The “Big Show” isn’t looking so big anymore: The WWE Grand Slam Champion has dropped 30 kilograms after overhauling his training routine and diet, according to a recent interview he did with WWE.com. Throughout his wrestling career, he’s been dubbed the “world’s largest athlete” and has tipped the scale at more than 180 kilos since the mid-90s.
“You don’t make the transformation I’ve made without a serious commitment to changing 40 years of improper diet and improper training,” he told WWE.com. “I wanted to make a change, and I was given the time and opportunity to make a change, so I took advantage of it.”
With the help of Dodd Romero – a trainer to several celebrities and pro athletes – the 45-year-old wrestling champion started to challenge his body with swimming, biking, and strength training. To melt the fat, he focuses on high-energy, hi-rep exercises. Along with switching up his routine, he transformed his diet by ditching his go-to junk foods: ice cream, pizza, and meatball subs.
“It’s funny, I used to ask guys who were in shape all the time, like Triple H, “What do you do?” It was hard to get information out of them, and I understand why now,” he said. “When you take the time and do the research (about nutrition) it’s more about what suits you, not what suits everybody.”
The Big Show’s body didn’t look perfect once he started to lose weight. Fat came off in weird places, like his upper shoulders, thighs, and butt. But over time, the pounds continued to drop and sculpted muscle began to emerge. His abs even started to peak through, which elicited positive reactions from his fellow wrestlers, including John Cena.
“We were talking about getting in shape and I said, “Ah, what the hell is a giant gonna do with abs?” and John looked at me with a straight face and said, “Yeah. A giant with abs. That wouldn’t be marketable at all.” And he walked off. It was kind of a shot, but [later] John reached out and congratulated me on the work I’ve done. That meant a lot—to have that respect from him was a big boost.”
For the Big Show, the entire experience has been more mental than physical. On top of all of his success, he understands his body is still a work in progress: “Will I end up ever looking like John Cena or The Rock or Triple H? No. But I can take the assets that I have and try to accentuate them.”
To anyone that thinks weight loss is impossible, the Big Show has one message: “There is nothing that anyone can stop you from doing if you really want.”
A version of this article originally appeared on MensHealth.com
