Canadian-American CrossFit icon Mat Fraser has cemented his status as one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the sport. However, to achieve this Mat had to utilize some specific gym equipment and at one point decided to build his own gym. So, in a recent video posted on YouTube, social media fitness influencer Craig Richey of TeamRICHEY gave fans a look into Fraser’s incredible new and improved HWPO CrossFit Gym in Burlington, Vermont.
Mat Fraser grew up with a passion for fitness. He first started out with Olympic weightlifting, quickly becoming a junior national champion before transitioning to CrossFit in 2014. His potential was evident from the start, since he took silver in his 2014 CrossFit Games debut, falling short of four-time champ Rich Froning Jr. The next year, Fraser turned in an even stronger performance, but could not do enough to get gold ahead of Ben Smith. Fraser returned with a vengeance in 2016 and finally secured his first CrossFit title. He successfully defended the title four times in a row before moving on from professional competitions as the most accomplished men’s athlete in the sport.
In Jun. 2021, Fraser laid out the diet regimen he used to get in shape for the CrossFit contests throughout his career. He started the day with light foods such as yogurt, granola, and a cup of coffee and consumed a ton of carbs to stay energized for training. However, during his run, Fraser also battled a major back injury that put his athletic ambitions at risk. He covered this topic as well, opening up about how he overcame the hurdle and reached new heights.
Although Fraser retired years ago, he continues to train hard at his home gym to this day. So, not long after retiring, Mat crushed a brutal cardio workout while showing off his training facility in July 2021. Then, he smoked a heavy 540-lb deadlift to achieve a new PR. After some workouts, Fraser offered a tour of his 1,000 square feet home gym to the public. It consisted of several cardio machines, a custom rig, and more equipment needed for CrossFit training.
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Due to everything that he accomplished in his career, Fraser was also frequently compared to other elite CrossFit athletes. So, a renowned endurance coach, Chris Hinshaw, gave his take on how Fraser lined up as a competitor against Froning, having coached both of them. Hinshaw lauded Fraser’s smart mindset in analyzing every competition and devising a game plan that fits his needs the best.
Mat Fraser also received some publicity after launching a book named after his signature phrase ‘Hard Work Pays Off,’ called HWPO: Train. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Besides his life story, Fraser provided a range of workout routines, meal plans, and his expertise in fitness. In May 2022, he motivated members of a CrossFit-partnered sober community on getting sober with his life stories, thus revealing additional detail about his life. Fraser stated how he gave up his alcohol addiction and channeled his addictive personality in a positive manner.
As a coach, Fraser now offers his years of experience in the sport to budding contenders. His most notable success as a coach was guiding Mal O’Brien to silver at the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games. Mat then revealed a list of six contenders he took under his wing at the 2023 HWPO Club for the season last September.
A Look into the New HWPO CrossFit Gym of Mat Fraser
In a recent YouTube video, TeamRICHEY gave fans a look into the incredible new HWPO CrossFit Gym of Mat Fraser in Vermont.
The new facility covers 11,500 square feet in total with 6,500 square feet reserved for gym space and 5,000 square feet for office. It features a solid training floor, studio space for content creation, a kitchen, an athlete lounge for relaxing with a recovery zone, two ice barrels for cold therapy, and a sauna.
The gym area included several SkiERGs and BikeERGs which are crucial machines in CrossFit. There’s also a dedicated strength and conditioning zone with a 55-foot-long strip of gym turf for drills and sled pulls, along with a rig which is made up of two 15-foot-tall uprights. A balcony area was installed for the coaches to observe the athletes from a bird’s eye view.
“Basically just wanted to create the perfect space,” said Fraser.
“We are waiting on the new Rogue air runners. They’re just on back order. Bodybuilding is on the back corner there, cables, lat pull down, cable crossover, dumbbells, kettlebells.”
“We knew the space is a little bit bigger so if you’re snatching over on this side of the gym, we don’t want you lugging weight. So, every weight tree has one full complete competition set of weights. You grab your bars, grab your weights stack, and roll to wherever you want in the gym.”
“We haven’t hung or set up everything yet because we want to see where things are going to kind of live and where they will naturally flow best.”
Mat Fraser teamed up with Olympic weightlifting coaching members from Catalyst Athletics for his HWPO team last September. The staff will help the athletes, including, Mal O’Brien, Jayson Hopper, and Katrin Davíðsdóttir improve their performance for CrossFit competitions. They now also have the adequate facilities to conduct all the programs needed in coaching some future CrossFit champions.
You can watch the full video below.
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