How to build strength and muscle mass in a 15-minute workout, according to the world’s strongest man: “You’ll progress faster than 95% of the people I see at the gym”

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For most people, lifting 450+ pounds with a barbell seems more like a scene from a Sunday morning cartoon than an actual gym session.

For Mitchell Hooper, however, it’s a normal day at work.

Hooper won the title of “World’s Strongest Man” in 2023 and again this year. It is the highest honor in strongman competitions, a sport focused on moving huge, often unusually shaped objects such as rocks, logs or trucks.

On 24 May, he competes against world record holder Hafþór Björnsson in the controversial ‘Enhanced Games’ a competition which allows the use of certain performance enhancing substances.

Hooper, who has a master’s degree in exercise physiology, says the average person doesn’t need to train like an athlete, but adopting similar exercises can increase strength and muscle mass even with less time spent in the gym.

“If you want to set a record in straightening, there are many nuances. It’s a science project,” Hooper said in an interview with Business Insider. “Very few people follow that. Most just want to get in the gym, do as little as possible, get as much as possible, and get on with life.”

How to increase your strength and muscle mass in short workouts

Whether you’re carrying groceries to your car or lifting a car in competitions, the basic principles of movement are the same. Strongman is based on fundamental human movement patterns: push, pull, carry, squat, hinge, and overhead push.

“These fundamental patterns should underlie everyone’s training, whether we’re talking about an 80-year-old woman or a 15-year-old athlete,” says Hooper. “They are essential to a full life.”

As long as you work your muscles in each type of movement, it doesn’t matter if you use machines or dumbbells. “If you’re more comfortable on machines, go for it. If you want the satisfaction of a good bench press, go for it.

For strength and endurance in everyday life, focus on basic movement patterns:

• Pull-ups — bench or band pull-ups, barbell pull-ups, bent-over row
• Pushed— pushed to the chest (bench press), push-ups
• Transport — farmer’s walk, suitcase carry, bear hug carry
• Squats — dumbbell squats, barbell squats, body weight squats, leg press squats
• Bending (hinge) — straightening (deadlift), “good morning”, glute bridge
• Overhead push — military push, push press

For an effective workout, Hooper recommends choosing one exercise from each category that involves multiple muscle groups. Then do a single intense set of up to 25 reps until near exhaustion (the point at which you can no longer perform one correct rep). Repeat with 2–3 more exercises from other categories and you can work your entire body in about 15 minutes (including the 5-minute warm-up).

Building strength means challenging your muscles to adapt, so a single difficult set can be more effective than a longer but less focused workout.

“If you do that, you’ll progress faster than 95 percent of the people I see every day at the gym who just tick off workouts,” says Hooper. “If you eliminate the complications, use multi-joint machines, and work to exhaustion, you’ll be in really good shape.”