What makes the heart of a champion? It has a lot to do with what makes the stomach. Since their humble beginnings, Party World Rasslin’ (PWR) has grown – adding both new cast members and expanding their organization. But the most noticeable change is surely in the size of the performers.
Those familiar with weightlifting understand bulking, and the amount of calories needed in order to obtain muscle mass. While this extreme intake isn’t limited to what they one eat at a buffet, it does make it a lot easier (and economical) to do so. And it is merely a day in the life for PWR. Recently, I had the honor of enjoying the spectacle at a popular Pan-Asian eatery.
Danny Zigal is the first to offer his strategy for maximum buffet intake. “I like to start off with a plate of stuff I should eat, like this broccoli, and then reward myself with a little bit of orange chicken,” he says. Zigal, who plays the heel (a wrestling term for villain) Dan “The Man” Ziggler, has gained about fifteen pounds (weighing in at a solid 200) since the last PWR match in March. He attributes much of this is attributed to drinking a gallon of milk a day.
His methods are a little less scientific (and less supplemented) than some of his peers, mostly researching bulking techniques online. “I follow this guy Mark Rippetoe,” he says, “he’s a hilarious bonehead that muscle-heads like to worship.” Much of Rippetoe’s strengthening strategy involves berating users into pushing their lifting limits. Asked if he avoids certain kinds of foods like carbs, Zigal shakes his head, “Right now it’s all about consuming as many calories as possible.”
Ally Elsey is a vegan. She sits in front of a heaping pile of greens, tofu, fresh rolls, and edamame. Unlike her male colleagues, Elsey is less interested in adding size than in gaining strength and maintaining enough calories to sustain the rigors of training. “I’ll usually start my day with lots of coffee and a pea protein shake.” She says she consumes about 40 grams of carbs and about 1800 calories a day, “I’m still always hungry,” she admits.
Tyler West, a personal trainer and the man behind Hamburger Skyway, admires Elsey’s plate, “Ally is doing it right. She’s getting enzymes from the pineapple and the fiber from the greens helps the blood sugar stay down. Then you can just pack it in.”
West’s description of a strong first plate makes his choice of a large pile of sushi topped with cooked salmon a bit baffling. “These are fast, incredible carbs, and I’m on a ton of ephedrine right now, so it’s just eating that sugar.” Elsey quickly asks, “Why are you on ephedrine? For recreation or for purpose?” West looks up from his plate defiantly, “This is a purpose. Don’t ephedrine shame.” Zeke Guadiana, who plays the popular Pasta Man, chimes in, “My body, my amphetamines!”
Guadiana, once a 120 pound weakling, is now a beefy, acrobatic testament to the power of bulking. Clocking in at a solid 185 pounds, Guadiana is down from the 210 he was last February. “I know powerlifters that can’t move. I’d rather be 125 pounds that can move rather than 200 beautiful pounds of mass that can’t.”
Guadiana is an advocate of supplements that are not just for dietary purposes, like acetylcholine for the brain and yohimbe for the loins. He intensely looks me in the eyes. “We live this way,” he says, “People need to know you can live your life really well taking lots of supplements.” West adds with some caution, “Practice safe chemistry when you use drugs.”
The downside of bulking is the constant feeling like one has just left a buffet, but all of the time. Guadiana’s partner and debut wrestler, Madeline Olsen, says their experience with meals at home is drastically different, “Our eating is so at odds. I’m usually wishing I had more food at dinner while he’s so full he doesn’t want anything else.” West excuses himself from the table to do squats between plates in the bathroom. Elsey laments, “I wish it was a coed bathroom so we could all do squats together.” Soon it degenerates to Zigal, West, and Guadiana doing squats at the table to the chagrin of the woman sitting next to us and the embarrassment of Olsen.
What is the benefit of squatting during the meal? “Digestion. You’re wasting those calories if you aren’t moving. Eat. Move. Eat. Move,” West says with authority. Guadiana’s post-meal exercise advice is bizarrely specific, “Anything that an ape that wasn’t captured in the zoo might do, you should do.” When I ask them about meal strategy they laugh at me. “Of course we came here with a game plan,” they reply, almost in unison. The two friends (and soon opponents) share a very similar brain when it comes to training.
West breaks down the West-Guadiana method: Light breakfast. “Kefir, eggs, I like to munch on a little bit of kale for the fiber. Eat about 40 grams of carbs and wait an half-hour before exercising.” Water. “Preload on water before a big meal. I had a liter after practice before coming here. During the meal, just a few sips. Just enough to act as a solvent. Your body is 60% water and the cells need water to absorb nutrients.” Move. “You probably didn’t see me running around the restaurant earlier and playing in the grass before I came inside.” Once the rich fiber of the first plate has made been finished it’s time to survey what the buffet has to offer. “I’m looking for all the lean meats. I try to get things that look like a lot of labor went in to produce it. You can’t go wrong with fermented foods. Fresh vegetables. Easy carbs. Sushi.”
Guadiana says with pride, “I’m a garbage-eating human that likes to suck the nutrients out of establishments.” When it comes to bulking, nothing is sacred, fast-food is welcome. “It’s better to eat than not to eat,” West approves. Not that their advice is gospel. “You start gaining fast at first,” he says. “Then there’s some stagnation, so you have to change something. It’s all about fine-tuning. Listen to people’s solutions but don’t subscribe to them. Your solution is more important.” Guadiana wishes he knew then what he does now when it comes to bulking. “Don’t drink meat! Never drink meat,” he says.
This article appears in June 26 • 2015.