On the weekend entering December 2024, 2024 Strongest Man on Earth, Mitchell Hooper traversed the Atlantic from Canada to Birmingham, England, to give a keynote to chiropractors, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists about his experience as an elite strongman. Throughout his address, the main point was this: everyone should train like a strongman.
Given that Hooper has been on 23 consecutive podiums in the leadup to this keynote, he is undoubtedly the most consistent strongman in the world.
[Related: Mateusz Kieliszkowski Sets Stone Press World Record at 2024 Magnus Ver Magnusson Classic]
Limitations of Research & Education
Hooper graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in human kinetics. He later received his masters in clinical exercise physiology from the University of Sydney.
You have to take a chance on people to understand their potential.
—Mitchell Hooper
Hooper never aspired to be successful in the competitive aspect of sport as much as he did in improving the lives of others through lifting and exercise. Unfortunately, in Canada, no accredited body recognized the degree Hooper was vying for in Australia.
Every aspect of my life centered around exercise.
—Mitchell Hooper
When Hooper endeavored in his first natural bodybuilding show, which required losing 70 kilograms of bodyweight, he newly understood how challenging it was for people to lose weight. He admits that dropping weight for his bodybuilding show was “exponentially more difficult” than becoming the 2023 World’s Strongest Man.
One aspect that education did not fully explore that Hooper learned from his competitive accolades is that “improper form is not dangerous.” The principle of progressive overload applies systemically and locally to the muscle tissues being trained. Injuries occur only when the tolerance of those tissues is exceeded, but they can be trained.
Learning proper bracing is more likely to prevent injury during a deadlift than maintaining a straight back because the neutrality of one’s spine is not as indicative of excess pressure on the lower back as how the hip socket aligns with the pelvis during the setup. Deadlift postures change because people have different structures.
Form is task dependant. Building strength is entirely about the central nervous system.
—Mitchell Hooper
Regardless of how much he learned through his education or how much he studied, it wasn’t until he experienced things firsthand that he grasped what research and education couldn’t translate.
Where Competitive Advantage Is Truly Gained
“It’s really not what you think it might be,” Hooper said, introducing this section. A weighted statement for the athlete routinely defeats Tom Stoltman and Hafthor Björnsson in competition — both outsize Hooper in height and weight in a sport where mass moving mass is often a fruitful advantage.
Lifting things in competition is not lifting things to be healthy.
—Mitchell Hooper
Hooper became the first Canadian to win the WSM title, and he did it one year after his WSM debut, where he had never performed several of the events before, like the truck pull.
Strongman is the six fundamental human movement patterns converted to sport and pushed to maximal limits. Those six movements are push, carry, overhead press, pull, squat, and hinge.
Hooper leverages his training recovery by maximizing three aspects: managing life stress, optimized nutrition, and optimized sleep. When building muscle, “nutrition is an art, not a science.” Hooper espoused that nutrition optimized to 80 percent should be sufficient for most people’s health goals.
Love the process more than the outcome.
—Mitchell Hooper
Hooper’s means of success versus other strongmen is how he obtains and utilizes information. He is simply more clinical with relevant information than his opposition.
Obtaining Information
- Discover All Surrounding Problems, Goals, Ambitions
- Create a Plan for the Person, not the Problem
- Fit the Outcome to the Person
- Determine Prescription
- Stick With the Person Through the End of the Process
- Listen to Identified Problem
More Strongman Content
- Strongman Martins Licis Learns to Grapple and Get Grappled Before the Holidays
- 2024 Magnús Ver Magnússon Strongman Classic Results
- Dr. Mike Israetel Critiques Brian Shaw’s Strongman Training
Featured image: @mitchellhooper on Instagram
