It is no secret that strongmen diets are very calorically dense. From 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Hafthor Bjornsson’s 10,000 calorie vertical diet to 4-time WSM champion Brian Shaw’s 15,000 calorie diet, these 400+lb athletes need to consume a lot of food to grow. Even when not training for strongman, 2017 WSM champion Eddie Hall eats 6,000 calories per day.
Given that these diets have such high calorie counts, there is a sense of intrigue about what an elite strongman’s cheat meal looks like. For non-strongman, like actor Terry Crews, cheat meals consist of 5,000 calories (we tried it ourselves, it’s quite difficult). For strongman, it might be eating over 4lb of sushi, gorging on 200 burgers in one sitting, or housing a 7lb burrito for time.
For WSM competitor Robert Oberst, a cheat meal is going head-to-head with 12,000 calories of Texas barbecue.
Oberst took to his YouTube channel to share a cheat meal done strongman-style. Alongside former Mr. Olympia physique competitor Jason Poston, the “Strong and Pretty” strongman sat down at Tender Smokehouse BBQ for a meal of ribs (both beef and pork), brisket, chicken, Frito mac and cheese with jalapeños and brisket, a bunch of Texas toast, and pickles for garnish. It stacked up to 8lb of meat. Check it all out below:
[Related: What does the ‘World’s Strongest Gay’ eat? – Rob Kearney’s strongman diet]
The highlight of the meal for Oberst was a tomahawk rib. Similar to a tomahawk steak, it is a huge slab of beef on the bone.
This is the one rib I needed. We ordered all these and I was like nah, I want this one.
If it sounds like a lot of food, that’s because it is. But the 6’7, 410lb Oberst was confident that he would have zero issues eating it all.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to eat all this no problem, not even going to slow down.
They started with the Frito pie before Oberst went to work on the tomahawk rib. Poston had to count his macros and pace his intake as he is a Type 1 diabetic, but in his own words looking across the table, “that’s the biggest rib I’ve ever seen”. For Oberst — the former American log lift record holder — a single day’s worth of protein ranges around 800 grams. That’s about 2g of protein per pound of bodyweight.
[Related: Intermittent fasting for bodybuilders — should you do it?]
The video skips the majority of them eating the meal beyond the first few bites, but when it cuts back, all the food is gone and both men seem to feel great. Oberst even closes out the meal with an apple pie.
I think [we’ll] probably go get something to eat after we get done here.
Feature image via Robert Oberst’s YouTube channel.
