Training and Preparation
Many professional competitive eaters undergo rigorous personal training in order to increase their stomach capacity and eating speed with various foods. Stomach elasticity is usually considered the key to eating success, and competitors commonly train by drinking large amounts of water over a short time to stretch out the stomach. Others combine the consumption of water with large quantities of low calorie foods such as vegetables or salads. Some eaters chew large amounts of gum in order to build jaw strength.
For a marquee event like the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest some eaters, like reigning contest champion Joey Chestnut, will begin training several months before the event with personal time trials using the contest food. Retired competitive eater Ed "Cookie" Jarvis trained by consuming entire heads of boiled cabbage followed by drinking up to two gallons of water every day for two weeks before a contest.
Due to the risks involved with training alone or without emergency medical supervision, the IFOCE actively discourages training of any sort.
Read more about this topic: Competitive Eating
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