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HWPO: Hard Work Pays Off
Train with the Fittest Man on Earth - 5-time CrossFit Champion Mat Fraser.
No matter your level of fitness, no matter if you've never attempted CrossFit before, this book is your total training manual.
No one can say they're a better all-around athlete than Mat Fraser. Weightlifting, gymnastics, kettlebells, running, swimming, rowing, Strongman: he's relentlessly trained them all, so you don't have to.
In this ground-breaking book, Fraser reveals the secrets of his success to help you transform your own body and mind. Structured into sections on strength, endurance, speed, coordination, mental and recovery, Mat shares workouts, illustrations, techniques, recipes and advice. From push-ups to sprints, rope climbs to deadlifts, high-knee drills to swimming intervals, the book showcases CrossFit's uniquely wide-ranging and infinitely scalable approach to exercise. There is tailored advice for beginners, intermediates and advanced athletes.
So take this book to the gym. Write your personal records in the margins. Circle the illustrations of techniques you need to master. And most of all, do the workouts. Because Mat Fraser can promise you this: hard work pays off.
No matter your level of fitness, no matter if you've never attempted CrossFit before, this book is your total training manual.
No one can say they're a better all-around athlete than Mat Fraser. Weightlifting, gymnastics, kettlebells, running, swimming, rowing, Strongman: he's relentlessly trained them all, so you don't have to.
In this ground-breaking book, Fraser reveals the secrets of his success to help you transform your own body and mind. Structured into sections on strength, endurance, speed, coordination, mental and recovery, Mat shares workouts, illustrations, techniques, recipes and advice. From push-ups to sprints, rope climbs to deadlifts, high-knee drills to swimming intervals, the book showcases CrossFit's uniquely wide-ranging and infinitely scalable approach to exercise. There is tailored advice for beginners, intermediates and advanced athletes.
So take this book to the gym. Write your personal records in the margins. Circle the illustrations of techniques you need to master. And most of all, do the workouts. Because Mat Fraser can promise you this: hard work pays off.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 11, 2022
303 people are currently reading
1138 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
January 15, 2022
Fantastic athlete. Bad book. A few personal anecdotes, a lot of random workouts, drawings of proper form and a ton of recipes. Not nearly personal enough to give me the feeling that I got to know Mat Fraser better, and not detailed enough to help me improve my training (I'm not an elite athlete - but I don't think elite athletes would benefit either).
September 12, 2022
This book is hot trash.
I want to like it because I like Mat Fraser. I like his legacy and history, I like his personality and his interaction with fans. But this book feels like he wanted to check "write a book" off his Bucket List and threw together a pile of words into a word processor.
Part of the problem is the ebook formatting; it isn't, it isn't formatted. I know an advanced reader copy can be weird like that (I once received a print copy with no pictures, just blocks with "Image to be printed in final copy", that was weird) but this was borderline unreadable. Paragraphs were broken up by images of how to lift weights and recipes for the entire text, which made it hard to keep track of the ideas. I'm assuming this will be fixed before sale, so maybe check a couple reviews before you buy the ebook.
But that ARC-issue aside, this actual content was absurd. Fraser is a trained Olympic lifter. He acknowledges in his book how long it took him to learn the foundations of weight lifting but he used this foundation to build his CrossFit legacy... and he then proceeds to try and teach these complicated lifts through pictures and textboxes? What the cinnamon toast fuck? Why not just say "These lifts are super important, make sure to listen to the coach at your local CrossFit box to get the technique down, that's how I became so mind-blowingly-awesome" or something similar?
The stories about Mat's career and how his hard work paid off aren't bad, though often a little short... like, why bother telling a story in one paragraph just to get a point across when its a book, just tell the full story with context? Well, dumb nuts, this isn't a memoir or storytime, this is a work book and journal. Ok, so its a creative decision, alright. I don't like it but I can acknowledge its a creative thing.
I admit I did like that he calls out CrossFit a couple of times for some of their infamous stupid decisions during competitions, as well as a couple of individuals (he doesn't name names, but I wish he did). The stories about special games and events during his career were overall pretty good, though mostly too short. Things like when CrossFit signed a new sponsor, get familiar with their equipment because they new sponsor will want their stuff used in as many events as possible; cute, relatable, not obvious to an outsider, lots of tidbits like this.
But the recipes, why?
The recipes are sprinkled throughout the book instead of all at the end, which is fine. But I got REAL confused by the context. On the chapter on Strength, there are recipes for Strength... ok, bulking recipes, cool. The chapter on Endurance has recipes for Endurance... so, meals for cutting weight, meals that digest easy on long runs, I can see that, even though these recipes don't really look like there would be good for that, but ok. The chapter on Coordination has recipes for Coordination... what the actual literal fuck is this? Meals to help with eye-hand coordination? Meals to stabilize your rotator cuff during muscle-ups? Did, did you just want to put a handful of recipes at the end of each chapter and so I'm misreading this, or are the recipes organized by something other than their title, "Recipes for Coordination"?
And what if I don't want to use ButcherBox meat? Why is this the only name-brand used? If you're paid to use them, great, say so. But if not, you'd better say why their beef is worth it, yes?
The workouts/training plans are cookie cutter, get-anywhere-online plans. I know Fraser sells personalized training coaching that is probably pretty good, so anything he's giving away for free (sold in the book) isn't going to be great, it will have to be something aimed at the average reader. I get that, but why bother?
Overall, this book isn't awful, but its not great. It's like someone had a checklist of "book by retired athlete" and just walked through it. Stories of being awesome, check. Stories of losing, but using that to become more awesome, check. A handful of oddly impersonal journal prompts, got 'em.
This is a book for Fraser or CrossFit fans, not really outsiders.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I want to like it because I like Mat Fraser. I like his legacy and history, I like his personality and his interaction with fans. But this book feels like he wanted to check "write a book" off his Bucket List and threw together a pile of words into a word processor.
Part of the problem is the ebook formatting; it isn't, it isn't formatted. I know an advanced reader copy can be weird like that (I once received a print copy with no pictures, just blocks with "Image to be printed in final copy", that was weird) but this was borderline unreadable. Paragraphs were broken up by images of how to lift weights and recipes for the entire text, which made it hard to keep track of the ideas. I'm assuming this will be fixed before sale, so maybe check a couple reviews before you buy the ebook.
But that ARC-issue aside, this actual content was absurd. Fraser is a trained Olympic lifter. He acknowledges in his book how long it took him to learn the foundations of weight lifting but he used this foundation to build his CrossFit legacy... and he then proceeds to try and teach these complicated lifts through pictures and textboxes? What the cinnamon toast fuck? Why not just say "These lifts are super important, make sure to listen to the coach at your local CrossFit box to get the technique down, that's how I became so mind-blowingly-awesome" or something similar?
The stories about Mat's career and how his hard work paid off aren't bad, though often a little short... like, why bother telling a story in one paragraph just to get a point across when its a book, just tell the full story with context? Well, dumb nuts, this isn't a memoir or storytime, this is a work book and journal. Ok, so its a creative decision, alright. I don't like it but I can acknowledge its a creative thing.
I admit I did like that he calls out CrossFit a couple of times for some of their infamous stupid decisions during competitions, as well as a couple of individuals (he doesn't name names, but I wish he did). The stories about special games and events during his career were overall pretty good, though mostly too short. Things like when CrossFit signed a new sponsor, get familiar with their equipment because they new sponsor will want their stuff used in as many events as possible; cute, relatable, not obvious to an outsider, lots of tidbits like this.
But the recipes, why?
The recipes are sprinkled throughout the book instead of all at the end, which is fine. But I got REAL confused by the context. On the chapter on Strength, there are recipes for Strength... ok, bulking recipes, cool. The chapter on Endurance has recipes for Endurance... so, meals for cutting weight, meals that digest easy on long runs, I can see that, even though these recipes don't really look like there would be good for that, but ok. The chapter on Coordination has recipes for Coordination... what the actual literal fuck is this? Meals to help with eye-hand coordination? Meals to stabilize your rotator cuff during muscle-ups? Did, did you just want to put a handful of recipes at the end of each chapter and so I'm misreading this, or are the recipes organized by something other than their title, "Recipes for Coordination"?
And what if I don't want to use ButcherBox meat? Why is this the only name-brand used? If you're paid to use them, great, say so. But if not, you'd better say why their beef is worth it, yes?
The workouts/training plans are cookie cutter, get-anywhere-online plans. I know Fraser sells personalized training coaching that is probably pretty good, so anything he's giving away for free (sold in the book) isn't going to be great, it will have to be something aimed at the average reader. I get that, but why bother?
Overall, this book isn't awful, but its not great. It's like someone had a checklist of "book by retired athlete" and just walked through it. Stories of being awesome, check. Stories of losing, but using that to become more awesome, check. A handful of oddly impersonal journal prompts, got 'em.
This is a book for Fraser or CrossFit fans, not really outsiders.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 17, 2021
This book was amazing. I have to admit, it was not what I expected it to be. I have read a decent amount of CrossFit athletes books and they were more ‘memoirs’ where this is more of a guide for athletes who essentially want to perform at Mat Fraser’s level. I have been doing CrossFit for about 12 years now and I am by no means an elite athlete, I just enjoy the workouts. But I was able to take away a lot of things from this book. IT IS SO SO GOOD. Mat Fraser is a no nonsense kind of guy and he has this presence about him that really stands out from other athletes. This book explains that and more and you have to respect the guy even more because of it. The pressure to continue to perform at the highest level for as long as he did and deliver 5 times in a row is a feat in itself. To retire from the sport and be as humble as he seems to be is just downright impressive. This guy is the real deal. Take the time to read this book. It is so worth it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.
January 29, 2022
From the first pages, Mat discusses that this book is to be used as a training manual. In this sense he does fulfill this promise. He provides workouts, times, and percentages to use with weights. However, little else in the sense of what HWPO means is elaborated or explained well. If you have watched any YouTube videos/ podcasts of Fraser interviewed or followed his CrossFit career you have heard this book in its entirety. There is no secret to what HWPO means to him- it is very topical and obscure. HWPO means Hard Work Pays Off but that mantra, some might call it a theme, is not well tied into this text. For clarity its a topic not a theme.
This training manual, as Mat calls it, should be objective and ubiquitous with information and thematic ties to HWPO. That is what a training manual/ guide book is. Objective. Questions will be asked. Answers ought to be provided. And never, should one end a training manual section in a question.
I think I was expecting more of a personal detailed explanation of what HWPO means to him and the response it had elicited in him as an athlete, however, very little is explained and even less is elaborated. Many of his examples end with something along the lines of, "Did this strategy actually help? Who's to know, but I tried it and won." Cool- love the topic of HWPO but I wanted to see the nitty-gritty details, hear the sound advice, and understand the logic of his ideas...did not happen. Mat was trying too accomplish too much in this book. Much like I am in this review...
If you remember in high school when the teacher asked you to explain how censorship is prevalent in Fahrenheit 451, and you responded by saying, "Censorship is prevalent because of the actions displayed by the firemen." and the teacher kept digging for examples and explanations of the examples with respect to censorship. That is the equivalent to what this book is. Very few relational ties occur and the explanation of how HWPO was personified throughout his training is poorly explained.
If you are looking for a book/ guide with try-this-maybe-try-that-and-see-which-one-works and be sure to work hard advice this book is for you.
This training manual, as Mat calls it, should be objective and ubiquitous with information and thematic ties to HWPO. That is what a training manual/ guide book is. Objective. Questions will be asked. Answers ought to be provided. And never, should one end a training manual section in a question.
I think I was expecting more of a personal detailed explanation of what HWPO means to him and the response it had elicited in him as an athlete, however, very little is explained and even less is elaborated. Many of his examples end with something along the lines of, "Did this strategy actually help? Who's to know, but I tried it and won." Cool- love the topic of HWPO but I wanted to see the nitty-gritty details, hear the sound advice, and understand the logic of his ideas...did not happen. Mat was trying too accomplish too much in this book. Much like I am in this review...
If you remember in high school when the teacher asked you to explain how censorship is prevalent in Fahrenheit 451, and you responded by saying, "Censorship is prevalent because of the actions displayed by the firemen." and the teacher kept digging for examples and explanations of the examples with respect to censorship. That is the equivalent to what this book is. Very few relational ties occur and the explanation of how HWPO was personified throughout his training is poorly explained.
If you are looking for a book/ guide with try-this-maybe-try-that-and-see-which-one-works and be sure to work hard advice this book is for you.
March 17, 2023
I enjoyed this book. I had some takeaways from it. Matt Fraser definitely offered some nuggets from his athletic career. I learned a little bit more about him and his approach to things. He truly is amazing at what he does and I walked away from this book with even more respect for him.
The book was an easy read because quite a bit of it included illustrations of workouts and movements and recipes from his wife Sam. It is a great book that I can go back to so that I can reference a few things.
The one criticism that I have is that quite a bit of the content could be lost on a reader if they are not familiar with CrossFit. Or a reader could really hurt themselves if they try to do a movement from the book with little to no experience. There was an illustration of how to do an olympic weight lifting movement known as the snatch. It’s one of the most difficult lifts to get because of how technical it is. Someone is not going to get it just by looking at an illustration. Athletes really need to be guided through the movement by a coach.
The book was an easy read because quite a bit of it included illustrations of workouts and movements and recipes from his wife Sam. It is a great book that I can go back to so that I can reference a few things.
The one criticism that I have is that quite a bit of the content could be lost on a reader if they are not familiar with CrossFit. Or a reader could really hurt themselves if they try to do a movement from the book with little to no experience. There was an illustration of how to do an olympic weight lifting movement known as the snatch. It’s one of the most difficult lifts to get because of how technical it is. Someone is not going to get it just by looking at an illustration. Athletes really need to be guided through the movement by a coach.
March 11, 2022
Interesting autobiography but as it comes to the training guide I would rather have it rearranged.
For me the book would be better if at first there were few chapters of autobiography, as it is now, but I would like it much better if the workout guide and food recipes were separate chapters at the end of the book.
Still I enjoyed reading it.
For me the book would be better if at first there were few chapters of autobiography, as it is now, but I would like it much better if the workout guide and food recipes were separate chapters at the end of the book.
Still I enjoyed reading it.
October 22, 2021
It's always going to be fascinating to try and get into the mind of a highly-successful athlete, and Fraser's book is no exception. Part self-help guide, part roadmap to CrossFit success, part confessional, and part recipe book, it's a versatile, entertaining read that doesn't require prior knowledge of the sport, its famous annual Games, or, honestly, even familiarity with Fraser himself.
Those looking for the secrets of his craft will find some pearls hidden in the pages--some worth a laugh in terms of how clever they are--but know that a few aren't just exclusive to winning a competition. One or two could be applied to some of the workouts you do in the gym on a weekly basis.
The real appeal of the book, I find, is that it introduces you to the athlete *outside* of competition, whether that's covering what he'd do in the off-season, how he found his way to the sport to start with, and his thoughts on CrossFit at large. Such stories are compelling and interesting from basically any person who darkens the doorstep of a gym, but, clearly, one would want to know what might separate Fraser from the rest, right?
There's nothing necessarily provocative or tea-spilling to be found, which is pretty cool, as most of the content is focused on providing the reader with technique tutorials, workouts, and surely tasty meal instructions (which are parsed out quite evenly throughout as opposed to being just an appendix).
A recommend from me. Liked it quite a bit.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Rodale Books for the advance read.
Those looking for the secrets of his craft will find some pearls hidden in the pages--some worth a laugh in terms of how clever they are--but know that a few aren't just exclusive to winning a competition. One or two could be applied to some of the workouts you do in the gym on a weekly basis.
The real appeal of the book, I find, is that it introduces you to the athlete *outside* of competition, whether that's covering what he'd do in the off-season, how he found his way to the sport to start with, and his thoughts on CrossFit at large. Such stories are compelling and interesting from basically any person who darkens the doorstep of a gym, but, clearly, one would want to know what might separate Fraser from the rest, right?
There's nothing necessarily provocative or tea-spilling to be found, which is pretty cool, as most of the content is focused on providing the reader with technique tutorials, workouts, and surely tasty meal instructions (which are parsed out quite evenly throughout as opposed to being just an appendix).
A recommend from me. Liked it quite a bit.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Rodale Books for the advance read.
August 2, 2024
Oh my.
This was simply a mess and if I must quote the literary critic, Riseborough, then this book was downright “higgledy-piggledy”. One moment a training story is being told, the next I am looking at an apple pie recipe in disbelief.
I had high expectations for this book and was left thoroughly disappointed. If hard works pays off then I know that hard work did not go into the writing of this book.
This was simply a mess and if I must quote the literary critic, Riseborough, then this book was downright “higgledy-piggledy”. One moment a training story is being told, the next I am looking at an apple pie recipe in disbelief.
I had high expectations for this book and was left thoroughly disappointed. If hard works pays off then I know that hard work did not go into the writing of this book.
February 18, 2022
Expected more... Feels rushed
July 24, 2023
Can seem redundant but some really useful pointers for beginners and something I'll keep coming back to.
March 8, 2022
So I read some reviews on this book and I really don’t see the point in bitching about it. Not enough personal information on Mat? No 12-week meal plans? No workout schemes? Nowhere on the cover of the book did I read ‘my life story’, ‘the ultimate food for CrossFit guide’ or ‘workouts to become the fittest on earth’. So who gives a crap? Do you really want to know what Mat’s favorite color is? What the name of his first pet animal was? Heck no.
This books delivers what it’s supposed to: it provides an easy to read insight into the life of Mat, five times Crossfit games champion, with some pretty good tips on mental and physical development for people that aspire to be better athletes. Is it a masterpiece? Nope. Does it need to be? Nope. It’s just a bit of inspiration and information and it reads like a magazine. Just that.
Ow, just one thing: he mentions all kinds of fellow Crossfit athletes from Tia Toomey to Dan Bailey and Patrick Vellner. But nowhere does he mention the man that he could have, and maybe should have mentioned at least once…
This books delivers what it’s supposed to: it provides an easy to read insight into the life of Mat, five times Crossfit games champion, with some pretty good tips on mental and physical development for people that aspire to be better athletes. Is it a masterpiece? Nope. Does it need to be? Nope. It’s just a bit of inspiration and information and it reads like a magazine. Just that.
Ow, just one thing: he mentions all kinds of fellow Crossfit athletes from Tia Toomey to Dan Bailey and Patrick Vellner. But nowhere does he mention the man that he could have, and maybe should have mentioned at least once…
January 23, 2022
There’s much to love about this book but if the time had been taken it could have been great! A book from the CrossFit ‘GOAT’ meant it was naturally a best seller no matter how good it was but you can’t help but feel he’s missed a trick.
Fascinating personal stories are blended with little pieces of nutritional and workout advice. But it’s the layout where it’s continually interspersed meaning you can’t do what he wants you use it as: a day to say training manual.
Do I want the recipes? Sure. The workouts? Yes. But all in the same book? Not really.
I’d love for him to release a book with workouts and advice and programmes but who knows if that’ll happen. In the meantime, I enjoyed it as I knew I would, but just sad it wasn’t better.
Fascinating personal stories are blended with little pieces of nutritional and workout advice. But it’s the layout where it’s continually interspersed meaning you can’t do what he wants you use it as: a day to say training manual.
Do I want the recipes? Sure. The workouts? Yes. But all in the same book? Not really.
I’d love for him to release a book with workouts and advice and programmes but who knows if that’ll happen. In the meantime, I enjoyed it as I knew I would, but just sad it wasn’t better.
January 12, 2022
Been waiting for this book for a few months. Got it today and devoured it. Mat Fraser is my hero. I have never done Crossfit, nor will I ever. I was diagnosed with MS in 2015 and somehow became introduced to Crossfit virtually. I watched YouTube videos. Read articles. Watched the Games on my laptop every year and cheered on Mat and his female counterpart (and another hero of mine) Tia-Clair Toomey. Mat and Tia and dozens of other elite athletes helped me through my diagnosis and have remained "friends"- I will likely never meet - till this day. I did plan on attending the Games this August, but until COVID is under control, that might have to be put on hold.
This is a great book for Crossfit champion wanna-be's to study and an interesting and engaging book for we fans. Great job Mat!!
This is a great book for Crossfit champion wanna-be's to study and an interesting and engaging book for we fans. Great job Mat!!
April 25, 2022
DNF. I was hoping for a memoir and this was more like a how to win the games, with his ego sprinkled in. I’m not in a current stage of life where I need to read that spending hours at the gym is the only way to get better, and I’m not a Games Athlete so that will never be a part of my lifestyle. Not helpful for the general athlete, and his boasting about how good he is at everything got pretty old pretty fast.
January 22, 2025
3,5⭐️ Es waren viele gute Tips drin, die ich vorher noch nicht wusste und die ich auch anwenden kann, auch wenn ich kein Crossfit Profi bin. Es war etwas seltsam aufgebaut, es waren immer Workouts und Rezepte mittendrin und verteilt anstatt dass es ein extra Kapitel für die gegeben hätte oder so. Seine Geschichte über seine „Fitness-Reise“ fand ich sehr interessant und dadurch finde ich Mat Fraser sehr sympathisch.
April 11, 2023
I don’t know why (maybe because of its short length/ it had some negative reviews, etc.) but this book was way better than I thought it would be. Probably because I’m a Mat Fraser fan, it was just fun to see the mind games he played with others and himself to become one of the fittest individuals to ever walk the earth.
January 22, 2023
I have never written a review on here, but, not unlike Prince Harry, I am breaking my silence. I initially gave this book a rating of three stars, but upon further reflection, I could not live with myself. This book was not good.
Cool workouts though.
Cool workouts though.
January 22, 2022
Fascinating and inspiring to read the story of the most successful crossfit athlete. Makes you want to do a workout right now and learn that one skill…
May 14, 2025
Took a few good things out from this book but I feel like it trailed off at the end
October 26, 2024
I love Matt Fraser as an athlete but the book was not what I was expecting. I thought I was getting an autobiography but it turned out it was a mix of do this and do that full of WODs. As someone who does CrossFit, I enjoyed it but would like to hear more of his story.
January 23, 2022
3* but hear me out. I love Mat Fraser and there’s some great stories in this book. If you’re serious about CrossFit this is a must read. If you’re interested in the mindset of humans performing at the top of their field I’d also recommend.
However, the book is a short jack-of-all-trades style book which is part-memoir, part-workout guide and part-cook book. I feel like the short journal entry style of it prevented any truly deep reflection and narrative through point that could have elevated it beyond just being a guide to CrossFit. Personally, I was hoping to get to know Mat Fraser better and hear more of his opinions on life, fitness, fame etc. No one else can say they’re the fittest man in history, but he doesn’t reflect on what that feels like or means to him. I wanted to hear Fraser tackle some big picture thoughts, but unfortunately the book has just one gear: practical advice.
(Also, if you’ve listened to Mat’s interview with Joe Rogan then you’ll be familiar with a lot of the stories in here!)
There’s many pros too though:
- It’s to the point. No waffle or filler.
- Good stories, funny and insightful.
- He (and whoever he worked on this with) clearly cared about the book and that comes across.
- Accessible, easy read.
What’s there is good but I wanted more.
Glad to have read it - thank you Fraser for writing this, you’re a legend 👍
However, the book is a short jack-of-all-trades style book which is part-memoir, part-workout guide and part-cook book. I feel like the short journal entry style of it prevented any truly deep reflection and narrative through point that could have elevated it beyond just being a guide to CrossFit. Personally, I was hoping to get to know Mat Fraser better and hear more of his opinions on life, fitness, fame etc. No one else can say they’re the fittest man in history, but he doesn’t reflect on what that feels like or means to him. I wanted to hear Fraser tackle some big picture thoughts, but unfortunately the book has just one gear: practical advice.
(Also, if you’ve listened to Mat’s interview with Joe Rogan then you’ll be familiar with a lot of the stories in here!)
There’s many pros too though:
- It’s to the point. No waffle or filler.
- Good stories, funny and insightful.
- He (and whoever he worked on this with) clearly cared about the book and that comes across.
- Accessible, easy read.
What’s there is good but I wanted more.
Glad to have read it - thank you Fraser for writing this, you’re a legend 👍
March 6, 2022
This book isn’t really an biography and it’s more of a training manual that breaks down movements, WODs and chats about mentality. There are some great gems in here from Mat regarding training and the way to think about it
October 9, 2023
I don't highlight my books. Ever. But I highlighted 2 things in this one. I love Matt, I've watched him in competition throughout his career, and finally decided to read his book. It was great. Motivating and very informative.
November 14, 2022
Exactly what one would expect
November 14, 2022
This book is just a huge fascinating twitter thread.
February 8, 2022
If you want to know more about Mat Fraser the athlete, DON’T BUY THIS BOOK.
I am a huge fan of Mat Fraser but this book felt like someone writing a book on Mat Fraser with little access on his life. First of all, the book is waaaaaaay too short to fill in a legacy of Mat Fraser. Secondly, the book is totally incoherent and flip-flops from story to story and gives little context on what was significant in adding it in the book when so much was left out.
Overall, similar to Tia-Clair Toomey’s book, its a cash grab capitalising on their popularity without adding any captivating stories and interesting secrets in the book or audiobook. The only positive I can give is that the audiobook is narrated very well by Mat Fraser.
If you want to know more about Mat Fraser, reading the Wikipedia page will give as much insight as this book. If you are interested in a book about CrossFit, I would recommend Katrin Davidsdottir’s book which is a fantastic insight into a CrossFit champion’s journey from a first muscle up to Fittest Woman on Earth.
Thank you for reading my review. Have a good day.
I am a huge fan of Mat Fraser but this book felt like someone writing a book on Mat Fraser with little access on his life. First of all, the book is waaaaaaay too short to fill in a legacy of Mat Fraser. Secondly, the book is totally incoherent and flip-flops from story to story and gives little context on what was significant in adding it in the book when so much was left out.
Overall, similar to Tia-Clair Toomey’s book, its a cash grab capitalising on their popularity without adding any captivating stories and interesting secrets in the book or audiobook. The only positive I can give is that the audiobook is narrated very well by Mat Fraser.
If you want to know more about Mat Fraser, reading the Wikipedia page will give as much insight as this book. If you are interested in a book about CrossFit, I would recommend Katrin Davidsdottir’s book which is a fantastic insight into a CrossFit champion’s journey from a first muscle up to Fittest Woman on Earth.
Thank you for reading my review. Have a good day.
November 8, 2022
Loved it. Not my usual read but engaging and useful.
September 30, 2023
Love it! Super simple but full of great little nuggets. A really fun read.
November 4, 2022
Getting an inside look into the mind of a professional athlete was fascinating. It’s nuts what the elite CrossFit athletes are willing to put their bodies through to make it to the top. A good read for any crossfitters out there
February 26, 2022
As someone who has been doing CrossFit for over a year now and entering my second Open season, this book is great as a supplement. I was slightly hoping for a more memoir-like book, but I felt like there were a few gaps along the way, though Mat's story was very eye opening. I think if you watch his videos, and have followed his journey otherwise, this book can feel kind of redundant, BUT it's great to have physically, jot down times, notes, and Sammy's AMAZING recipes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews