Sixty kilogrammes of isitshwala, 60 kgs of rice and 750 bananas per month for just one man. For breakfast, he consumes two loaves of bread, 30 eggs (15 boiled and 15 fried), one litre of juice, bacon, beans, polony and 2 litres of water.
That is the regular menu for Arnold Zikhali (36), who claims he is the strongest man in this country.
“I also take 10 oranges, five apples and 25 bananas.
“For lunch, I eat 2kgs of isitshwala, 2kgs of umbhida, six pints of lacto, one litre of juice and 2 litres of water.
“In the evening, I take 2kgs rice, 2kgs chicken, beans, one litre juice, six pints lacto, 2 litres of water, and a variety of fruits which will be a variety but same quantity. Akumelanga ngiswele indumba khonapho.”
He also wakes up in the middle of the night for another massive meal.
“I get hungry around midnight and wake up to eat 1 kg of isitshwala, 5kg umbhida, and drink 2 litres of coffee.”
He believes he has what it takes to face off against some of the world’s strongest men like Bill Kazmaier, Mariusz Pudzianowski and Eddie Hall.
Zikhali has already pulled a 56-tonne train wagon for too metres and plans to pull four buses, weighing 40 tonnes, in three weeks’ time.
He says he only visits the gym once a month.
Zikhali said he had dropped his weight from 1135kgs to 147kgs because his food conversion rate was down but he was now in the process of bulking up further.
“My next target is to pull four buses which weigh 40 tonnes in three weeks’ time. I have been doing this since last year after I pulled two trucks weighing 30 tonnes each. My manager, Knowledge Mutambara, is the one who encouraged me to pursue this career. He told me I could do more and we did a test using a kombi, which I pulled from the back, while it was full of passengers. That’s when I realised that I had strength. I later pulled two buses and two trucks. Last year, I went to the railway station where I pulled two wagons weighing 12 tonnes each. The next thing is pulling an aeroplane,” he said.
Zikhali is a soldier and says his commanders have granted him permission to explore his talent.
“I was granted permission by my employers to do what I can with my talent. I am a strong man, not a body-builder. I am like the abnormal load trucks. “I get fat from many foods. I only use the gym once a month because I can’t afford it. “If I could afford it, I would want to go to the gym every day. “I want to go far with this sport. “Most strongman competitions are held in Botswana around July/August and I am praying that I get to enter this year’s event to compete against the best.”
In other news – Cholera worsens in Zimbabwe
As cholera worsens in Zimbabwe, Harare’s poor high-density suburb Mbare’s New Lines area has been declared by the government a national state of emergency, paving the way for authorities urgently disburse funds towards improving social amenities and social service delivery.
A visit to Mbare showed sewage flowing into homes in conditions of squalor and poverty. Council says lack of funding is hampering the campaign to combat the cholera outbreak.Read More
