A master of his craft, Hooper decided to pass along some strongman wisdom.
Amongst current elite strongman competitors, Mitchell Hooper is likely to be the following big thing. After storming onto the scene in 2022 — notching a podium finish in six of seven contests and winning two of his last three, including the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK — many understandably expect much more from Hooper in 2023. Nevertheless, before he tries to construct on a terrific debut 12 months that saw him captivate the game, the Canadian athlete is first meting out some worthwhile training suggestions.
On Jan. 11, 2023, Hooper posted a video to his YouTube channel where he gave a bunch of athletes a walkthrough on the way to lift Atlas stones properly. The session isn’t necessarily latest for Hooper, who occasionally shares similar technique training videos in between moments of refining his own strength.
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Hooper wastes no time diving into his de facto lecture on Atlas stones.
Set Your Stance Mid-Stone
He first diagrams how one starts from a top quality lifting stance, noting that the balls of an athlete’s feet must be even with the middle of the stone when organising. One other critical factor is ensuring that the feet have wide enough positioning.
“You need to be in a spot where you possibly can see your feet [on either side of the stone]. See your feet on the perimeters of the stone.”
If an individual’s feet are too near the Atlas stone, Hooper maintains that it could negatively change the hands’ positioning as they grip the stone. As well as, with the stone in hand, the knees might rub up against an athlete’s elbows, making for a non-ideal setup while lifting.
Cup the Stone with Hands and Forearms
With regard to specific notes about an athlete’s hands while attempting to lift an Atlas Stone, Hooper clarifies that the hands should never be directly under because that can force the relatively weaker biceps muscles to support the load.
“The secret is creating friction by creating as much surface contact as possible. You would like your hand and as much of your forearm to be on the stone as possible.”
As an alternative, the aim must be about having as much of 1’s arms touching the stone as possible, almost “cupping” the massive trademark strongman implement by placing your hands barely forward of the load’s center.
“Straight arm, hands forward, arms locked in. That way, we’re using our chest and our lat to squeeze the stone. We’re not using our biceps to select up the stone.”
Deadlift High and Lap the Stone
Hooper maintains that after an athlete is in a correct position, their goal must be to lift the stone to their lap by putting it as far above their knees as possible. Then, once ready, the hips can sink back, and the stone can naturally be rolled into the lap.
“What you need to aim to do is deadlift the stone as high as possible. You don’t want to only get to your knee and immediately sit it in.” Hooper said. ” … Take into consideration how muscles oppose force and where that force goes.”
A typical technique principle for strongmen and strongwomen, lapping the stone helps the athlete seamlessly re-grip for improved leverage before standing.
“The primary goal is to get the stone from the bottom to your lap … Once the stone passes your knee, you possibly can sit and roll. You replace your hands, and you possibly can bring it up [to a standing position].”
Get Hips Under the Stone to Stand Up
Per Hooper, once someone is ready to vary their grip for the hip movement, the stone should “sit on the sternum” with the body as tight as possible to the stone. The stone should then move straight up because the athlete stands up.
Hooper clarifies that some make the error of really attempting to lift the stone higher when it’s against their sternum. To combat this overcorrection, the strongman advises making a stringent effort to maintain the stone tight to the chest and easily extending the hips underneath for improved leverage and full extension.
“On the subject of extending [into a standing position], you need to not take into consideration bringing the stone up … Your thought must be to shoot your hips under the stone, after which it would roll up.”
Special Technique for High Platforms
If a strongman or strongwoman competitor has the duty of lifting the stone onto a taller podium, Hooper said they need to strive to ensure their hands aren’t directly around the middle of the stone when repositioning grip. This form of “hugging” leaves limited flexibility for strength maneuverability with the stone at a better position and has a better likelihood of a failed lift.
As an alternative, when an athlete is working for his or her re-grip, the arms must be placed at a 45-degree angle excessive of the stone, leaving more room to work the stone onto a better platform.
Ultimately, Hooper offered a reminder that the balls of the feet indicate where the middle of the stone is. As such, the arms should still be in lockstep with the balls of the feet on initial positioning. While reviewing several video participants’ sample performances, Hooper offered one final correction to a typical mistake being made within the early phase of the lift.
“The motion off the bottom will not be a squat, it’s a stiff-legged deadlift. Hips really high.”
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Already a longtime superstar, Hooper, the teacher, will soon seamlessly shift to Hooper, the strongman. The athlete is ready to compete on the 2023 Australia’s Strongest International (ASI) on Jan. 21, 2023, in Yapeen, Australia. If his exploits there go anywhere near his success from 2022, Hooper just might start the brand new competitive 12 months with a bang.
Featured image: Mitchell Hooper on YouTube