MILFORD, Mass. -- Don't tell Popeye. It turns out you don't need to eat your spinach to get the world's biggest arms.
Massachusetts bodybuilder Moustafa Ismail eats seven pounds of protein, nine pounds of carbohydrates and three gallons of water each day to help maintain upper arms that measure 31 inches around – as big as a small man's waist.
Skeptics say there must also be steroids or some other artificial means behind Ismail's beyond-bulging biceps and triceps, and Guinness World Records is waffling on whether to recognize him.
But he insists they are all-natural, the result of a punishing workout regimen he started after a guest at his uncle's wedding in his native Egypt mocked his overweight frame.
"They call me Popeye, the Egyptian Popeye," Ismail, 24, said while working out in the Boston suburb of Milford. But unlike the cartoon character, "I like chicken, beef, anything but spinach."
It's not easy having the world's biggest arms.
Generous amounts of poultry, seafood and shakes provide the protein he needs to fuel daily two-hour workouts in which he lifts as much as 600 pounds. He also takes mineral and vitamin supplements and drinks plenty of water to flush out his system.
Then there's clothes shopping. The rest of Ismail's body is average, so it's a challenge finding shirts that fit his arms without making him look like a little kid playing dress-up.
