CrossFit Champion Tries Our Hardest Bodybuilding Workout (ft. Mat Fraser)
In a Nutshell
Mat Fraser completed a brutal leg day featuring stiff-leg deadlifts, high-rep myo-rep belt squats, Smith machine squats, and partials with isometric holds. The workout isolated quads and hamstrings through controlled tempos, deep pauses, and minimal rest to maximize stimulus without axial loading. Fraser’s standout pain tolerance and mental framing of discomfort as temporary were the biggest takeaways.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Dr. Mike trains legs with Matt Fraser, multi-time CrossFit world champion, in Vermont. The goal is to push Fraser to his physical and psychological limits through intense leg training. Fraser states he is excited to train differently after years of specific CrossFit preparation and expects to be walking peg-legged the next day.
The first exercise uses a sledgehammer placed back on the wall before performing three sets of stiff-legged deadlifts for 8-12 repetitions. Key cues include expanded chest, hips back, and knees back to target the hamstrings. Perform the movement with a nice and slow descent while keeping the chest up and maintaining control.
Fraser notes that RDLs and stiff-leg deadlifts were always used as accessory work after Olympic weightlifting training with much smaller sets and never pushed to failure, especially on technical movements. He describes himself as a quad-dominant weightlifter whose posterior chain was weak, which carried over into CrossFit.
Dr. Mike emphasizes milking out the painful stretch at the bottom. Fraser completes all three sets with excellent technique that improves each set. He reports feeling his hamstrings working intensely and slowing down near failure.
The next exercise is belt squats performed as a myo-rep set. The protocol requires going all the way down under control, pausing deep, coming up almost to lockout but not quite, then slowly descending and pausing again. Rest periods of 5-10 seconds are taken between mini-sets while remaining belted in, with reps accumulated until reaching a high total.
Fraser completes a 25-rep myo-rep set. He notes the fatigue feels completely different from back or front squats because the limiting factor is purely the quads rather than the back rounding or tipping forward. Fraser states his place of comfort for pushing limits was always the rower during CrossFit training, where pain was accepted without fear factoring in.
Dr. Mike explains that belt squats attach at the hip rather than the shoulders, eliminating axial structure fatigue. This allows condensing a large amount of stimulus into one set by taking short rests and approaching failure multiple times. Fraser completes two additional myo-rep sets targeting 25 total reps each.
The final quad exercise uses Smith machine squats with a modified setup: walk forward a few steps from the normal foot position, use a slightly closer stance with toes pointed out, and maintain huge upper body posture so only the quads move. This converts the movement into a hack-squat-type exercise.
Myo-reps are again used. Fraser completes a set of 12 reps with slow, controlled technique and full pauses. He reports his most ever squatted in competition was 497 pounds during the CrossFit total at the Games, where he had 505-510 in the tank but chose not to attempt higher.
Dr. Mike reduces the weight by one plate per side and instructs Fraser to perform 10 partial squats coming up only two-thirds of the way on each rep. If failure occurs, the set continues after brief rest. The descent must be performed slower than the ascent.
Fraser completes the set. An isometric hold is then added at the bottom position while Dr. Mike counts to 10. Fraser is instructed to jump as high as possible after racking the bar.
Fraser demonstrates exceptional pain tolerance and mental approach, treating intense discomfort as acceptable rather than something to grimace through. The programming used in the session is available through the RP app. Fraser's mindset of viewing pain as temporary and manageable is highlighted as a major takeaway from the workout.
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