Canadian Strongman Mitchell Hooper is one of the fastest-rising names in the entire fitness space. Although he’s only in his second year of competing, he has already made waves with his freakish strength. Most recently, Hooper issued a brutal challenge of lifting 1,000 lbs on the deadlift and bench press in under 10 seconds. He then proved that it is possible by completing the challenge himself.
Mitchell Hooper first gained attention for his crazy feats of strength after replacing veteran Rauno Heinla at the 2022 World’s Strongest Man. He emerged as a budding talent who defeated strongman icon Brian Shaw to win his qualifying group and finished eighth in his maiden international competition. However, it didn’t take long for Hooper to score a gold medal in a professional competition. After taking back-to-back bronze medals at the 2022 Shaw Classic and Rogue Invitational, he secured his first victory at the 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals and another at the 2022 Arnold UK.
Hooper kicked off this season by dominating the competition at the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic. He then moved on to the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, which was also his most recent appearance this year. Going up against a stacked lineup, he took the lead early and managed to retain it to score the biggest win of his career. He won the 2023 WSM title convincingly over the likes of former champions Shaw, Oleksii Novikov, and Tom Stoltman.
Following the event, Hooper admitted there were moments where he felt he was in trouble, like on the deadlift machine and Conan’s Wheel. Moreover, Hooper pointed out the lack of a comprehensive ruleset being provided to the athletes at the 2023 WSM. He urged minimizing ambiguity and increasing the standard for judging.
Mitchell Hooper then revealed how he achieved so much in so little time, covering many factors that come in to play. For him, creatin and protein powder are two ’non-negotiable’ supplements for peak performance. He also takes pre-workout and multivitamins as well, but prioritizes recovery above all else after completing a tough training session. He believes in moderation and even finds use in consuming alcohol or sugar to aid his training and rest. Overall, he relies on protein to build muscle and pre-workout to get him up and running for a session.
It is a widely know fact that Hooper loves a good challenge, which is why he took on Golden Era bodybuilder Tom Platz’s grueling 1992 legendary squat challenge of lifting a 525-lb squat for 23 reps. Although his form did not line up exactly like Platz, he managed to outshine ‘The Quadfather’ by completing an additional rep. Then, he pushed himself to the limit by attempting legendary strongman Eddie Hall’s ‘death by deadlift’ set.
Hooper recently left the fans stunned by recording a new PR of a huge 463-lb (210-kg) bench press for three reps while in prep for the upcoming 2023 Shaw Classic.
Mitchell Hooper issues an insane 1000-lb challenge he smoked in under 10 seconds
In a recent Instagram post, Mitchell Hooper crushed a total of 1,000 pounds on the deadlift and bench press in just 9.13 seconds. He challenged his competition to attempt the same.
“@roguefitness 1000 lbs challenge in 9.13s. 545 lbs deadlift, 455 lbs bench. Open challenge to any of the big dogs to beat that,” wrote Hooper.
Mitchell Hooper learned some valuable tips on building muscle from seven-time Men’s 212 Olympia king, Flex Lewis, in a collaborative shoulder training session. He followed up with a blood flow restriction workout and laid out different ways to use it for boosting strength.
Recently, CrossFit athlete Dani Speegle took a page out of Hooper’s notebook and squatted the behemoth on her back in a joint workout.
Based on the latest update, Hooper is in fine form going into his next competition and will likely continue his successful run. It will be interesting to see whether any other competitor takes him up on the brutal challenge.
Published: 9 August, 2023 | 2:07 AM EDT
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