Top athletes who put their bodies through intensive training sessions twice a day need an immaculate diet, particularly when they weigh 110kg.
Anthony Joshua doesn’t hide how tough his pre-fight camps in Sheffield are, taking himself away from home comforts to a basic lifestyle that revolves around the gym and recovery.
His team loads him up on quality food in between sessions but it takes a lot to fuel such a big man.
AJ’s nutritionist Mark Ellison spoke about the boxer’s diet in the build up to his famous bout with Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, saying they aim to feed him between 4,500 and 5,000 calories every day.
“Even though he can eat a large amount of food it has to be good quality - we can’t fuel him on junk,” Ellison said. “So every Monday I go to the local butchers and greengrocers in Sheffield to collect his food for the week.
“At the butchers I’ll get ten large free range chicken breasts, which are better quality than you get in the supermarket. One breast from there is probably the size of two from the supermarket.
“I’ll also get two large pieces of lamb fillet and the same for fillet steak - each of those two servings is actually one serving for him.”
The breakdown of Joshua’s meals looks like this:
Breakfast: A large smoothie made with yogurt, fruit porridge oats and milk before the morning training session, although he trains on an empty stomach a couple of times a week.
Second breakfast: Up to five eggs with a few slices of wholemeal bread, 500ml of apple juice and sometimes some salmon or avocado.
Lunch: Two large chicken breasts with lots of green vegetables such as broccoli and a good carbohydrate source - sweet potato typically or pasta.
Post-afternoon session snack: A recovery shake containing liquid proteins with some good carbohydrate sources. He may have a couple of bananas instead of adding carbs into the shake.
Dinner: A staple dinner is two large salmon fillets with brown rice and vegetables. For dessert he may have fresh oranges with natural Greek yoghurt.
Supper: Before bed Joshua will have nuts and yoghurt with honey for some added calories.
