Eddie Hall has opened up on the frightening health concerns that ultimately convinced him to walk away from Strongman after reaching the very top of the sport.
The former World’s Strongest Man pushed his body to extraordinary limits during his career, reaching a peak weight of 196kg – around 32 stone or 433lbs – as he pursued his goal of becoming the strongest man on the planet.
Hall eventually achieved that ambition when he won World’s Strongest Man in 2017, having also become the first person to deadlift 500kg.
But carrying such an enormous amount of bodyweight came with consequences.
Speaking to Men’s Health UK, Hall explained that although doctors hadn’t identified one specific problem, several health markers were being pushed towards dangerous territory.
“Everything was on the limit. Every time I went to a doctor, I was getting bloods done quite regularly. My kidney markers were always through the roof. My liver markers always through the roof. My haemoglobin, you know, my blood was just super thick and, of course, my body weight was super high,” he said.
Hall joked that conventional measurements couldn’t really account for his size at the time.
“If you put me on a chart with BMI, I was off. There was no recording for it,” he said.
The moment that really changed his outlook, however, came during a conversation with a doctor.
Hall recalled being given an extraordinary warning about the likelihood of suffering a heart attack or stroke if he continued pushing his body in the same direction.
“If you lined the whole of the UK up, like all 70 million people, lined them in a row, I would pick you out as the most likely person to have a heart attack and a stroke right now,” he said.
That conversation helped convince Hall that it was time to step away rather than wait until something potentially catastrophic happened.
“I didn’t want to get to that point where I have a heart attack or a stroke and then be like, ‘Damn, why didn’t I walk away?’” he said.
Perhaps the most startling insight into Hall’s life at his biggest came when he explained what going to sleep each night actually felt like.
“I don’t want to get back in that stage where I’m going to bed at night and I’m seriously worried if I’m going to wake up or not,” he said. “And that was a serious concern. Being 430lbs, every night was a lottery.”
Hall admitted his mentality had once been completely different, with becoming World’s Strongest Man taking priority over practically everything else.
“I was willing to die to try and achieve it,” he said.
Having achieved the title and his historic half-ton deadlift, however, Hall now sees no reason to put himself through those risks again.
“I’ve cemented my name in the history books and I’ve got nothing left to prove,” he said.
Featured image credit: Men’s Health UK / Eddie Hall / Instagram
