Hitting the gym in a bid to become the world’s strongest man is very different to working out to become a world renowned bodybuilder.
To highlight those differences, Rich Piana headed to Gold’s Gym Venice with none other than Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson – AKA The Mountain.
Check it out:
The pair got things kicked off with tricep pushdowns.
And Piana had a pearl of wisdom to share as he witnessed Thor up the weight massively – if you are having to engage your abs intensely while on the pushdown, then you have too much weight.
Then it was on to tricep extensions.
The rep face and grunts on display were nothing short of spectacular…
Piana was also clearly impressed by the Icelander’s lack of joint pain.
On to the biceps and some free weight work.
Thor worked both arms simultaneously with hammer curls, while Piana alternated.
The Mountain also explained that he gets most of his forearm and grip work indirectly from strongman training – Piana estimated Thor’s wrists at a whopping 10 to 11 inches in circumference.
And to finish the workout the men smashed out some preacher curls.
Before they set off for a hard-earned post-gym meal, Piana compared diet regimes, citing he avoids carbs altogether to bring his body fat down.
Piana said:
I’m eating zero carbs. My body works good on that though. It’s not hard, I don’t suffer. I have energy, I feel good. It’s just my muscles get flat and weaker.But I lose body fat really quickly.
Thor’s response when asked if he’d ever done zero carbs, ‘no’ – you don’t become Europe’s Strongest Man twice without a good dose of carbs in your diet, clearly.
