Stamped: May 25th, 2007 | Related Posts
Tagged: eating contest, takeru kobayashi.

Ever dreamt of eating whatever you like and in a large XXL quantity without going on diet the next day?
Well some of us successfuly manage to fulfill that prowess, but not without some intensive training.
And some of us even made of it a serious sport, going through numerous competition to prove their skill in engorging as much food as possible in minimum time.

Competitive eating is most popular in the USA. Traditionally, eating contests were often held as part of a county fair. It now became popular thanks to the large televised coverage of those events. Eating events are ruled by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE).
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual holiday tradition that has run on July 4 virtually every year since 1916 being one of the major eating event.

This contest has been dominated by Japanese Takeru Kobayashi, who has won it every year since 2001 (An average of 50 hot dogs withing 12 minutes)

Don’t imagine a sumo-like Takeru Kobayashi, on the contrary, he is in an incredible good shape, having only 10% bpdy fat.
You don’t believe me? Then just have a look at that video:

Being overweight is not necessarily an advantage as we may think. In fact, any excess body fat is a disadvantage in that it prevents the stomach from expanding as much as it otherwise could.
Kobayashi has a condition called gastroptosis, an abnormal downward displacement of the stomach. It plays a role in his eating ability because his stomach is able to expand below the rib cage unlike most people, allowing him to take in large portions of food.

How does he train before a competition?
Well, he just eats a humongous amount of food in order to enlarge his stomach. Then he simply fasts in order to empty his stomach before the contest.

What are his special eating technics?
Kobayashi is also known for his trademark body wiggle, known as the Kobayashi Shake, which he uses to force food down his esophagus and settle more compactly in his stomach.
He eats the hot dogs by splitting the frankfurter in half, swallowing both parts at once, and then dipping the buns in water, Sprite, or 7-Up and stuffing it in his mouth.

How does he manage to stay fit?
Just like you saw in the video, by training with weights and working out, Kobayashi has increased his metabolism, which in turn has helped him to burn more calories.

Know more about Takeru Kobayashi here on his official website.
http://takeru-kobayashi.com/