Adam Peaty has undergone a super-human diet to power his gym routines in preparation for Paris 2024.
The three-time Olympic champion is back in the spotlight as he guns for gold again in the French capital this week. But there's been years of hard work behind the scenes to get him in the perfect shape ahead of the Games.
Peaty's training is far more than just putting in the hours in the pool, which requires plenty of fuel. He told Men's Health he consumes north of 7,500 calories each and every day when he's training, which to put into context is roughly equivalent to 18 eight-ounce sirloin steaks.
Revealing his usual food plan, he said: "In the morning I’ll have Weetabix, the normal high fibre, low glycemic food. Then towards the middle of the day I’ll have around 400g of chicken with a lot of vegetables and depending on what serving it is, maybe brown rice.
"Towards the end of the day I’ll have a higher carb [meal] if I’ve had a harder session, or lower carb if not – sweet potato and Quorn mince or lean chicken or a lean fish like sea bass. I normally eat around every two hours anyway just to keep my metabolism going."
All that hard work can be undone, however, if Peaty's calorie count isn't carefully managed in the lead-up to a race. He halves it to just over 3k a day, explaining: "I’ve worked with nutritionists before where I’ve cut my calorie levels too quickly and my testosterone levels have dropped."
Part of the reason Peaty has been so successful is his ripped physique, which he regularly flaunted during his stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021. That's thanks to his work in the gym, also efficiently managed to maximise gains.
He'll start his workouts with compound exercises, targeting multiple muscle groups at a time. These include barbell squats for the legs and lower back, bench press for the chest and upper body, and chin ups to incorporate the biceps, upper back and forearms.
They're followed by more isolated moves for explosive power and strength in the water, such as clapping press ups and extended crunches. His list of achievements don't look so surprising after assessing the work which goes into his craft.
Peaty, who's also won a silver medal at each of Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, has broken world records 14 times. After a hiatus last year to focus on his mental health, he's now geared up to defend his 100m breaststroke title once again.
2024-07-27T04:29:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd