Mitchell Hooper once again proved himself after retaining his title at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic. Now, in a recent YouTube video, Mitchell Hooper and Stan Efferding sat down to discuss their best practices for nutrition and supplementation.
Mitchell Hooper has established himself as a formidable force in the world of Strongman. The Canadian-based athlete made his debut at the 2022 World’s Strongest Man earning a respectable eighth-place finish. He continued honing his craft that year and took third place at the Shaw Classic, first place at the Arnold UK, and another third-place finish at the Rogue International.
His success in 2022 transferred into 2023 where Hooper took the title of Arnold Strongman and then went on to win the world’s most prestigious strength sports competition, the 2023 World’s Strongest Man. Hooper continued his upward momentum which launched him into first place at the 2024 Arnold Strongman competition where he earned his second title.
Meeting the nutritional needs of a Strongman comes with its fair share of challenges. In comes nutritional expert Stan Efferding who deploys actionable steps for creating the ideal diet for an athlete. As a bodybuilder, Stan Efferding personally knows what is demanded of the body when competing professionally in the realm of fitness.
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Mitchell Hooper And Stan Efferding Talk Nutrition Tips And ‘Dirty Bulking’
Mitchell Hooper joined Stan Efferding as he talked about clean eating along with the difference between fitness and health.
“I’ve dirty bulked many times and got up to over 300 pounds and I saw all of the problems. And so, that’s why I focused on first and foremost is kind of mitigating damage along the way. We just discussed before we got on camera here, fitness and health are not the same thing. Health is being free from illness or injury.”
“Fitness, the ability to perform a particular duty or task. The ability to become the World’s Strongest Man is not necessarily healthy and we would say that just about any sport” said Efferding.
Hooper chimed in about what he eats and how he has incorporated some of Efferding’s food creations into his everyday diet.
“My protein shake. I have my orange juice and yogurt [blended together]. I’ve got some free carbs throughout the day. I might have rice cakes or some form of cereal or something like that.”
Hooper elaborated on what is in Efferding’s ‘monster mash,’ and Efferding explained how he came up with it in the first place.
“Rice, ground beef is what I usually use, broth, and some type of vegetable,” said Mitchell Hooper
“I had some gum surgery many years ago, it’s been 15-plus years ago. I had some receding in my gums so I had a gum surgery,” said Stan Effering.
“I thought well why would I just make up something that was almost liquid that I could pretty much not have to chew.”
Next, Efferding discusses his thoughts on post-workout protein and whether it should be avoided.
“No. I know the scientific community has talked about there not being an anabolic window and you don’t need to jam down protein immediately after a workout. My answer to that is no one ever got big not eating.”
“We have a different demand on us [for athletes]. Calories are king. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking in protein and carbs post-workout” Efferding added.
Efferding also opened up on dinner-time foods and how to be more satiated at the end of the night.
“Dinner time is usually when I eat my salmon. It’s one of my favorite meals. I made that in that Ninja grill and it’s unbelievable,” said Efferding.
“At night time, since you have the night to sleep, the potato is a good time to eat that. Potatoes are pretty satiating.
On the satiety index they have done some studies, they have a satiety index and measure how long certain foods keep you full. Fruits are on there, oranges are on there, but not orange juice.”
Stan Efferding And Mitchell Hooper Talk Vitamin D And Magnesium Supplementation
Efferding and Hooper had a lot to say about supplements, specifically Vitamin D, stating that athletes tend to have lower levels. They also discussed why taking it daily instead of in a mega dose is more beneficial for the body.
“Vitamin D, the sun vitamin, the pro hormone, it – I have seen consistently and I have experienced myself with blood testing that it could be low with athletes in particular.”
“If it’s below 30, it makes sense to bring that up. Now, if your vitamin D is 50, bringing it up to 70, 80, or 90 is not going to give you any performance benefit. I don’t want to suggest that mega-dosing vitamins is a good plan. Magnesium is also hard to get from the diet.”
“It’s better to take vitamin D once a day versus taking it in a mega dose once a week” Efferding stated.
Hooper explained how Vitamin D is one of the supplements Efferding specifically instructs him to take because of its health and performance properties.
“Vitamin D in specific, is one of the few things I’m instructed by Stan to take every day. Vitamin D is used to synthesize hormones, it has a very positive effect on mental health and it’s not in abundance when we can’t synthesize through our skin in low-light times of year, like in the Canadian winter.”
“In this one study here, supplementation of vitamin D3 resulted in a 19% increase in strength for the participants,” said Hooper.
“This study is done with people who are not trained and we didn’t have a control group who didn’t strength train and those who did.”
Stan Efferding isn’t the only one who has talked about ‘dirty bulking’ and its effects on weight. Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler has shared his thoughts, stating that he prefers ‘lean bulking’ over ‘dirty bulking.’ Cutler believes you can put on size without eating a ton of calories and emphasizes the importance of cardio.
Whether it is putting on muscle and strength or simply losing some unwanted body fat, Stan Efferding has you covered. The former bodybuilder and powerlifter-turned-nutritional coach shares his knowledge of fitness with easy-to-understand information. Getting healthy has never been easier with the guidance of Efferding and Mitchell on your side.
RELATED: Stan Efferding Explains How He Changed His Training To ‘Optimize Longevity’ at 56 Years Old
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