Winning World’s Strongest Man takes more than brutal training sessions and unimaginable strength. According to Eddie Hall, the biggest advantage came away from the gym, where he was willing to spend money and make sacrifices that others simply wouldn’t.
Speaking during an interview with Fight Your Corner, Hall explained that his relentless commitment to recovery was one of the defining reasons behind both his World’s Strongest Man triumph and his historic 500kg deadlift.
Asked by Tony Bellew what makes him “built different”, Hall pointed to a mindset that has driven him throughout his life.
“The relentless pursuit to be the best is what separates me from the rest,” he said.
While many would assume endless hours lifting weights were the secret behind his success, Hall believes the difference was made by everything he did after training.
“The recovery side of things is where I won World’s Strongest Man. It’s where I pulled the 500-kilo deadlift,” he explained.
Hall then revealed just how far he was prepared to go in pursuit of becoming the world’s strongest man: “I remortgaged my house to buy recovery kit.”
Rather than treating recovery as an optional extra, Hall invested heavily in equipment that he believed would give him every possible advantage.
“I bought hyperbaric chambers. I bought hot and cold setups. I bought shockwave machines, physio machines, endless amounts of kit to be the best.”
The financial commitment didn’t stop there either, with Hall also revealing the amount he regularly spent simply to keep his body functioning at its peak.
“I’d spend £300 a week on physio,” he said.
Hall acknowledged that many people viewed those decisions as excessive, but insisted that mentality is exactly why most people never reach the highest level.
“They’ll say I’m f***ing nuts compared to just saying, ‘What a waste of money spending all that.’ And that’s what separates you from the rest. They think that’s a waste of money, and I think that’s an investment in your future,” he said.
For Hall, the willingness to invest in himself was never about luxury. It was another tool in the pursuit of becoming the very best, regardless of the financial cost.
Bellew also questioned where Hall’s renowned mental toughness originated.
The former World’s Strongest Man traced it all the way back to childhood and growing up alongside his two older brothers.
“From my youth, having two older brothers made me want to be stronger than my brothers,” Hall said. “That mindset of, ‘I have to be bigger, I have to be stronger so I can punch them back in the face harder,’ rubbed off into all different avenues of my life.”
That competitive streak quickly extended beyond family life and into sport.
“It started off with swimming. I had to beat them at swimming, which then made me a national champion three years in a row.”
But the pattern never changed. Once he achieved one goal, the target simply moved.
“Then I got into bodybuilding. It rubbed off on bodybuilding. I’ve got to be bigger than them. Then it rubbed off on the Strongman. I’ve got to be stronger than them.”
Eventually, Hall’s brothers were no longer the benchmark. Instead, his focus shifted towards some of the biggest names the sport had ever seen.
“When I’m stronger than my brothers, they then get replaced with bigger and more notable people like Brian Shaw and Hafthor Bjornsson.”
Looking back, Hall believes the competitive environment created at home laid the foundations for everything that followed.
“That blueprint of competing with my brothers made me this competitive monster for the rest of my life.”
Bellew then asked how far Hall believes he could have gone had he stayed in the pool instead of pursuing strength sports.
Hall didn’t hesitate with his answer: “I honestly think I would have been Olympic gold champion many times over.”
Featured image credit: Fight Your Corner / YouTube / Eddie Hall / Instagram
