Mitchell Hooper Shocks Five-Time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser With a 660-Pound Pig Flip
Strongman events are often part of the programming for competitive CrossFit competitions. From farmer’s carries to yoke walks, strongman’s presence is a mainstay of recent CrossFit Games action. One of the events used at the 2023 Games for both Individual and Teams contests was the pig flip — a heavy rectangular object that CrossFit athletes flip end-over-end; a functionally similar movement pattern to a tire flip.
Hard Work Pays Off (HWPO) founder and five-time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser coached the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Mitchell Hooper on how to perform the pig flip in a metcon workout. Their session was filmed and published on Sept. 20, 2023, on Hooper’s YouTube channel. Check it out below:
[Related: Four CrossFit Games Athletes Join Cast of “Gladiators” Reboot in Australia]
Hooper’s Pig Flip Metcon
CrossFitter Jayson Hopper joined Hooper for a metabolic conditioning workout performed for time. Hopper’s tasks were a 20-meter yoke followed by a handstand walk up a set of stairs. Hooper’s challenge was a 20-meter yoke, and three pig flips. Both athletes closed their workouts with a sandbag carry, but Hooper was required to also hit an additional three pig flips.
While most competitive weights for the pig are around 500-560 pounds for male athletes, Hooper flipped a 660-pound pig — a weight he had zero problems with, shocking Fraser and company.
Hooper Trains CrossFit
Hooper tested other CrossFit movements in addition to pig flips, but they were not as smooth. Backward rolls proved challenging for the reigning WSM champion, who eventually tucked his body enough to land on his feet after several attempts.
A handstand on horizontal bamboo bars and pull-up bar “around the worlds” were also not easy-to-do-on-first-try movements for Hooper. Compared to Hopper’s execution of the movements, Hooper’s attempts were sloppy at best though the effort was there.
Hooper Becomes the Teacher
Hooper assumed the teacher role, coaching the HWPO crew to log lift properly. He told former two-time Fittest Woman on Earth® Katrin Davíðsdóttir to deadlift the log from the floor to the hips — commonly called the “lap position,” before cleaning the log to the upper chest. Hooper said that the log’s center of gravity is off-center, so rotating the handles until they face away from the body is ideal for weight management.
Regarding the press or jerking motion, Hooper corrected Hopper’s tendency to dip right before the press, which can typically feature a jerk. Dipping this way can apply unwanted stress to the body. When pressing to lockout, Hooper maintains a backward lean for as long as he can to keep the load on his shoulders and chest instead of his triceps.
Hopper and Hooper are slated to compete next at the 2023 Rogue Invitational and 2023 Rogue Strongman Invitational, respectively, at on Oct. 27-28, 2023, in Round Rock, TX.
Featured image: @mathewfras on Instagram
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