'World's fittest teenager', 16, eats 3,500 calories a day to keep up her strength
The 'world's fittest teenager' has revealed just what it takes to keep her strength up and be able to lift almost twice her own bodyweight.
Keira McManus, a record-breaking 16-year-old from the UK, eats a whopping 3,500 calories per day to maintain her impressive muscle mass.
Despite recently having to cut back on her training in order to study for her GCSEs, the teen was recently crowned as the world's fittest teenager for the third year in a row at the CrossFit Games.
McManus has been training in a number of different sports from a young age, but her love for CrossFit really blossomed during the Covid-19 lockdown, when she was unable to take part in any of her other activities.
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"I've been doing some form of fitness since the age of seven and did my first competition at 11," the 16-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent, England, said. "I just fell in love with the sport."
She added: "During Covid I couldn't do my other sports like football so I just focused on CrossFit and fitness with my family."
McManus stuck to a gruelling training regime while studying for her exams, getting home from school around 4pm and heading to the gym at 5pm until 8.30pm every night.
She even went as far as taking her revision to the gym with her, to read her notes while cycling on the exercise bike, so she could train and learn at the same time.
Fortunately, her hectic schedule has all been worth it, after the teen beat off stiff competition from 20 of her competitors from all around the world to claim the title in California on 26 July.
"It was a huge shock to win again - I have no words. The sacrifices and work I've put in over the past couple of months to get this title have been worth it," she said.
“It’s really, really hard, the training can be really mentally hard because of how much of yourself you're giving to it. Winning it is such a relief as well, knowing it was worth all the hours of training I put in to get to this."
But maintaining this level of strength takes more than just training, as McManus has to sink around 3,500 calories a day to keep up with her training and maintain muscle mass.
She starts everyday with a breakfast of porridge, a banana, a protein shake and a single custard cream, consuming more than 150g of protein per day and around 1kg of chicken every single week.
Despite only weighing 10 stone 12lbs (69kg), the super strong teen can lift an impressive 265lbs, almost twice her body weight, above her head.
McManus can also bench press 198lbs, clean and jerk 265lbs and snatch 198lbs - all of which allowed her to be named the fittest under 18 female in the world, while setting a world record of becoming the first girl to win three consecutive titles at the CrossFit Games.
Now, the teen's plan is to 'just keep training and develop as an athlete,' but she has some important advice for anyone who might be hoping to follow in her footsteps.
"Just be willing. Don't be intimidated by new classes and exercises as that's where most people fail and quit," she said.
"Sleep is important as it recovers your body the most - nine hours per day to prioritise strength and recovery.
"Fuelling before and after workouts is good to provide the best results. Protein shakes go a long way, but so does a balanced diet.
"It's important to remember you need to eat to perform."
McManus' dad Joel has shared his pride after his daughter's impressive hat-trick.
“I'm very proud of her. She first won in 2024, which was a bit of a shock to us as it was her first year and then last year she won it again," he said.
"Then she stepped up and won in her new division, which is unheard of. We can’t believe it but we’re on a winning streak, she’s such a high-level athlete.
“Everyone sees her potential, our objective is to see what we can do at the elite levels in the adult women's category and see how far she’ll go.”
Emma Rosemurgey