Inside the 8,000-calorie daily diet of Game of Thrones ‘The Mountain’ actor and the World’s Strongest Man, which includes ‘a lot of damn electrolytes’, four steaks and 5 POUNDS of rice
Hafthor Bjornsson, better known as ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones, has revealed how he maintains his ultra-muscular physique – and that includes eating four steaks and 5 pounds of rice a day.
The 35-year-old former World’s Strongest Man, who played a bone-crushing character in the hit TV series, consumes three meals and three snacks a day, totaling 8,000 calories.
The Icelander said they are crucial to maintaining his huge physique – with the 6-foot-4 strongman weighing 423 pounds.
While his calorie intake is far from the recommendation of 2,000 calories per day for women and 2,500 per day for men, it is less than the 10,000 daily calories he ate in 2018 when he took home the title of World’s Strongest Man took.
The above image shows what Hafthor Bjornsson devours in one day, including four steaks and five pounds of rice
Hafthor Bjornsson pictured in 2019 in New York with his wife Kelsey Henson
Mr Bjornsson’s diet is part of his training regime for the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic competition, which he won three times between 2018 and 2020.
The competition will be held next month in Columbus, Ohio, and will involve men transporting wood bolted together up an inclined ramp, carrying heavy concrete objects over a four-foot beam and lifting a 400-pound rock up to their shoulders.
About how he consumes so many calories every day, he said: ‘What helps is that when I eat, I consider this my work.
“I stay off my phone… By doing that, I eat my food faster.”
People who eat food faster are more likely to eat more, doctors say, because there is about a 20-minute delay between the time the stomach becomes full and the brain sends signals to stop eating.
Revealing his daily meal plan in one Youtube videoBjornsson said that every morning starts with three eggs, 1 pound of cooked rice, half a cup of strawberries and two cups of milk.
He also has a shake that consists of a cup of orange juice, almost a cup of Skyr yogurt, and half a cup of blueberries.
He then returns to the kitchen for a ‘snack’ of a 100 gram steak, almost two more cups of rice, half a cup of vegetables and an avocado.
He eats the same thing for lunch, but skips the avocado, before washing it all down with another shake without the blueberries.
He also has plenty of water and electrolytes, which come from products like Reign Total Body Fuel. The product contains 300 milligrams of caffeine and essential vitamins.
Mr Bjornsson says these are crucial to ensuring his muscles don’t cramp and that there are enough nutrients in his body.
After every meal, he makes sure to do at least 10 minutes of light exercise and a cold dip, as he says this helps with his digestion.
But Mr Bjornsson doesn’t stop there. Then he gets a ‘snack’ of two cups of milk and a jelly sandwich with peanut butter.
He also eats banana slices.
For dinner he has another 1,369 calories – consisting of a pound of rice, a 150 gram steak and half a cup of beans.
Just before going to bed, he eats another snack: another 100 gram steak, a pound of rice and half a cup of vegetables, as well as half an avocado.
After his day of eating, Mr Bjornsson said: ‘I feel satisfied and I feel full.
He added that his extensive menus are prepared by his father Bjorn Reynisson.
On some days the menu varies slightly – with Mr Bjornsson known to be a fan of ice cream, pizza, burgers and sushi.
Hafthor Bjornsson is pictured above after finishing his breakfast
After breakfast and a quick workout, he returns to the kitchen for a ‘snack’ of a 100 gram steak, almost two cups of rice, half a cup of vegetables and an avocado.
Part of his daily routine also includes cold dips, which can help reduce inflammation
He added: ‘There is nothing more boring than eating food you don’t like.’
Although he has detailed his intense diet, Mr Bjornsson has not revealed his training routine for the 2024 Arnold Strongman competition.
A personal record he achieved as part of his fitness routine includes a squat of 1,000 pounds – more than four times what the average man can lift – and a bench press of 550 pounds – or three times what the average man can lift.
The strongman suffered a serious injury in April last year after tearing his pectoral muscles – those in his chest – while attempting to set a new personal best in the bench press.
He lifted the 556-pound weight, but as he lowered the barbell tore his pecs — which he said caused a loud popping sound. Men’s health.
The injury was so serious that he had to stop training for almost three months. He had surgery the following month to repair it, but developed an infection as a result, leaving a large scar on his chest.
Hafthor Bjornsson is pictured above in Game of Thrones, where he played ‘The Mountain’, which was said to be so strong it could cut a man in half
Mr. Bjornsson has been intensively involved in strength training since his youth and worked with his father on the family farm.
Initially he was part of the Icelandic basketball team, but after several ankle injuries he started lifting weights in 2006.
Since then, he has won the Icelandic Strongman competition nine years in a row and earned the title of ‘World’s Strongest Man’ in 2018.
He has also won the Arnold Strongman competition three times and the European Strongman competition five times.