Mitchell Hooper is easily one of the greatest Strongman athletes in the history of the sport, possessing all of the core abilities that are necessary for the sport. That includes an incredible overhead pressing power, which is one of Hooper’s greatest strengths. However, he is also constantly working on making further improvements, and that resulted in a brand new personal record recently. Specifically, Hooper managed to overhead press his heaviest ever Log in training, coming out to mind-blowing 213 kilograms (469.5 pounds).
The Log Lift consists of multiple aspects, which make it an extremely complicated exercise. Firstly, the thickness of the Log makes it extremely difficult to perform any movement, let alone pick it up and press it overhead. However, Mitchell Hooper has mastered the movement, which allows him to lift huge amounts of weight with nothing but a lifting belt, elbow sleeves, and wrist wraps to aid him.
Mitchell Hooper’s technique of choice for the 213-kilogram (469.5-pound) Log Lift PR was a Push Press. This meant that, before he started lifting the weight above his head, Hooper bent his knees slightly and utilized the leg drive to produce more pressing power. This allowed him to perform the majority of the movement within a fraction of a second, only needing to focus on the elbow lockout afterwards. The lockout came easy as well, meaning that Hooper walked away with a new PR.
“100% recovered from winning the Strongest Man on Earth”
Watch Mitchell Hooper’s lift here:
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Related: Mitchell Hooper Addresses Controversy Following His Win at 2024 Strongest Man On Earth
Mitchell Hooper also attempted to lift a 222-kilogram (489.4-pound) Log in the same training session. He managed to Clean it from the floor with ease and took a second to take a breath before attempting to lift it. Unfortunately, once he tried to press the Log, Hooper lost balance and dropped the implement in front of himself. He almost got injured by the Log that rolled back towards him, but his quick thinking helped him avoid it.
Another testament to Mitchell Hooper’s insane upper-body strength is his Axle Clean & Press World Record of 218 kilograms (480.6 pounds). He set that record at the 2024 Giants Live Strongman Classic and utilized a split-jerk to lift it. So, his way of lifting an Axle is completely different from lifting a Log, but his prowess in both shows that the key element of it is his static strength.
Mitchell Hooper is coming off a win at the 2024 Strongest Man on Earth, which is now placed along with all of his other achievements. His other competition wins that deserve to be mentioned are the 2023 WSM, 2023 & 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic, and the 2023 Rogue Invitational. So, Hooper has won all of the major titles that the sport has to offer, but is determined to continue building his legacy.
Watch the full training session here:
Mitchell Hooper’s gearing up for the 2024 Giants Live World Open and World Log Lift Challenge. This guy’s been on fire lately, and he’s itching to go head-to-head with the cream of the crop in Log Lifting. Everyone’s wondering if he can beat his own crazy record of 213 kilos (that’s 469.5 pounds!). So who knows? We might see him lift something even heavier this time.