Professional athletes don't get to the top by accident. It takes superhuman levels of time, dedication, and focus—and that includes paying attention to what they put in their bellies. In this series, GQ takes a look at what pro athletes in different sports eat on a daily basis to perform at their best. Here's a look at the daily diet of Miles Chamley-Watson, fencing champion and male model.
The first thing you need to do if you want to eat like the first American man to become world foil-fencing champion: Go easy on the carbs. After all, an individual fencing match can be over in a few minutes, but if you keep winning, then you have to fence all day. “You could start your first match at 8 A.M.,” says Miles Chamley-Watson, who once taught Raekwon how to use a sword for this very magazine. “And if you do well, you could keep going until 6 P.M. So some people do need a lot of carbs, but for me I feel like I’m naturally very athletic. I feel better when I eat just protein and vegetables. I feel lighter.”
The 25-year-old spends six hours every day in training, and consumes a protein-heavy 3,500 calories to keep moving. At six foot four, he starts his day with a big breakfast, usually a combination of yogurt, granola, and a protein shake, followed much later by a filling lunch to last the final hours. Evening fencing sessions, morning workouts, nearly an hour of stretching every day—without some cross-training, it all gets repetitive. You have to mix it up.
Chamley-Watson’s routine-breaker of choice? Boxing. “The footwork is very similar, which is really nice,” he says. “Before the 2013 World Championships, I would fence a little bit, but I also boxed four times a week. My footwork was great, and my stamina was through the roof.”
When you hear that someone sword fights for a living and then punches people for fun, you might think that he'd be a very aggressive person. But Chamley-Watson is a pretty chill dude, especially considering his career trajectory: That 2013 tournament was where he became the first American man to lunge and parry his way to victory. He triumphed in the finals, Rocky-style, over Russian fencer Artur Akhmatkhuzin.
And when he’s not competing in the Olympics, he’s gracing the runway, modeling for the likes of Ralph Lauren and VFiles. He’s got the kind of metabolism most ordinary people would kill for and doesn’t have to change up his diet too much when preparing to model. “Obviously, it depends on what it is,” he says. “If it’s a really big shoot, then you want to have protein and no carbs at all. I’ll stick to basic foods, like chicken and kale with no sauces or extra fat. I’m in pretty good shape already, so my body doesn’t have to change too much. I’m not too big, not too skinny, so it works out pretty well for me.”
If there’s one indulgence the fencer allows himself, it’s Korean barbecue. It’s a regular feature in Chamley-Watson’s diet, since it’s a source of tons of protein and it’s just damn good. “The meat is very fresh—you cook it yourself, so you know what you’re eating,” he says. ”It’s perfectly flavored, without too many preservatives or spices. It’s just meat. There’s kimchi, which is extremely good for your body. If I could buy one of those barbecue pits, I would.”
BreakfastShake with almond butter, protein powder, almond milk, bananaYogurt with granola and peanut butter
LunchChicken with kale, quinoa, sweet potatoRed Bull
Afternoon snackTurkey jerky
DinnerKorean BBQ, kimchi, three trays of beef
Luke Darby is a contributor to GQ, covering news, entertainment, and the environment. A Louisiana native, he now resides in Cleveland, and his writing has also appeared in Outside, the Dallas Observer, and Marie Claire.Related Stories for GQReal Life Diet