When you do a Google Search for “strongest soldier” you will see a ton of results that include 1st Sgt Diamond Ott. The soldier with the 1st Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood is also a fitness trainer. Obviously, we don’t know if Diamond is, in fact, the strongest soldier in the world, but his workout highlight reel is impressive as hell.
Ott has not only been an inspiration to his fellow soldiers looking to get stronger, but also civilian bodybuilders. Ott’s Instagram account boasts more than 400,000 followers. Diamond’s training program focuses on building muscle and isolation, but it definitely is not your average cross-fit workout routine. His rigorous workout regimen places an emphasis on building strength, endurance, and agility.
The 37-year-old soldier from American Samoa gave an interview to Men’s Health where he explained how he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and weighed 155 pounds, he has since added 25 pounds of solid muscle.
Diamond’s advice on ditching fat is to “assess your diet, eliminate the worst foods—soda, fried stuff, processed carbs. But take it slowly. Cut one thing every few weeks. Don’t be too strict. And keep training.” Ott does cardio three times a week and every week is different. He switches it up with activities such as a 3.5-mile tempo, sprinting drills, and cohesion run. For upper-body workouts, he recommends pushup drills, pullups, overhead lifts with med balls and sandbags.
To build your core you should do the dragon flag. This exercise popularized by Bruce Lee and later used by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV has you lie on your back with your arms holding something sturdy and you raise your knees to your chest, lift your lower back up, and bend your legs to the ceiling.
If you don’t have the time for a workout session at the gym, Diamond has a 15-minute workout: “Do 2 pushups, shuffle to the right on your hands and feet, and do 2 more pushups. Shuffle back to the left; do 2 more pushups. Jump up and do 2 tuck jumps (raise your knees high). Bear-crawl 10 feet. Repeat.”
Diamond helps soldiers train to be soldiers. “As a certified fitness trainer, I welcomed the advent of the new Army Physical Readiness Training program because of its ability to effectively tailor fitness exercises to soldiers of any body composition type, age and, gender,” said Ott. Diamond says the hardest part about starting a fitness program is showing up. Check out this incredible fitness highlight video from Diamond Ott and you decide if he is the strongest soldier in the world.