For as long as the human race, unnaturally strong men have always attracted some sort of attention for their exploits and incredible strength. They often made a name for themselves as warriors for a long time. When Warcraft no longer relied on pure physical strength, many started performing at circuses. But today, strongmen are most found in strength athletics, competitions designed to test raw strength with seemingly unconventional tasks.
Over the past year, a potential strongman who has generated a lot of buzz on the internet and subsequently gathered a significant following is Tom Haviland. He has shocked and impressed many people – even professionals – with how easy it is for him to lift weights that even other athletes consider heavy. His training is also unconventional because, beyond weightlifting, he also hauls things like truck parts and stones around.
However, a major factor that adds to his intrigue is that he keeps his face hidden in his social media posts. Often wearing a baseball hat and looking away from the camera, many people want to know who exactly Tom Haviland is. In this article, we reveal all you need to know about the mysterious Tom Haviland.
In This Tom Haviland Story…
Tom Haviland Quick Facts
| Name: | Tom Haviland |
| Age: | 37 years old |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Height: | 6’8’ (203 cm) |
| Weight: | 364 lbs (157 kg) |
| Instagram: | @tom_haviland |
Tom Haviland Age, Weight, and Height
There is no official confirmation of his age, but in his recent interview with Daily Mail, the publication mentioned that he was 37. We do not have any information on his date of birth either. If he is 37, he is undoubtedly a bit old since he has yet to participate in many professional competitions. It may also indicate that he intends to refrain from competing professionally. But there is definitely still time for him to compete on the biggest strongman stages.
In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan describes Tom Haviland as having “the most freakish physique ever.” And he was not wrong. Tom’s physique is unique and has been attained through years of life outdoors, intense training, and a mix of the right genes. Standing at 6 foot, eight inches, or 203 centimetres, Tom Haviland is taller than most regular people and even other strongmen. He also weighs 364 lbs or 157 kg but has bulked up to 400 lbs or 181 kg in the past.
This height and weight combination has led a lot of fans to compare him to Hafþór Björnsson, an Icelandic professional strongman who is 6’9” (205 cm) tall and weighs between 397 – 463 lbs (180 -210 kg). Hafþór is one of the most accomplished strongmen and is the only person to have won Europe’s Strongest Man, World’s Strongest Man, and the Arnold Strongman Classic in the same calendar year (2018).
Why Doesn’t Tom Haviland Show His Face?
After tons of questions from fans on different social media platforms, Haviland eventually revealed why he prefers to keep his face hidden in his interview with Daily Mail, and it is not at all weird, contrary to speculation that he has a deformity, condition, or injury. He believes keeping his face hidden on social media is important to keep his private life private, and that is very important to him. He’s so private that his Instagram account is still private, even with over 700,000 followers!
He wants fans to simply focus on his training, not who he is as a person, and he feels it is essential to set boundaries on social media, not exposing everything that concerns him to the world. But he continues to leave a few personal details in his videos. He also admits to getting amused by all the speculations about why he keeps his face hidden online.
Another aspect of his “privacy aesthetic” that has gotten much attention online is hsi clothing choice. Unlike many other strongmen, athletes, or bodybuilders, he rarely appears in outfits that show off his muscles or gains. Most of the time, Tom Haviland makes his videos in workwear. But he explained that this is also a purely practical choice. His work on a property requires that he is usually dressed in workwear, so he just films his training videos in them.
Tom Haviland’s Workout Routine and Diet
Given his private nature, we do not have a lot of details about Tom Haviland’s workout routine or diet. But we know his physique isn’t purely a result of gym training. He was very active as a kid, and growing up in a rural area, he spent a lot of time outdoors. Eventually, he started to play sports, mainly basketball. But weight-lifting was initially only to improve his abilities as an athlete. He started with some of the unconventional things he’s known for today, like logs and rocks.
He then met Derek Boyer, a 12-time Australian Strongest Man champion. Derek took a liking to him, and they started to train together. Eventually, he also met Josh Bryant (Josh Strength), who served as his strength coach for a long time. Due to his private nature, there’s a lot we don’t know about his exact workout routine, but here are some of the incredible things we’ve seen Tom Haviland do:
- The 90 with 90s: This is a 90-minute hike with a 90-pound pack that Haviland reportedly goes on every morning, and it is simply an outstanding feat.
- Deadlifting 1000 lbs (455 kg) with no suit
- A two-second pause Zercher with 705 lbs (320 kg).
- A log seal row with 419 lbs (190 kg) and holding it for 10 seconds
- 235 lbs (107 kg) bicep curls
- Lifting a 275 lbs (125 kg) stone to his shoulder, walking five steps, doing squats, moving the stone to his other shoulder & repeating the steps and squats.
- Squatting with 692 lbs (312.5 kg) for five reps.
A 2021 video on Josh Bryant’s channel revealed a more structured Tom Haviland training routine.
Day 1: In the Morning –
- Squats with 555 lbs (252 kg) for six sets of 10 reps.
- Leg curls ten sets of six reps with a rest time of 40 seconds.
- Walking lunges of forty feet (12 metres) in four sets with 295 lbs (134 kg).
- Farmers walk for 60 seconds with 500 lbs (227 kg) and no straps.
In the Afternoon/Evening –
- Forward sled drags for six sets of fifty feet (15 meters).
- Backward sled drags for six sets of fifty feet (15 meters).
- Bulgarian squats for eight sets of eight reps.
- Body weight squats and Nordic leg crawls.
Day 2: In the Morning –
- W Drills for 36 sets at 80% of max speed
In the Afternoon/Evening
- Light back work and light bicep work
Day 3: In the Morning –
- Supersets of the overhead yoke press and Swiss barbell rows for ten sets of six reps.
- Chain flys with one arm lying incline.
In the Afternoon/Evening –
- Board pressing
- Lats
- Triceps
Day 4: Rest Day
Day 5: In the Morning –
- Deadlifts or speed deadlifts
In the Afternoon/Evening
- Zercher carry
- Bear crawls with a neck harness for 15 yards
- Farmers walk
- Lateral step ups
Day 6: Rest Day
Day 7: In the Morning –
- Plyo push-ups
- Inverted rows
- Dead bench presses
In the Afternoon/Evening
- Bench press
- Incline press
- Decline press
- Dumbbell pause floor flys
- Dumbbell pullover against mini bands
- Dumbbell tri-set extensions
- Rope pushdowns
- Neck extensions
You’ll notice that the routine is missing a lot of key details, and that is because it is supposed to serve as a teaser for the Tactical Hypertrophy / 50 cubed training program coached by Josh Bryant, but it was designed with Tom Haviland. The program is a 9-week intense plan designed to help successful participants build strength, agility, and speed. You can check it out here.
Diet
Just like his workout routine, there’s a lot we do not know about Tome Haviland’s typical diet due to his private nature. A few videos address this subject on the Jailhouse Strong YouTube channel, but the most recent we could find is over two years old.
According to that video, Tom consumes approximately 13,281 calories in a day. The macros are 1780 carbs, 505 g protein, and 461g fat. Here’s a breakdown:
Meal 1
- Blended into a shake – 1000 ml of chocolate milk, 100 g of cereal, 80 g of dates, six eggs, and 50 g of coconut milk powder.
Meals 2 – 5 (Cooked together and divided into four equal meals)
- 1000 g of rice (uncooked weight).
- 800 g of lean beef/kangaroo (uncooked weight).
- 200 g of carrot.
- 200 g of broccoli.
Other meals/snacks eaten throughout the day
- One whole baked slice – 3,438 calories (366 g of carbs, 84 g of protein, and 142 g of fat)
- 1000 ml of chocolate milk.
- 400 ml of grape juice.
- 180 g of waffles.
- 50 ml of creams.
- 50 g of honey.
- One banana.
For an older video of Tom Haviland talking about his diet at the time, you can check this out.
Is Tom Haviland Special Forces?
A rumour has been going around many internet chat rooms for a long time that Tom Haviland is an ex-Australian Special Forces. It was also mentioned in the Joe Rogan episode, where he was briefly discussed.
Rumours like these have probably come up because it is impossible to imagine someone of his physique and strength having lived an ordinary life. The fact that he hides his face on the internet may also mean that there are “secret” details of his life that he wouldn’t want anyone to discover.
While it is possible that he is indeed ex-Australian Special Forces, no definitive evidence supports that claim. As you can imagine, he has also been silent on the subject.
However, his Tactical Hypertrophy program is advertised to be great for Special Forces members because it helps them develop enough strength to physically engage people who are bigger and heavier than them while maintaining the speed and agility of having a smaller body. Few of them have participated in the training and left great reviews, which you can find on its marketplace page.
In conclusion, a few hints here and there may point to him being a former Special Forces, but there is no hard proof to support that claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is Tom Haviland private? Unlike other fitness dudes, Haviland prefers to keep his private life separate from his training. He prefers that anyone who follows him is also interested in his training, not his personal life. This is also most likely why he is private on Instagram.
- Who is the weightlifter who doesn’t show his face? Despite tons of videos of him doing some pretty incredible things, Tom Haviland has gained a reputation as the mysterious powerlifter who has refused to show his face online.
- How much does Tom Haviland weigh? Most recent information indicates that Tom currently weighs 364 lbs (157 kg), but we know that during a previous bulking season with Jailhouse Strong tagged #Operation400, the goal was to get him up to 400 lbs (181 kg), and he most likely met that goal.