Takeru Kobayashi Getting Lean and Mean For Krystal Square Off V
Today’s email from e-newsletter Thrillist.com includes an interview with three-time Krystal Square Off champion Takeru Kobayashi, and among the revelations is that the 30-year-old eating legend is currently 60 pounds lighter than his peak weight a year ago.
Kobayashi, who is promoting his new line of competitive eating themed t-shirts, explains:
“I injured my jaw last year, and when I lift weights I grind my teeth extensively, so I have not trained since last year. When I was at my peak, I benched 190 kilos (419lbs). But I was 60 pounds heavier than I am now.”
Kobayashi has always been in great shape but he took his penchant for fitness to a whole new level over the past year or so. Indeed, as he bulked up on muscle in 2007, he started to look more like a yoked-out bodybuilder than a top-ranked competitive eater. Now that he’s leaner, and looking more like he did back in 2006 when he ate 97 Krystals, you have to wonder if this will give him the edge he needs when he goes up against Joey Chestnut at this year’s Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship on Sept. 28.
Read the entire Q&A with Kobayashi here for more about his new t-shirt line and some interesting bits about
competitive eating groupies and how he smells after a contest.
Check out Kobayashi’s new t-shirt line here.
