Extreme diet and Liver King training: An Unconventional Path to Fitness

Brian Johnson, known as the Liver King, is one of the most popular fitness and lifestyle personalities on social media. He preaches a return to a natural way of life - eating raw meat, sleeping on wooden planks and taking daily icy showers.

Although his principles may sound controversial, this muscular bearded man has gained huge popularity. He has 1.6 million followers on Instagram, over 126,000 subscribers on YouTube and even over three million fans on TikTok, with whom he shares snippets of his extreme lifestyle.

Why the name Liver King?

"Many primal people have asked, 'Why the name Liver King?' The answer is simple - because liver is king. Our ancient ancestors always favored liver first - and many modern hunter-gatherer tribes still do today. So do lions, white sharks and other wild alpha organisms. Liver is a nutritional bomb full of peptides, growth factors and natural vitamins in the most bioavailable form," explains Brian Johnson aka Liver King.

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According to Liver King, returning to the lifestyle of our ancestors can bring back energy, strength and vitality. But he realizes that most people are not going to move out into the wilderness or hunt their own food. That's why he has created a set of principles that he believes can significantly improve health and quality of life even in modern society.

These Nine Ancestral Tenets are the foundation of his philosophy - they focus on nutrition, exercise, sleep and exposure to the natural conditions that have shaped human evolution.

"Living by the principles of our ancestors helps us overcome the obstacles that stand between us and true health and happiness."

Liver King's dietary program

Although Brian Johnson looks like a professional bodybuilder, he doesn't eat like a bodybuilder. Unlike conventional bodybuilding diets that focus on frequent and smaller portions throughout the day, Liver King prefers three large, nutritious meals a day.

His diet is built on dense nutrition, not calorie counting or frequent macronutrient supplementation. Each meal contains a high proportion of nutrients in their natural form, which he believes promote recovery, muscle growth and overall health.

Meal 1: Breakfast

• 6 fresh farm eggs
• 30g protein shake with ice cold Mountain Valley Spring mineral water
• 100g homemade Greek yogurt with 30g maple syrup
  • Liver King adds the following to the yogurt:
    • 5g creatine
    • 10g collagen
    • 30g almond butter
    • 20g of clarified butter (ghee)
    • 2g Redmond sea salt
• 2 ounces (56g) raw liver with maple syrup and Redmond sea salt
• 1 ounce (28g) raw bone marrow with maple syrup and Redmond sea salt
• Half a pint (237 ml) of fresh raw milk (usually milked the same day)

Note: If Liver King feels full, mix the protein shake with milk instead of water.

Meal 2: Lunch (After Training)

• Same composition as breakfast

Meal 3: Dinner

"For six days a week I cook a meal, but on Thursdays I eat raw."

• 450g of full-fat, cooked red meat
  • Options:
    • Ribeye steak (from grass-fed cows)
    • Minced wagyu
    • Short ribs
    • Mixed organ meats (liver, spleen, pancreas, heart, kidney)
• 56-85g of something raw (e.g. raw bull testicles, thymus or heart)
• 1 avocado with extra virgin olive oil and Redmond sea salt
• Optional: sweet potato with maple syrup and crunchy sea salt - only if you think it deserves it.

Liver King's diet is based on natural, whole, raw foods that he believes provide maximum bioavailability of nutrients. Overall, he adheres to the philosophy that food is not only a source of energy, but also a way to return to the instincts of our ancestors.

Liver King's training program

Like another famous Johnson with a brutal physique (yes, a nod to The Rock), Brian Johnson aka Liver King leaves nothing to chance. His training regimen is extreme and focuses on strength, explosiveness and endurance. Johnson draws from the Westside Barbell Conjugate Method, one of the most respected systems for developing maximum strength. He believes this approach is the toughest and most effective.

He trains every day, sometimes even twice a day. Even on recovery days, she stays active and keeps moving.

Weekly training plan

Monday

Morning:

• Lower body training with emphasis on maximum strength (1RM - one-rep max)

Evening:

• Metabolic conditioning focused on muscle growth (hypertrophy)
• Heavy Deadlifts
• Olympic lifts
• Handstand push-ups
• Push-ups with chest to trapeze
• Rope climb without using your legs

Tuesday

Morning:

• Back
• Back delts
• Core (mid-body)

Evening:

• Upper Body Pressure Exercises
• Dynamic and plyometric exercises

Wednesday: recovery day

Johnson may be resting from the heavy weights, but he's still moving.

• A long walk in the sun (several miles)
• Sprints on an Assault bike, rowing machine or Ski Erg (simulating a hunt)
• Fasting for 24 hours, which he breaks only after this training routine - when he deserves it, of course.

Thursday

Morning:

• Lower body
• Plyometric exercises

Evening:

• Metabolic conditioning (with emphasis on hypertrophy)
• Heavy Deadlifts
• Olympic lifts
• Kettlebell swings
• Powerlifting

Friday

Morning:

• Upper body with emphasis on maximal strength (1RM)

Evening:

• Metabolic conditioning focused on hypertrophy
• Muscle-ups on rings
• Heavy medicine ball repositioning
• Standing walk

Saturday: 'Super Barbarian' - Liver King's favourite workout

This workout is an extreme combination of strongman-inspired strength disciplines, topped off with a brutal mid-body workout.

The Barbarian workout (Liver King's original challenge):

• 70lb (32kg) kettlebell in each hand
• 20lb (9kg) kettlebell at each ankle
• 70lb (32kg) backpack
• 120lb (54kg) sled that drags on the ground

Liver King plans to expand the challenge worldwide, pulling sleds across iconic sites such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.

Sunday

• More slow walks in the sun
• Tabata push-ups (mandatory, no excuses!)

After this day, Liver King concludes its weekly training cycle.

Summary of Liver King's training

✅ Daily training, sometimes twice a day
✅ Strength training inspired by the Westside Barbell method
✅ Plyometrics, strongman exercises and the brutal "Barbarian Challenge"
✅ Regenerative days full of movement - no sitting on the couch
✅ Every workout is a challenge - body and mind must fight

"Every step, every lift, every rep brings you closer to your original self - the primal you were always meant to be."

Source:Fitnessvolt.com