For many fans, Brian Shaw’s incredible strength was built in the gym. But according to the four-time World’s Strongest Man, the hardest part of reaching the top wasn’t always the training itself – it was the relentless commitment to eating enough food every single day.
Speaking on the SHAWSTRENGTH Podcast, Shaw explained that fuelling elite performance required a level of discipline that often surpassed the demands of his workouts, with every hour of the day revolving around nutrition, recovery and preparation.
Shaw described eating as one of the biggest challenges of competing at the highest level, explaining that unlike training sessions, nutrition is a constant responsibility.
“Eating is a challenge because you have to eat from morning until night. Training is a certain part of the day. Now, eating comes before that. It’s coming after that,” he said.
He explained that when athletes are trying to maximise performance, every meal serves a purpose beyond simply satisfying hunger.
“Especially when you’re trying to eat and train for performance, you need to be eating diligently so that your performance is good in the gym. Your training is good, and your recovery is happening. All these good things are coming from both what you’re eating as well as your training output,” he said.
During the early years of his career, Shaw said virtually every aspect of his daily routine revolved around becoming the best Strongman possible.
“I’ve got basically everything, with my whole day focused on training and eating, and then I sleep, and I recover, do all that work to be the best Strongman I possibly can be,” he said.
However, as his career developed, maintaining that strict routine became increasingly complicated.
With growing business commitments, public appearances and more travel, Shaw explained that the simple training-and-eating schedule he once followed became much harder to maintain.
“My career progressed, there’s different business going on, and there’s different appearances, and I’m on the road more, and I’m travelling more. All these things start to become variables that we then have to work through,” he said.
Rather than allowing those extra demands to derail his nutrition, Shaw developed habits that ensured he was never caught without food.
He revealed that he always left home carrying meals with him, planning ahead for both expected and unexpected delays.
“I always had a cooler, and if I walked out the door, I had at least my next meal in that cooler, depending on what I was heading out for, but I would at least have the next few hours accounted for,” he said.
Shaw even prepared for situations that most people wouldn’t consider, packing additional meals in case something went wrong during the day.
“A lot of times, I would actually even pack the next meal just in case a flat tyre happened, or some weird event happened,” he said.
For Shaw, that level of preparation wasn’t simply about convenience—it reflected the mentality required to consistently perform at an elite level.
“But again, it’s a success mindset,” he said.
Throughout his career, Shaw became known not only for his extraordinary strength but also for the meticulous planning that supported it. His comments offer a reminder that success at the highest level often comes down to habits repeated every day, long before stepping into the gym.
Featured image credit: SHAWSTRENGTH Podcast / Brian Shaw / YouTube
