Photography: Shutterstock
It makes sense to train like a strongman for strength, but fat loss? Really? Well, although pro strongmen tip the scales at alarming numbers – Iceland’s Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson, former World’s Strongest Man winner and ‘The Mountain’ of Game of Thrones fame, weighed in at a monstrous 173kg – the way they train would help them carve Adonis-like physiques, if only their diets didn’t have to be so calorific to let them counterbalance the mammoth weights they need to shift.
But if dragging lorries isn’t your fitness priority, you can use strongman training techniques to build impressive lean muscle and cardio and shift stubborn body fat, says Girling, who devised this plan. “Doing big, heavy compound movements stimulates your muscles and central nervous system, causing you to release more growth hormone and raising your metabolism,” he says.