The Mountain from Game of Thrones, or as his parents call him Hafthor Bjornsson, is in the midst of training for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Arnold Classic” in order to maintain his current title as “Europe’s Strongest Man.” You’ve seen him throw 1,000 pound refrigerators across the room like it was NBD and you’ve seen him obliterate a world record keg toss, but did you know the guy used to be, and I quote, “a skinny lil’ bitch” according to Matt Keohan?
That’s right – The Mountain wasn’t always The Mountain, and it’s because of the intense fitness routine that he follows that he’s been able to become the incredibly imposing figure we all know him as today. According to Daily Mail, said fitness routine is almost as intimidating as Bjornsson himself:
The 6’7” star, who weighs 190kg, eats every two hours, six to eight times a day, to make sure he consumes 10,000 calories daily.
10,000 calories! TEN. THOUSAND. CALORIES. That’s like, 10 meals at McDonald’s or two solid colon-busting cheese bombs from Olive Garden.
But he doesn’t stop there:
A typical breakfast may include 100 grams of oatmeal, eight eggs, some blueberries and some strawberries.
‘It’s very, very extreme how much food I need to put in to my body,’ he admits.
‘It’s a lot of work. More work than people realise.’
Thor abides by a gruelling daily exercise schedule – three hours in the gym followed by more time stretching, then hot and cold baths to cool his body down so he can train more.
‘It’s a lot of weights, a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, a lot of blood and a lot of time,’ he says.(via)
Don’t get all hyped at the prospect of downing 10,000 calories a day and turning into your own version of The Mountain though – Bjornsson says that tasks people like you and I take for granted have become somewhat of a struggle for him:
Everyday tasks, like fitting into a regular car, finding shoes that fit – he is a size 15 – and a sturdy chair to sit on, all prove a challenge.
‘If they’re not strong enough, you can break them,’ he told AAP.(via)
Then again, about 1/3rd of America’s population is also big enough that they can break chairs without ever having to set foot in a gym, although being over 400 pounds of muscle versus 400 pounds of fat are two clearly different ends of the spectrum.
[H/T Daily Mail]