Four-time WSM titleholder Brian Shaw missed an opportunity to win his record-tying fifth title by a hair at WSM 2021. However, he is preparing for the first-ever Strongman contest at the 2021 Rogue Invitational. The three-day competition is scheduled to take place from 29th to 31st October 2021 in Round Rock, Texas. It boasts the largest prize purse in the history of Strongman contests. Participating athletes, therefore, have every incentive to show up in the best shape attainable.
We can’t talk enough about how important constant food consumption is to maintain the body mass and the necessary energy to compete at the highest level of strongman competition. Brian Shaw recently shared the adjustments in his diet regimen in a YouTube video.
The 39-year-old strongman’s diet has ranged from as high as 15000-calorie a day in his earlier days to a modest 5000 calories at the beginning of 2021. Shaw will increase his caloric intake to approx. 9700 calories a day to ensure full recovery and optimum performance.
Related: Calories Per Meal Calculator
At the beginning of the video, Brian Shaw states that training for the Rogue Invitational has been rough on his body and he has to eat enough to recover from training. Increasing caloric intake is important to avoid being sore and beat up.
“So I talked to Nathan (Payton). I said, ‘Hey man. I think I gotta switch the diet up and plugin some more food. Get me some more calories so I can start recovering from my training to feeling a little bit better. Just feeling stronger overall.’ So he said let’s do it. Sent me a new diet.” Brian Shaw said.
Shaw then takes his followers on his food shopping trip to execute the diet in the month leading up to Rogue Invitational.
Brian Shaw’s Shopping Trip to Costco
Shaw starts his shopping from the produce section at Costco. The new diet allows him to consume his choice of fruits from a specific set of options. A strict diet tailor-made to meet athletes’ specific requirements is under no obligation to be delicious. Brian Shaw picks a lot of Honeycrisp apples to make the diet enjoyable and adds blueberries and blackberries. A balanced diet inadvertently requires a healthy portion of leafy greens. So, baby spinach along with spring mix salad complete Brian Shaw’s shopping in the produce section.
The well-rounded plate – proteins, fats, and carbohydrates
Brian Shaw gets most of his meat from Trifecta Nutrition. However, he does make it a point to cook up steak for one of his meals during the day which makes a perfect family treat. Shaw picks up fillet along with a few crates of bottled alkaline water and jokes about Eddie Hall’s very very dehydrated moments.
Many fad diets are focused on reducing and in certain cases, eliminating carbohydrates off the plate. However, consuming carbohydrates with protein releases insulin in the body – which helps muscles absorb amino acids. Brian Shaw adds a bag of 50lb rice along with a few jars of pasta sauce to his shopping cart.
While reiterating the importance of staying clean and fresh as a part of everyday routine, the 39-year-old goes on to snap up a pack of flushable bathroom wipes.
Related: Macronutrient Calculator: Count Your Macros Easily
Cheat Meal
Brian Shaw’s favorite delicacy, cheesecake, along with every other sugary delight is off the limits in his diet at the moment. Shaw believes that Nathan Payton will have a cheat meal planned before the competition and picks up a pack of cheesecake treats anyway to save for that moment.
The Bold Claim
While waiting to check out, Brian Shaw happens to watch an Instagram video of bench presser Julius Maddox where the 34-year-old made the bold claim to be the best Basketball player weighing 400lbs and above. Brian Shaw pointed out that he was a high-level Basketball player in college himself and asserted that Maddox cannot claim to be the best in the category just yet.
There is still a little less than a month to go until Rogue Invitational kicks off and Brian Shaw believes that changing up the diet is going to help him perform better in the competition. Shaw’s diet change at the beginning of 2021 proved to be effective as he finished second in both WSM and Shaw Classic 2021. There is no good reason to believe that things will be any different this time around. Either way, we will be able to find out the efficacy of his new diet when Rogue Invitational concludes on 31st October.
Published: 5 October, 2021 | 8:35 AM EDT
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