Jonah Lomu’s Gym Records Were Absolutely Bonkers

The colossal winger — quite possibly the most physically imposing athlete the game had ever seen — exploded onto the global stage, becoming an overnight phenomenon.

Lomu powered his way to seven tries in the tournament, including a breathtaking four in the semi-final demolition of England, as the All Blacks surged to their second World Cup final.

All this while Lomu battled against the debilitating effects of nephrotic syndrome, a condition that would ultimately cost him his life in November 2015, aged just 40.

A legend in every sense of the word, Lomu scaled similar heights to those he reached in South Africa at RWC 1999, the eight tries he scored taking his overall tally to 15 – a record since matched by Bryan Habana.

Lomu scored 37 tries in 63 tests for the All Blacks and helped New Zealand win gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

During a Q&A with the Independent, Lomu revealed some advice for players, as well as his impressive gym records at the time.

Of the two, speed is the crucial thing. I seem to react fairly quickly to weights – in a week I could put on two and a half or three kilos – so I have to be careful not to train too much and to stay away from the weights a bit. I do repeated speed and cross-training every day. It's weights for an hour and a half on Monday and then back to the gym later in the week, but mainly for plyometrics and bungee cord. It's about building up explosive power.

I'd tell them to enjoy the game and everything else will follow. They need to train as hard as they can but enjoying the game is the most important thing. I discovered rugby union when I went to boarding school – it was the only contact sport they played.

I pretty much eat the way I feel. We can eat what we like as long as we don't eat too much. It's down to us really, but if you don't look after yourself you're always going to get shown up on the field.

I normally have a large helping of mashed potatoes, bread and spaghetti – with tomato sauce. Most of it is just about carbo-loading really.

Benchpress: 220kg

Squad: 340kg