Tullamore man's 7,500 calories a day diet

So what does it take to put yourself in the running for a Strongman title? Tullamore man Keith Maher knows the answer: "7,500 calories a day, in the run-up to a competition; and 5,000 calories a day when you've no competition on." That's the sort of calorie count that would have most of us rushed to hospital within a week - but Keith stays slim thanks to a gruelling regime of gym attendance. And that sort of discipline is what makes him strong enough to pull an articulated lorry - all by himself. Last weekend, Keith came second in the All-Ireland Strongman competition in Derry; the August Bank Holiday weekend will see him join with Wexford Strongman Paul Roberts, to fly the flag for Ireland in the Ultimate World Strongman competition taking place at Columb Barracks in Mullingar, which the Department of Defence is allowing Westmeath County Council open up for the event. Keith, who is originally from Tullamore's O'Moore Street, lives now in Carlow with wife Olivia and their ten-year-old daughter and six year old son, and Olivia reveals that he is very serious about his training. "He goes to the Escape gym in Carlow every day and spends a couple of hours there - every day except maybe he might allow himself a Sunday off," she says. He also trains with the Kilkenny Strongman Club. In everyday life, Keith's immense strength has its benefits: by trade he's a carpenter - and he can lift quantities of wood that the average carpenter would baulk at. However, so enthusiastic is Keith about the Strongman competitions that the passion for power has passed itself onto his son, who has his own "weights" already. At the Strongman competition in Derry, Keith pulled a 13 tonne lorry 20 metres. He hardly broke a sweat. "It wasn't that heavy," he says nonchalantly. But then that's nothing compared to the weight of an artic. The event taking place in Mullingar on the August Bank Holiday Monday will see sixteen of the world's most celebrated strongmen pit their strength against each other in teams of two in the Ultimate World Strongest 2-Man Team Championship 2012. Keith with Paul Roberts, as the 'Celtic Warriors' will be pitting their strength against the Welsh Druids, Team Yankees, the Baltic Barbarians, Team Vikings, the Polska Pirates and the Scottish Claymores. The first event the teams will face is the Strongman Push-Pull Medley. This one starts in 'the bronze zone' where a 150kg log will be pressed by each team member, then two 200kg blocks are lifted onto an 18 inch platform in a tagging format. In the 'silver zone' each team member will press a 78kg Thomas inch dumbbell each then lift a 225kg and 250kg block onto an 18 inch platform. At the gold zone each team member will press a gold axle weighing 175kg each, then lift 275kg and 300kg gold block onto an 18 inch platform. The second event will see each team take turns to pull a massive truck described as weighing "in excess of 40 tonne", over a 20 metres course. Brand new to the competition is the Titanic Compass. On a huge compass floor, two filled vintage port barrels weighing in excess of quarter of a tonne must be lifted and carried by the compass pin the furthest distance possible. Team mates will then tag their partner who will lift the compass pin and port barrels and continue the Titanic Compass Walk. The Hercules Hold is certainly one to watch. Two cars on ramps will be held by each competitor by one hand, the other hand being held by a team mates hand to prevent the cars pulling the competitors apart by the cars rolling down the ramp. That will be followed by the two-man axle deadlift, in which each team will continuously lift increasing weights in a last team standing format,. Then comes the Atlas Stones, in which six stones at increasing weight from 100kg, 115, 130kg, 145kg, 160kg and the new 175kg stone will be lifted unto the causeway walls.