The CrossFit Series: Part Four - Mat Fraser
Meet Mathew Fraser, the fittest man on earth. He is the son of Candace Jones and Don Fraser, two former Olympic figure skaters. For that reason alone his genes are definitely ideal, and it showed before he even entered the sport of CrossFit when he was competing in Olympic weightlifting competitions. There are a million things we think about to describe the fittest man on earth without actually being able to see him. One of those things is, ‘he must have a ridiculously strict diet’ or ‘he must train nonstop on a rigid schedule.’ Both are not true.
Mat Fraser was the champion of not one, but two CrossFit Games in 2016 and 2017. He holds world records in some of the hardest hero workouts that are named for the individuals who created them, and achieved this greatness by having no training regimen at all and absolutely no diet standards besides eating big and healthy.
Before the 2016 CrossFit Games, Fraser had placed second in 2014 and 2015. It was at this point in time that Fraser admitted to regularly downing a pint of ice cream and paying no attention to dieting standards. That alone speaks to how naturally fit Fraser is if he can still outdo 39 of the world’s fittest athletes and place second at two consecutive CrossFit Games.
“He’s an absolute beast,” said Will Armstrong, a student at the University of Maryland.
His workout regimen is unlike any other five sets of five that you see in your local gym. The type of fitness in CrossFit demands that you be ready for any movement at any point in time, whether it be a 20-foot rope climb or carrying sandbags up a flight of stairs. That’s how Fraser approaches his training. He will pick certain WOD’s and strength movements and pair them together so he can prepare himself for what the Games has in store. That’s the beauty of CrossFit, you never know what’s coming next.
“The Competitive atmosphere of CrossFit will always pushes you and further develops your performance,” said Marcus Knodler, an experienced CrossFitter.
His dieting took a complete turn when the 2016 Games came around. He shed ten pounds and replaced the junk with four or five big meals a day consisting of meat and vegetables. He doesn’t follow paleo or any macro counting strategy like many other power-lifters, he just eats clean. If you’re intaking more clean calories than you expend, then you will get stronger and more fit following your training. That’s exactly what Fraser did and it led him to being the reigning fittest man in the world for the second year in a row.
