It’s unclear when the legend of Semi Ojeleye began, exactly, but the famous scouting report provided by Draft Express in 2017—which referred to his “thick, jacked frame”—certainly played a role in cultivating his status as the NBA’s most impressively muscled player. A 2017 second-round pick of the Boston Celtics, Ojeleye is cultivating a reputation as a defensive standout, but one thing he certainly doesn’t need to do much of anymore is work out. The man’s frame is indeed thick and jacked.

How Ojeleye attained his buff body—"Muscles Jesus" is just one of many nicknames he’s earned—has been the subject of considerable curiosity since he entered the league, but the answer is disappointingly straightforward: It's the product of pairing otherworldly athleticism with an exercise regimen that consists of no days off. Nevertheless, we asked the second-year player to talk through the evolution of his strength-training philosophy, his fondness for Sonic happy hour, and his thoughts on who the NBA's strongest pound-for-pound player really is. (Hint: Those who think they own that title would be well advised to do some more push-ups.)

GQ: I’m going to fact-check you right off the top. You once claimed you do 3,786 bicep curls a day. Are you going to stick to that number?

Semi Ojeleye: Ha, no. Never happened. That was a joke, and someone just took it and ran with it.

Worth checking. Were you always a strong-looking guy, or did that come after a certain age?

I probably started working out and hitting the weights at 13 or 14. It was just a consistency thing. In high school, I was just trying to get lifts in.

Was there something you did differently than other people? Was there a secret workout?

Not really. I guess when some people took days off, I didn’t. I just tried to go at it as hard as possible. When I started playing guys across the country, there were some big, athletic dudes in my class. That’s where I was trying to get my edge—I knew if I put in that extra day, it would help me catch up.

I need the full story on The Ox nickname. First off, who came up with it?

I’m not sure where that one started. It was a teammate, though. The nicknames just come and go, and I just roll with them. I’ve had people call me Thor. Someone called me a kangaroo in college. Then there’s the Ojeleye Factory—I don’t even know where that came from, but some Boston fans started that. I heard The Man Made of Granite, too. I couldn’t even dream of this stuff.