The Strongest Man on Earth gives sodium a giant stamp of approval
Last updated on October 29th, 2024
While “don’t sweat the small stuff” is a sound piece of life advice, elite athletes like Mitchell Hooper can’t afford to let any details slip through the cracks. With lofty goals to crush and a reputation to maintain, the 2024 Strongest Man on Earth pays close attention to both what goes into his body and what comes out.
An open book when it comes to his nutrition, training, and recovery, Hooper published a video on his YouTube channel on Oct. 24, 2024, that shined the spotlight on a critical performance factor that’s often misunderstood: salt.
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Mitchell Hooper Spills The Truth About Salt
Merely mentioning the word “salt” can cause chaos around some dinner tables. However, Hooper launched a staunch defense in favor of this valuable compound.
Although many people associate more sodium with higher blood pressure levels, the Canadian strongman pointed out that stress, body weight, and genetics impact your blood pressure. Rather than piling on against salt, Hooper poured water on the idea of avoiding it with a succinct and relevant definition.
Salt is just an electrolyte.
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Comprised of 40% sodium and 60% chloride, salt serves a much bigger purpose than adding flavor to your food. As Hooper highlighted, when the main electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chloride) dissolve in water, they carry an electric charge that enable our brain to communicate with the rest of our body.
“If you have those three in reasonable, adequate quantities, you’ll be able to pass those messages really well,” Hooper explained.
What’s the Optimal Sodium Intake for Athletes?
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adults should limit their sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day—or about one teaspoon of table salt (1).
But that’s not nearly enough if you break a sweat consistently (or profusely) like Hooper. In fact, that recommendation represents just a fraction of what you should ingest if you’re focused on optimal performance.
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Instead of settling for a single teaspoon of salt, a full tablespoon could be the key to a successful training session.
One tablespoon is nearly triple the amount that you should have in a single day, but for someone who’s exercising, someone who’s an athlete, someone who has a reasonable diet, these numbers get thrown off a little bit.
Roughly 7,000 milligrams of sodium may sound like your doctor’s worst nightmare, but Hooper gave credence to why some bodybuilders incorporate salt into their pre-workout routine by literally crunching the numbers himself.
A Sweaty Strongman Science Lesson
It’s no secret that perspiration—aka sweat—is one of the primary ways we lose sodium. What’s far less clear, though, is how much sodium is lost during a grueling workout.
Hooper answered that question by conducting a simple experiment and doing some basic calculations.
- Before diving into a lower-body strength training session, the 2023 World’s Strongest Man weighed in at 327 pounds.
- After crushing a workout that included heavy barbell back squats, power stairs, and seated hamstring curls, he tipped the scales at 324.5 pounds.
- Hooper also accounted for the weight of his sweaty shirt, rounding down his post-workout weight to 322 pounds.
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Down 5 pounds (2.26 kilograms), the Canadian strongman noted that there’s about 6,550 milligrams of sodium per liter (or 1 kilogram) of sweat. For non-math whizzes like myself, here’s Hooper’s breakdown of how much sodium he lost during his workout:
- 2.26 KG x 6,550 MG = 14,852 MG of sodium
In other words, Hooper lost about two tablespoons of salt. Adding sodium to the bulk of his meals can help make up that gap, but even he admitted that can be a challenge.
Ultimately, though, even if you aren’t a world-class 325-pound athlete, you shouldn’t be scared to make salt a priority if you want to perform at your best.
In this case, take it one tablespoon at a time.
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References
- Sodium in Your Diet. (2024, March 5). U.S. Food And Drug Administration. Retrieved October 29, 2024, from
Featured image: Mitchell Hooper / YouTube