training diet.]
Meal 1 – Breakfast
The video kicks off with Bjornsson in an Ohio restaurant at 7am and a plate carrying a huge meal that consisted of:
- Six eggs
- “Dozens of bacon”
- Three slices of french toast
- Orange juice
Bjornsson explained that the increase in calories does not change the kinds of food he normally consumes.
After breakfast, Bjornsson took a vitamin stack that included:
- Omega 3
- Multivitamin
- Vitamin D
“And some other stuff, you know? All good for health.”
A common feature that Bjornsson includes throughout his routine is walking for approximately ten minutes after each meal. He feels it helps him with digestion.
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Meal 2
Meal two took place at 9:33am; two and a half hours after breakfast. It consisted of:
- Rice
- Spinach
- Bison
- Chicken Stock
- An Orange
“It doesn’t look the best, but it tastes very nice. That’s very important.”
After he finished, Bjornsson talked through his supplement stack. For this prep, he used this list of Revive supplements:
- Kidney
- Inflammation
- Liver
- Blood Pressure
Meal 3
After another ten minute walk, Bjornsson weighted himself in at 202kg/445lb. He mentioned that about seventeen weeks prior, he was closer to 178kg/392lb.
“That’s a lot. I’ve gained twenty-four kilograms. That’s just how it works for me. I always get lighter off-season. I always get heavier on-season.”
Meal three at noon included:
- Rice
- Spinach
- Bison
- Chicken Stock
- Salt
- Orange Juice
Meal 4
- Carrots
- Rice
- Steak
- Spinach
- Eggs
- Chicken Stock
Bjornsson switched up the meat for a change of pace flavor-wise and added some additional spinach. Another ten minute walk followed to help with his digestion. On that walk, he took some pictures with fans that were able to attend, then he took on meal five a few hours later.
Meal 5
“I want to talk quickly about how important rest is. I like to rest completely roughly a week out from my show. All my heavy liftings are done ten days out. I barely go to the gym. It works very well for me.”
The contents of meal five was the same as meal three with the addition of carrots. Bjornsson noted that he plans to eat the same exact meals on competition days.
“You might think it’s boring, but I absolutely love it. If I were to compare this, it’s like a large pizza with all the meats you can think of; lots of cheese. Ice cream on the side. But the good part about this food is…I’m not running to the toilet about to shit myself like I would with the pizza. That’s a good thing.”
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Meal 6
For his last meal, Bjornsson went out to dinner with friends and fellow strongman Martins Licis. At this meal Bjornsson actually did order off the menu but remained consistent with the ingredients. He had steak and potatoes on his plate and requested carrots and spinach. He indulged in a couple of chicken wings and french fries.
“One cheat meal once in a while is fine as long as you stay on track the rest of the time.”
[Related: Check out Hafthor Bjornsson and Martins Licis train legs together.]
Wrapping Up
Although Bjornsson didn’t share the macro or calorie breakdown of each meal, none of them really strayed too far off course from what he usually consumes during a prep. Assuming the cheat meal he had at the end of the video was only a one day thing as he implied, then the additional 2,000 calories is likely just from sheer volume of food.
We’ll see if all that food can help fuel “The Mountain” to a third Arnold Strongman Classic title in a row.
Feature image from Hafthor Bjornsson’s Instagram page: @thorbjornsson