[@RenaissancePeriodization] Exercise Scientist Critiques EXTREEME Strongman Diets (Unsafe?)

Link: https://youtu.be/0jP-p1ouCwo

Short Summary

Number One Takeaway:

Strongmen need to prioritize eating a sufficient quantity of healthy foods with high protein, carbs, and fats to maintain their size and strength, but they can still incorporate enjoyable "junk" foods in moderation to avoid burnout and maintain consistent eating habits.

Executive Summary:

The video analyzes the diets of several strongmen, highlighting the massive calorie intake and macro breakdowns required to maintain their size and strength. While their diets primarily consist of nutritious foods, they also incorporate less healthy "fun" foods to make the process sustainable. The key is to eat mostly healthy foods with higher levels of protein, a very nutritious diet and small amounts of junk food for an active lifestyle.

Key Quotes

Here are four quotes from the transcript that I found particularly insightful or interesting:

1. "Almost every strongman is going to find their best performance to be at a body weight that is heavier than what they're naturally inclined to just eat and train at. So almost every strong man is going to have to stuff themselves a little bit in their eating to get that body weight to where it's supposed to be..." This highlights the significant and sometimes uncomfortable commitment to food intake required for elite strongman performance.

2. "To be a good strong man, you have to be able to stay at your body weight. And that body weight's usually preposterously high. And so you have to combine what you need to eat with what you like to eat so that you don't just stop eating your food cuz it's disgusting." This emphasizes the psychological aspect of strongman dieting, acknowledging the importance of incorporating enjoyable foods to maintain the necessary caloric intake.

3. "A lot of what you'll find today is logistics around eating enough food, but for me, eating enough food that actually goes to something useful." This quote directly addresses the challenge of not just eating a lot, but ensuring that the massive caloric intake actually contributes to performance and muscle growth.

4. "Yeah, I don't actually need this much, and maybe I should make a change. Yeah, that's Yeah, that's why I put this in here. It's really" This demonstrates that even elite athletes, who are already at the pinnacle of their sport, can benefit from critically analyzing their nutrition and being open to adjustments.

Detailed Summary

Okay, here's a detailed summary of the YouTube video transcript, broken down into bullet points:

Key Topics:

• Strongman Dieting: The video analyzes the diets of professional strongmen (Mitchell Hooper, Eddie Hall, Hafthor Bjornsson), focusing on their caloric intake, macronutrient ratios, and food choices.
• Nutritional Needs of Strongmen: It examines why strongmen need to eat such large quantities of food, the importance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats for their performance and size, and the challenges they face in consuming enough calories.
• Comparison to "Normal" Diets: The video draws parallels and contrasts between strongman diets and what's optimal for average individuals aiming for health and fitness.
• Analysis of Specific Food Choices: It breaks down the nutritional value (or lack thereof) of specific foods consumed by strongmen, like Greek yogurt with orange juice, raisin bread, black pudding, lunch meat, cinnamon toast crunch, and discusses the rationale behind their inclusion in the diets.
• Critique of Common Practices: The video offers analysis and critique of practices like 10-minute walks after meals and eating large amounts of protein.
• Importance of Enjoyment and Palatability: The importance of including palatable foods is discussed in the context of maintaining consistent high calorie consumption.
• Role of Coaches and Dieticians: The video touches upon the importance of having a dietician for strongmen.

Arguments and Information:

• High Caloric Intake is a Must: Strongmen need extremely high calorie intakes (6000-16000+ calories) to maintain their size and strength.
• Forced Eating: Many strongmen have to "force-feed" themselves to reach their optimal body weight.
• Macronutrient Balance:
  • Protein: 440g protein may be more than necessary and carbohydrates could be increased for more glycogen.
  • Fat: High fat intake is essential to meet the high caloric needs.
  • Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are protein sparing and important for performance and fuel muscle.
• Walking After Meals: 10-minute walks after meals have limited impact on glucose uptake and are only minimally beneficial.
• Food Choices:
  • Plain Greek Yogurt: Encourages consumption of dairy as they are healthy.
  • Raisin Bread: Consuming food for the sake of enjoying eating it.
  • Black Pudding: Despite being made of blood, it's considered nutritious.
  • Lunch Meat: While convenient, it's not ideal due to preservation processes.
• The Fun Food Factor: Strongmen often include "fun" or less healthy foods simply to make eating more enjoyable and sustainable.
• Coach and Athlete Relationship: Good athletes will often trust their coach and simply execute the plan.
• Size Matters in Strongman: Bigger is often better due to the nature of strongman competitions. Absolute strength is favored, so being larger (within limits) is advantageous.
• Diet Similarities for Different Strongmen: Mentions the beef, rice, chicken stock, and orange juice diet as used by some strongmen.
• Ideal Diet for Average People: Emphasizes the importance of mostly healthy foods with some "junk" food for enjoyment, maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.
• Strongman Body Weight: Best performance will be at a body weight that is heavier than what they're naturally inclined to just eat and train at.

People Mentioned:

• Mitchell Hooper (World's Strongest Man Champion)
• Stan Efferding
• Eddie Hall
• Julius Bjornsson
• Brian Shaw
• Mark Bell

Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any specific aspect!