Joey Chestnut is America's top-ranked competitive eater. This weekend, he plates off against rival Takeru Kobayashi in the Krystal Burger competition in Tennessee. Here, he gives us the skinny on how he trains, keeps motivated and eats to win.
How did you get into competitive eating?
My little brother Willie thought of it before I did, and he knew I was the biggest eater in the family, so he signed me up for my first contest. He's my biggest supporter.
How do you train?
It's a lot more than you think. I go for days of fasting, drinking large amounts of water and liquids, and practice contests every week. I've been training for over a month for the [Krystal burger] contest. For [Nathan's Fourth of July Coney Island] hot dogs, I train for three months.
Last year, my record was 103 burgers. In practice, I've gone up to 114. Part of practice is getting my muscles to cooperate more consistently. I can do a practice twice a week if my body recovers quickly. And every time, I push myself farther.
In between practices, I fast, have a minimum calorie intake and protein supplements. I am trying to maintain a healthy weight. As soon as I gain weight, I slow down.
I train like a weight lifter. Every time you lift weights, push your body to the limit, hit a failure point, and next time you can push your body farther.
Who is your a coach?
If I had a coach, I'd say it's my little brother Willie. He's there for practices, yelling at me.
 |
| Chestnut has downed 114 burgers in training.
|
Are there groupies?
There are people who tell me they go hundreds of miles just to see me. Not too many women. I have a baseball card -- Topps made a collectors card for me this year.
The 4th of July contest gets lots of attention. After the contest, I got touching letters from people about how they felt when I won. People said they traveled just to shake my hand.
Competitive eating isn't serious; it's comical. But I take it seriously, because I want to win. It feels good that people respect and appreciate what I do.
Allison Fishman
RSS
