Texas at its best-Bradshaw
A Diet With Sizzle.
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Pass the steak and hold the veggies when Bradshaw is at the table.
Long before athletes and medical experts began singing the praises of low-fat, lean protein diets, the rule of thumb was that steak and potatoes made you strong. Judging by the look of Bradshaw-- one of the biggest and strongest superstars in the WWF-- that old-school thinking might not be so far off base after all.
" I'm defiantly a steak and potatoes type of guy," says the 6'6", 290lb Texan. " I really don't practice the bodybuilding lifestyle. I figure if you drink beer every single night, it really doesn't matter what you eat every day. I basically eat what I want."
What Bradshaw usually wants is meat--he is a self prossed carnivore who enjoys his steak done medium well. " I don't necessarily like it bloody, " he says. He also wants real butter on his potatoes instead of low-fat butter or margarine, and is a big fan of pepperoni pizza. One place you won't find him is at the salad bar. " I hate vegetables. I don't eat them, " he says. " I've never seen a big strong rabbit so I don't eat lettuce or any of that stuff."
Bradshaw says he also steers clear of most ethnic foods, keeping his menu close to home. "Anything exported by the 'country of Texas' I'll eat. " he says. "Alot of beef, and alot of meat. If it's not exported by Texas, I don't want to eat it.
Though the grilled, skinless chicken breasts, rice and steamed veggies favored by many superstars and other athletes don't make it to his plate, it doesn't appear Bradshaw suffers any ill effects for his meat and potatoes diet. His size and strength stand out even among the rest of the WWF's athletes and he's been active in the grueling sports entertainment world for almost a decade.
Much of his size and strength comes from years of hard work in the weight room. He got his start lifting weights growing up in Sweetwater, Texas, and earning all state honors as a lineman for Sweetwater high School--No small feat in football crazy Texas. Bradshaw went on to be a four year starter at Abilene Christian University, making the Division II all-American squad his senior year, and playing one year of professional football for San Antonio in the World League of American Football, now NFL Europe.
Years of hard knocks on the gridiron and later in the ring have taken their toll, however, and have forced Bradshaw to cut back on his regimen.
" I'm just not able to lift as heavy as I used to" he says. "There are certain movements I can't do anymore because of old football or wrestling injuries. It happens, you can cry about it or you can move on. Its no big deal. I've just had to alter my workout program as I've gotten older."
Knee injuries limit the amount of legwork Bradshaw can do, and a shoulder injury keeps him away from the bench press. But he's still in the gym several days a week, maintaining the size and strength that have made him so successful in the WWF.
"Faarooq is genetically superior to me. So he only has to work out once a year to look like he does, " Bradshaw jokes. " I go whenever I can. Usually three or four days a week. I'll go five if I feel up to it."
Bradshaw says he doesn't stick to a set regimen in the weight room, instead he works out one area of his body a week and does what he can before moving on. Mindful of his past injuries, Bradshaw says he's come to accept that working out as hard as some of the other superstars in the gym might come with a cost.
" There are guys who are very good at what they do in the gym, like Bob Holly and Steve Blackman, and they look good because of it," Bradshaw says. "I just don't want to get injured in the gym. I don't think your ego lets you get injured in the gym. I'm not gonna let my ego get involved there.
"I've been injured several times in the gym lifting Heavy. It's kind of hard explaining to your wife that your not going to work for six weeks because you got hurt in the gym showing off.