Transform your body and mind with the definitive guide to building peak strength, endurance, and speed, from the five-time CrossFit Games champion and Fittest Man on Earth

No matter your level of fitness, no matter if you’ve never attempted CrossFit before, this book is your total training manual.

Mat Fraser is undisputedly the fittest man in CrossFit history for winning the CrossFit Games an unprecedented five times. A student of engineering, Fraser optimized his body like a machine, and his absolute dedication to the training program he designed for himself is now legendary. For years, every single decision he made was weighed against the question: "Will this help me win?" If the answer was no, he didn't do it. If it would give him even the slightest edge or advantage, he would - no matter the cost. Fraser became a master of identifying his weaknesses and then seeking out training methods to improve them, and he's idolized in the fitness community for his relentless pursuit of peak performance. It's not hard to see why he achieved so much success - but how is a different question.

Throughout his career, Fraser has been highly guarded about his specific training techniques (after all, sharing them would not help him win the CrossFit Games). But with his recent retirement from competition, Fraser is finally ready to open up about his path to the podium. HWPO reveals the workouts, training hacks, eating plans, and mental strategies that have helped make him a champion. It's an incredible resource of elite training strategies, illustrated workouts, and motivational stories, and it's a glimpse into the mind of one of the world's greatest athletes.

Includes a downloadable PDF of exercises, recipes, logs, and other HWPO tools

Listening Length

4 hours and 26 minutes
Author

Mat Fraser, see all
Narrator

Chris Berger, see all
Audible release date

January 11, 2022
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B0979JLCLD
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	4 hours and 26 minutes
Author	Mat Fraser, Spenser Mestel - contributor
Narrator	Mat Fraser, Chris Berger
Audible.com Release Date	January 11, 2022
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0979JLCLD
Best Sellers Rank	#6,201 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #23 in Sports Biographies (Audible Books & Originals) #25 in Exercise & Fitness (Audible Books & Originals) #27 in Sports Training (Books)

Customer reviews

5 star		80%
4 star		9%
3 star		6%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Zac

Pure Chaos in a Book

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

Honestly, I should have known better. I actually had to return this book because of how poorly written it was. It’s sporadic. Not linear whatsoever. Only scratches the surface of some of the more scientific based approaches to Fraser’s training and just feels like a bunch of short stories and anecdotes thrown together in a book. It would have been better as a few blog or vlog posts. The recipes thrown in every few pages throw the rhythm of the book off, if it ever had one. I respect Fraser as an athlete, but this book is just as bad, if not worse, than Katrin’s book. It’s a shame. The expectations were high.

21 people found this helpful

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Jonathan D. Pete

Mat promised he would release it all

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022

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This is exactly what Mat promised. This is 20% biographical and 80% instruction and or tips. I really enjoyed this book and found some really useful material in here. I would recommend to any CrossFit athlete.

8 people found this helpful

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James Byrum

A fun read as well as providing great information

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2022

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I love how the book is laid out. There are great stories that motivate as well as help you get better at different exercises.

7 people found this helpful

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George MaharisTop Contributor: DC Comics

Bit of a letdown. More of a bragfest than a comprehensive guide. Really lacking in the recovery area

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2022

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This was decent and I'm glad I bought it simply for the workouts, recipes, tips, and drills but one section that really lacked detail was recovery.

There was basically zero information on mobility routines, stretching, saunas, cold tubs, massage (besides the mention of Alex Guerrero), carbing up, electrolytes, all of that. I learned more about that stuff from watching his appearances on youtube videos or podcasts than I did this book.

I also think some high quality photos would have been better than the lo-fi black and white drawings they went with. Photos of not only the movements but the food dishes as well.

Other than that I did enjoy it and will likely use it a reference for some time to come. I guess I was just hoping for a be-all end-all comprehensive guide to how Mat Fraser became a champion, with a lot more nitty gritty specific details and secrets that he was keeping close to the vest all these years. Maybe he's holding some back for a future volume or just really wanting people to join his online program instead. I would love to join that but can't really afford it at the moment.

2 people found this helpful

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Andrew

Too many thoughts combined into one book.

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2022

Verified Purchase

Mat Fraser is the GOAT of CrossFit, but this book is all over the place. I didn't know what my expectations were, but somehow this book didn't them. I wouldn't say that you are going to become a better CrossFitter from reading this book, but you will be entertained at the stories in it. The book is broken into 5 chapters, and I would say that is the extent of organization in the book. Each chapter has a mix of storytelling, recipes, instructional info on movements (ranging from very beginner to advanced) depending on the movement, and workouts. I honestly couldn't say who the target audience is as there are snippets on how to perform pull ups - which an advanced CrossFitter would not need - to strategizing workouts to the second - which obviously a beginner would not need. I'm not sure why he decided to not just limit this book to a biography and release a different book on instruction. Overall, there is nothing in the book that really connects the HWPO title to the content for you. You must make the link in between the stories, instruction, and recipes.

If you have listened to Mat interview, this book sounds exactly like that. You can 100% tell that he wrote it and it does feel like he is talking to you. His strategy worked for him, but everyone has their own. Take what you will from this book and add what you find useful to your toolbox. I will always be a Mat Fraser fan, but I can definitely see the difference between refined coach and newly-turned coach with this book. It wouldn't surprise me if in a few years, he releases a second book that is much better organized compared to this one.

3 people found this helpful

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Josh

The Goat!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

Mat Fraser is a beast!!! I love the journal prompts and entries. The mentality for enduring and pushing through pain is essential to have it you want to get to the next level. Definitely will recommend this to my friends! Hard work does indeed pay off!!!

6 people found this helpful

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Husk

Solid yet disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

This may be unfair but I’m body builder not CrossFit guy. I was really hoping this would be a straight up all around fitness book but it’s really a CrossFit only guide. Maybe Matt will one day write a general body building guide

I was a bit shocked at Matt’s recipes here I mean full fat creams, white floor tortillas instant oatmeal aren’t healthy foods.

However I really did feel like 1/4 of the book was stellar info and I’m looking forward to incorporating into my routine.

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Michael Brazell

World fittest athlete, but not best author.

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2022

Verified Purchase

It was a missed opportunity to give insight into training. It’s just a mess. For the price, I wouldn’t expected to see actual photos of the movements. Many of the workouts in the book are rehashed CrossFit workouts, with only a few nuggets of actual wisdom scattered throughout. The recipes really don’t make sense being in the book.

There are a lot better books out there on CrossFit. Really was hoping for more from the book, it was a missed opportunity.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Blue

Great book for Mat Fraser fans

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2022

Verified Purchase

I pre-ordered this book around 9 months before it was released. As soon as I heard Mat Fraser was releasing a book, I was excited to pick it up.

Mat Fraser recently broke the record for the number of times a male has won the Crossfit Games; winning it in dominating fashion 5 times. A feat many feel is unlikely to be repeated. No one really understands how he is as dominant as he is, he's seemingly on another level, so this felt like a great opportunity to learn form the man himself.

This book really is a mashup of autobiography, food recipes, training templates, favourite workouts, weakness templates, technique, advice based on experience and observations. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about this: I was hoping for an autobiography, personally. I expected the standard 'child to champion' memoir that the majority of athletes release shortly after they retire...

However, as I began getting into it, I found that the book did have a solid narrative to it: essentially that telling of Mat's story from being an Olympic hopeful to being injured to finishing second at the Crossfit Games to developing a mentality to destroy all his weaknesses - which he believes is the key to his dominant wins - that I'd hoped for. But, in addition to that, the training templates, technique analysis, etc were used both to break up the text and give deeper insights into Mat's methodology - in a more practical and applicable sense. In their own right, they were enjoyable, educational and I'm excited to use them in my own training.

As an example, in the first chapter on strength, Mat goes into detail on his experiences growing up as a weightlifter and eventually getting to workout in the Olympic Training Centre. Every few pages, you'll have a breakdown of a movement, variations of a movement, strength session templates, templates to work on weaknesses, or some WODs (such as Grace or Fran) that involve strength/barbell cycling. The weakness templates range from improving your Squats with prescribed sets and reps for movements such as Overhead Squats through to improving your Snatches with Hangs, Powers and Snatch Balances. These are all coming from Mat Fraser who is not only a multiple Crossfit Athlete, but student of multiple Olympic-level weightlifting coaches.

The other sections in the book are: Endurance (essentially running, swimming and ERGS), Speed (short section on strategy and efficiency), Coordination (Gymnastics and movement quality), and Mentality (giving your all and overcoming obstacles). Each one follows a similar format to the above with a narrative and then plenty of illustrations, technique breakdowns, workout suggestions, and tips to bring into your own training.
I really liked the illustrations in the book. They are all of Mat doing techniques, but not photos: it's this fun, interesting cartoon-y style. The layout of the book was good too, although there is a lot of stuff in here: from workouts to pictures to text to tips, the book never feels messy or cluttered. The cover is nice and the hardback edition I picked up has a cool HWPO silhouette with Mat in the centre. This would make the perfect gift for a Crossfit fan, but I don't think you'll be at all disappointed if buying this for yourself.

Overall, I'm really happy with this book. It isn't the autobiography I was expecting when I ordered it, but it's a fantastic insight into Mat Fraser's methodology and mindset with SO MUCH I can take away and apply to my own training. I genuinely think this book will make me a better athlete and, at very least, it's fired me up to put more effort and thought into my workouts going forward!

13 people found this helpful

Zazu

Very disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

Been waiting ages for this book to be released, expected much better.

The autobiography part barely scratches the surface of his life. You'd learn far more just watching any YouTube video on his channel or the crossift channel.

The random recipes appear to be just thrown in to promote his feedingthefrazers channel. The workouts are ok but other books are available with crossift athletes providing workouts for an entire year or programming which are far superior.

7 people found this helpful

keith01

Not bad as an example

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

Bought this book as I have an interest in CrossFit style training. I am also a fan of Mat Fraser, so when I saw this book I thought I best get a copy of it.
Am I happy with my purchase, yes I am. As an example of what May has done in the past with his training, the book is good for an example.
Now why the four stars then, well this book felt rushed just to get it out after Christmas.
For example there are no actual pictures of Mat which is very disappointing.
With the chapters in the book they feel like an example of what could have been a series of books by Mat. For example he could have brought books out on strength, endurance, etc.
Also just a quick point, don’t do any Olympic lifts from a book this is just asking for trouble, get proper tuition for these moves.
This book feels an example of what Mat could have brought out, for his first book it’s not bad and will be a winner for him but as an overall book on his training, it misses the mark by a long shot.
Overall not bad as a first book but don’t expect to learn a lot from it, also be careful with the Olympic lifts, very dangerous learning these from a book.

2 people found this helpful

Fergus

Disappointing in content and execution

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

I’m not upset I’m just a bit disappointed.

If you have followed even a bit of Mat’s career in CrossFit none of this is new unfortunately. A lot of old stories that you’ve probably heard for free in the documentaries and on YouTube.

The idea this is a training book is a bit of a joke. It’s maybe a training book for someone who doesn’t understand what CrossFit is and hasn’t trained for anything in their life. Most of it is all stuff you can google or training principles shouted the world over like technique before weight on the bar. If you have an idea of how to train for CrossFit then you’re not learning anything here.

Worst off is the writing though. Whoever shadow wrote this did a rush job. Barely any sense of Mat’s usual charm and voice in it. Not to mention basic issues with communication eg. Describing an open workout as 4 minutes of 15 SETS of thrusters and pull-ups. We all know it’s supposed to be reps but just goes to show it was rushed out and the shadow writer didn’t take the care and attention needed to tell this story right.

Overall, I’d avoid. Regret purchasing it myself.

3 people found this helpful

SIMON G TOLSON

All muscle no....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2022

Verified Purchase

I have no doubt that Matt Fraser knows about fitness and training, but he does not know how to write a book/manual. At best this book gives an insight into this man, but it does not really give you any meat as to how to train, how to put a session together to get fit nor a recipe for those already doing CrossFit. There is too much about trying things out for yourself and find what works for you! Overall I have respect for the athlete but would not recommend this book as either an introduction to CrossFit or for a seasoned CrossFit exponent.

3 people found this helpful

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