Hooper has broken an all-time strength-endurance milestone.
Mitchell Hooper is probably going best known for his recent run of strongman dominance, culminating together with his first-ever World’s Strongest Man (WSM) victory in the course of the 2023 iteration in April. Nevertheless, the Canadian athlete prides himself as an all-around strength dynamo, working on his conditioning and dishing out a few of his first-hand training knowledge seemingly every time he can. The superstar’s latest feat within the gym is a lesser-known but legendary milestone to capture.
On May 23, 2023, Hooper shared an Instagram clip of himself squatting 238.1 kilograms (525 kilos) for twenty-four reps. The strength mark was an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) performance and officially surpasses the legendary 1980 Mr. Universe Tom Platz — who set the initial standard with this achievement with 23 reps of 525 kilos in 1992 in the course of the “Great American Squat-Off.” Hooper notches a superb depth into “the outlet” on each of his repetitions and donned a lifting belt and knee sleeves in the course of the squat set.
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Many have attempted to interrupt Platz’s AMRAP record through the years, potentially seeing it as a rare strength accomplishment where an athlete must truly have a novel mix of endurance and power. Perhaps probably the most recent notable example is prolific powerlifter Joe Sullivan, who fell just short in June 2022 after some earnest preparation.
Within the strength sports sphere, Hooper is the primary to climb this summit, which is all of the more fitting given his WSM victory and ongoing status as a competitive bulldozer. A mid-May 2023 squat set of 210.9 kilograms (465 kilos) for 20 reps might need been Hooper unofficially teasing his vying for Platz’s AMRAP squat record.
In accordance with his page on Strongman Archives, Hooper has stood on a podium in nine consecutive strongman contests and won his last three competitions, including his breakthrough 2023 WSM triumph. To this stage, he has undoubtedly established himself as a household name in strongman and strength sports overall. Breaking Platz’s mark is but one other noteworthy notch so as to add to his ever-impressively growing resume.
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What’s evident about Hooper as an athlete is his hunger to repeatedly improve and push himself. The strongman was already within the technique of refining elements of his training that he felt needed more polish. To capture a squat-endurance mark many have chased for nearly 30 years potentially speaks to Hooper’s ongoing greatness.
Featured image: @mitchellhooper on Instagram