We have seen many a strongman eat an absurdly large number of calories in a day. Whether it be a routine day of eating as part of their training regimen, a cheat meal, or a literal challenge of gluttony, these often 300 to 400-plus pound athletes have big appetites.
We’ve seen 2018 World Strongest Man (WSM) champion Hafthor Bjornsson eat 10,000 calories in a training day, 4-time WSM champion Brian Shaw eat 15,000 calories in a training day, we even saw Robert Oberst eat a 12,000 calorie barbecue cheat meal and wash it down with an apple pie. Even when these strongmen with titanic appetites are aiming to drop weight, they still sometimes consume 6,000 calories in a day like 2017 WSM Eddie Hall.
American log lift record holder Rob Kearney decided it was time to get in on the action a few days ago when he decided to challenge himself to 8,000 calories of ice cream at a nearby Friendly’s. In what amounted to a joyous endeavor turned slog, Kearney was ultimately successful — if we can call it that — in consuming a sundae called “The Crowd Pleaser” consisting of:
- 15 scoops of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, coffee) covered in:
- Cherries
- Whip cream
- Reese’s Cups
- Cookie dough
- KitKats
- Sprinkles
- Hot fudge
Not bad for his first of what may be many eating challenges to come. Check out Kearney take down the whole entree plate sized sundae below via his YouTube channel:
[Related: What Does the ‘World’s Strongest Gay’ Eat? – Rob Kearney’s Strongman Diet]
A challenge of this caloric magnitude is not normally in Kearney’s wheelhouse. As often one of the smaller strongmen in competition by weight, the 2019 Arnold Australia Strongman champion admits that his normal training diet is usually in the 5,000 calorie range. A mountain of solid creamy decadence would prove a challenge.
As he was nearing the final scoops, Kearney was not feeling so hot:
I feel like I’m going to be rolling around on the ground like a beached whale later.
A good lesson learned for future ice cream challenges (although it may be a while before dessert is back on the eating challenge menu for Kearney), hot fudge becomes harder to get down as it cools. At the end of it all, after the entire 8,000 calorie plate was wiped clean, Kearney shared his thoughts:
That was bad. I don’t even know what to say.
Kearney revised his statement about doing future eating challenges: he will wait to see how this one performs for his YouTube channel before tackling the next one. It is safe to assume that if/when the next eating challenge rolls around, it will be a bit more savory than sweet.
Feature image from Rob Kearney’s YouTube Channel.
