Mitchell Hooper is one of the greatest athletes to have ever competed in Strongman, but he is still impressed by some of his predecessors. In turn, he has decided to shine a light on another incredible Strongman on his YouTube recently. Specifically, Mitchell reacted to the 2017 World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall’s, greatest ever lifts.
Eddie Hall’s Strongman career in itself is a testament to how incredibly strong he was. However, Mitchell Hooper decided to analyze his best lifts even further. In conclusion, Hooper revealed that, in his opinion, Eddie Hall is the strongest person of all time when it comes to static strength, including both lower and upper body feats of strength.
Mitchell Hooper Reacts to Eddie Hall’s Greatest Lifts
Mitchell Hooper is open about his opinions of other elite Strongman athletes, always giving a fair judgment on the achievements of those who held the professional stage before him. One of those was Eddie Hall. So, Hooper decided to react to a few of his greatest lifts and point out what makes Hall one of the greatest Strongman athletes of all time.
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“I’m going to prove with these clips what a freak Eddie was and why the way I perform lifts and the way he performs lifts are so different. The static strength of Eddie Hall makes him the strongest static person of all time.”
500-kg (1,102.3-lb) Deadlift
It is safe to say that Eddie Hall’s greatest ever lift is his half-ton deadlift, as he pushed the limits of what was considered humanly possible. Hooper touched upon the lift a bit, pointing out that it looked very smooth. Moreover, Hooper also hinted towards the possibility of his own attempt at a 500-kilogram (1,102.3-pound) deadlift in the future.
“How could we not start with the most iconic lift, in my opinion, of all time? This is the 500-kilogram deadlift. When this day started, the world record was 463 kilograms (1,020.7 pounds). He took this and beat that by 37 kilograms (81.6 pounds) in one day… To be honest, top to bottom, this lift was relatively smooth. If we watch that back in real-time, the only point of difficulty is really just above the knee.”
216-kg (476.2-lb) Axle Press
Mitchell Hooper has since broken Eddie Hall’s Axle Press World Record, but still points out how incredible his 216-kilogram (476.2-pound) lift was. Hooper used the split jerk technique to achieve the record, which gave him a bigger power output. On the other hand, Hall used brute strength to strict press the Axle and achieve a World Record at the time.
“It’s a 216-kilogram (476.2-pound) strict press, which is absurd. When I did this lift, I had to flip my hand in midair because I don’t have the same shelf or belly to sit the bar on. After that, I was able to pop it straight up to my shoulders and I split-jerked it, so I did it with a much more powerful style. But Eddie’s strength is something to behold.
345-kg (760.6-lb) Squat
Mitchell Hooper believes that some of Eddie Hall’s greatest happened in the gym. One of those is his 7-rep 345-kilogram (760.6-pound) squat. He performed the set with ease, not wearing a lifting belt, knee sleeves, or other supportive equipment. Hooper also admits that he would not be able to match this squat set despite his incredible lower-body strength.
“Those are the only competition lifts I’ve included because I find what Eddie’s done in the gym way more impressive than what he has done in competitions. It’s one thing to recognize that he is the statically strongest person of all time.
Here’s the first video: a 345-kilogram (760.6-pound) squat for seven reps. A couple of points of interest here: He’s doing this without a belt, no soft belt, no hard belt, and without even knee sleeves on… But 345 kilograms for seven reps is a very serious squat.
My best ever at 345 kilograms (760.6 pounds) in sleeves is four reps… My best, without sleeves, would probably be two (reps) at this weight, and it would be very uncomfortable, awkward, and slow. As we watch Eddie go through these reps, it’s very obvious that this is not much of a maximum effort for him. The sixth rep moves nearly as fast as the first… Even still, it’s not a maximum effort. Hats off to Eddie for not having a spotter.”
265-kg (584.2-lb) Bench Press
Another gym lift that caught Mitchell Hooper’s attention was Hall’s 265-kilogram (584.2-pound) bench press. Eddie performed six paused repetitions, making the lift look very easy. Hooper pointed out that Hall’s technique was not optimized to help him move as much weight as possible. But, regardless of that, his strength alone was good enough to move an incredible amount of weight for six reps.
“His raw pressing power almost doesn’t make sense to me. 265-kilogram (584.2-pound) [bench] – He hits this for six reps paused. There are no wrist wraps, no elbow sleeves. If you know bench pressing well, this isn’t a technical bench press with an elevated chest and perfect leg drive. He’s just pumping them out. The tricep strength required to do something like that is absolutely off the charts. This would be the reason why he can strict press 200+ kilograms (440.9+ pounds) on an axle or barbell. His pure power from triceps and his chest, back in the day, was absurd.”
225-kg (496-lb) Incline Bench Press
Even the incline bench press came easy for Eddie Hall, as his incredible strength allowed him to rep out 225 kilograms (496 pounds) with ease. He performed the lift without spotters or any special equipment, which added to the impressiveness of the set. Similar to the standard bench press, Eddie fully relied on his unbelievable strength.
“Now, to continue on to these absurd gym lifts, we are going back to pressing. In the pressing category, I don’t believe Eddie Hall is touched. 225-kilogram (496-pound) incline bench for five reps. The crazy thing is he is doing this with no spotter. There is no glamour about it; it’s a standard commercial gym. He’s doing 225 kilograms for five paused reps on an incline press. To give context, I might be able to do 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds) for a double, but Eddie does 225 for five. This is insane! It’s well in excess of my capacity.”
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Once again shifting focus to Hall’s shoulder strength, Hooper pointed out his 25-rep shoulder press with 70-kilogram (154.3-pound) dumbbells in each hand. Hall didn’t get any help from the spotter, picking up the dumbbells, carrying them to the bench, and performing the exercise set on his own.
“His work with dumbbells is something to behold. 70 kilograms for 25 reps. You watch the first few reps with 70 kilograms; that’s about 150 pounds for those in North America, and it is almost nothing… In terms of pumping out the weight, he is absolutely toying with 150 pounds in each hand. I don’t know if anyone else on the planet who is a full-strength athlete could do this. Absolutely incredible!”
World Record Log Lift Attempt
Lastly, Mitchell Hooper reacted to Eddie Hall’s 230-kilogram (507-pound) Log Lift World Record attempt. Hall did not manage to get the record but did get very close. Unfortunately, Eddie lost his balance, which prevented him from reaching lockout. However, it still serves as a testament to his mind-blowing strength.
“The interesting thing about this lift is that he missed it. But he didn’t miss it on strength; he missed it on technique. And from the top of his forehead, he shoulder-pressed a log of 230 kilograms. He showed that he was physically capable of 230 kilograms, or 507 pounds, from the forehead to lockout in a standing position.
You need the core strength, the stability, and the tricep strength – absolute next level. So, I believe Eddie Hall is the strongest static person of all time.”
Watch the full video here:
Contrary to Eddie Hall, Mitchell Hooper believes that his success in Strongman is mostly attributed to his athleticism and technique rather than pure power. This has clearly been working well for him, as he has won 14 out of 23 international competitions in which he took part. Hooper is now preparing for the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic, where he hopes to claim his third consecutive title.
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