Hafþór Björnsson, better known as the Mountain that Rides on HBO's Game of Thrones, isn't
just one of the strongest people on TV.
He's one of the strongest people in the world.
How did this lean and mean Icelander become the most fearsome knight in all of Westeros?
It hasn't always been pretty.
Bjornsson was always a big person, but before he was the freakishly huge "mad dog of the
Lannisters," he was more tall than he was wide.
Instead of weightlifting, he put his talents to use as a professional basketball player
in Iceland's first division.
As a younger man, Bjornsson says his weight hovered around the 230 pound range — which
is nothing compared to the near-400 pounds he eventually achieved.
He said in an interview with GQ,
"I was always taller than everybody else.
I’ve been training all my life, but probably didn’t grow muscle-y until I quit doing
basketball."
His naturally large frame gave him a big advantage on the basketball court, but he also was dedicated
to working out and getting better.
Speaking to Men's Health, he said, "I was a bit crazy and trained a lot, probably three
times a day.
Before school, then afterwards, plus I was lifting at night."
His intense work ethic paid off on the court, but his basketball days were plagued by a
recurring ankle injury which ultimately dashed his hoop dreams.
He told GQ,
"I was always getting injured.
I injured my ankles quite badly.
I had to have surgery.
So the second time I had an operation I decided to take a break from basketball to heal my
foot."
After basketball, Björnsson wasn't sure what to do with himself.
Already accustomed to a heavy training regimen, Björnsson decided to stay the course and
keep working out.
But instead of going hard in the paint, he went to work in the weight room, focusing
his energy on simply improving his body.
He told GQ,
"I just fell in love with the weights, fell in love with training hard, started to put
weight on quite fast, started to get strong really fast.
I saw results."
Over the next few years, weightlifting turned into a healthy addiction for Björnsson, and
the Icelander nearly doubled his body weight.
Of course, weightlifting alone can't turn a 240-pound basketball player into the Mountain
that Rides.
It may not surprise you to learn that the Mountain that Rides eats a mountain of food
every day.
Breaking down his diet to GQ, he said,
"I eat a lot of sweet potatoes.
A lot of meat, fish, chicken, good fats like cocoa butter, almonds.
I love greens, like spinach, avocado, broccoli.
I eat very healthy overall."
Sounds great, but how much is "a lot," exactly?
"What were you guys talking about?"
(laughs)
Bjornsson requires a total intake of some 10,000 calories a day, and there's really
only one way for him to fit all that food into his stomach — never stop eating.
As Björnsson told GQ,
"If you don't eat, you don't grow.
[...] It's just like constantly work for me: I have to eat every two hours to maintain
my body mass."
We're not talking about grazing throughout the day here, either.
Björnsson reckons he devours around six to eight full meals a day.
Even for a giant like him, such a feat is not easy — especially when he's at work
shooting Game of Thrones.
Though Björnsson focuses mostly on heavy weightlifting and strength training, he doesn't
always stick to the same workouts.
Instead, he believes it's crucial to mix things up.
According to Björnsson, there's more to being an accomplished strongman than simply putting
on more muscle.
As he told The New York Times,
"You can't just be strong.
You have to be quick.
You have to have flexibility."
For that reason, you can sometimes find him out doing cardio exercises such as swimming,
biking, or even jogging with his adorable Pomeranian.
"Freakish big and freakish strong, and quicker than you'd expect for a man of that size."
Exercising the entire body is crucial to seeing results, especially when you're already as
huge as Björnsson.
He told Men's Health,
"When people ask me about my routine, it's hard to say because I change it every week.
[...] If you always train the same way your body gets used to it and you stop seeing results
after a few weeks."
Björnsson is big, but he's not interested in getting bigger.
Instead, he's aiming to improve the body he already has.
He told GQ,
"Getting bigger isn't a big deal for me.
I don't want to get bigger.
But having a nicer body and being stronger is definitely something I'm aiming for."
On April 14, 2019, the day of the season premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones, ESPN's
E:60 documentary series aired an interview they conducted with Bjornsson back in 2017
where the star revealed that he has used steroids.
"Have you ever used steroids?"
"Have I?"
"Yes."
"Uh… yes, I have."
Both Bjornsson and his family expressed fears about his health due to his extreme training
regimen.
But when pressed as to why he decided to take steroids, Bjornsson replied,
"When you want to be the best, you do whatever it takes."
He finally won the World's Strongest Man competition in 2018.
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