Mat Fraser has won the CrossFit Games five times, dominating the sport from 2016 to 2020 and finishing with close to double the points of his nearest rival in his final year.
So, when Fraser speaks, the CrossFit community listens. And when he sets a fitness challenge via his programming brand, HWPO Training, you can bet your bottom dollar most of them are going to give it a go.
You should try it too. Here’s how.
How To Do Mat Fraser’s Fitness Challenge
Seven-minute AMRAP of:
AMRAP stands for as many reps/rounds as possible. Set a timer for seven minutes then do as many rounds of burpees, push-ups and unweighted squats as you can in that time.
The number of rounds, as well as the reps of any incomplete rounds, is your score.
Complete the workout and you might get more than a solid sweat and a pair of heaving lungs.
“To celebrate the hard workers around the world and the launch of HWPO annual program pricing, we’re giving away a free year of memberships every day for seven days [between November 20 and November 26],” says Fraser.
“Complete this workout, post it on social [Instagram], tag @hwpotraining, and we’ll pick one winner each day who showed up and took on the challenge.”
Your post can be a video, picture, screenshot or just your score—there’s not going to be any need for Spielberg-esque filming or an in-person judge.
HWPO Training has several programs available. These include HWPO Flagship for those looking to improve for CrossFit competition, HWPO60 for people who are pressed for time but still want a challenging training session, and HWPO Sweat which delivers 45-minute bootcamp style workouts with minimal equipment.
I followed the HWPO Flagship track last year and was impressed by its no-nonsense approach to training.
While it did include the type of fancy movements and killer WODs (workouts of the day) associated with CrossFit, the bedrock of the program was straight strength and cardio-boosting protocols.
I improved my engine with weekly rowing intervals and Fraser’s signature 40-minute EMOM workouts. My leg strength was also sent skywards thanks to a 12-week back squat cycle.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, you can try this seven-minute workout for a bitesize taste of things to come, or sign-up to HWPO Training for a 14-day trial.
