#1618 - Mat Fraser

Joe Rogan (0:03)

The Joe Rogan Experience.

What is the documentary called? I forget the name.

Mat Fraser (0:21)

The Fittest?

Joe Rogan (0:22)

Yes. Dude, that is crazy. The physical strain that you guys are... What happened to the volume?

Oh, okay, we're back. The physical strain that you guys put your body through is fucking insane. And until you watch, like, you guys compete, and do all the shit, like, rocking, like, running with the weight vest on...

Mat Fraser (0:46)

Everything, yeah.

Joe Rogan (0:47)

It's insane.

Mat Fraser (0:48)

Yeah, yeah, the games... So, like, the games are, like, the big competition, and it's, like, it's a wild show, because sometimes it's five days, sometimes it's three days, and we'll have, like, usually between 12 and 15 events over those days.

Joe Rogan (1:03)

Do they let you know in advance what you're going to have to do?

Mat Fraser (1:06)

Some, like, we might find out an event, sometimes a week or two ahead, but then, like, we'll have others where we're literally finding out the event as we go, like, as we're competing, so we don't even know what we're doing on the competition floor. They'll be like, all right, start lifting that weight, we'll tell you when to stop, when you hit your number of reps, you know, stuff like that.

It's interesting to train for, because you don't know if you're training for a one rep max or a hundred. You don't know if you're training for a 40-meter dash or a marathon. You know, it keeps it interesting. We've had events that are like 20 seconds long, and a couple of years ago, we had to row a marathon on the stationary Concept2 rowers, so like 42,000 meters.

Joe Rogan (1:51)

So was that 26.2 miles rowing?

Mat Fraser (1:54)

Yeah, 42,000-something meters.

Joe Rogan (1:57)

How long does that take?

Mat Fraser (1:58)

I think the average time was about three hours. I think a couple of people were like three and a half hours.

Joe Rogan (2:02)

Yeah, because you can't row as fast as you can run, right? Can you?

Mat Fraser (2:06)

I mean, I would prefer to row a marathon than run one. Just because it's easier on the joints.

Like your ass goes numb just from sitting on the seat.

But yeah, I mean, it was just easier on the joints. They did it because they were like, we tested it. And like after you run a marathon, like you can't walk for a couple of days. Like your body's just trashed. With rowing a marathon, like you're sore, but you're good to go the next day.

Joe Rogan (2:33)

It really doesn't really, though, depend on the person and what kind of condition you're in, because my friend Cam Haynes, that motherfucker runs a marathon every day.

Mat Fraser (2:41)

Yeah, I think if you're conditioned for it, and that's all you're doing.

Joe Rogan (2:44)

Yeah.

Mat Fraser (2:44)

You know, and.

Joe Rogan (2:46)

But he lifts weights, too.

Mat Fraser (2:47)

Yeah, yeah, I've met Cam. I met him a couple of years ago.

Joe Rogan (2:50)

He's got problems.

Mat Fraser (2:51)

Does he?

Joe Rogan (2:51)

Yeah, he's crazy. He's legit, legit crazy, like David Goggins crazy. There's a few people that I know that I'm like, what are you doing to yourself?

Mat Fraser (2:59)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (2:59)

You know?

Mat Fraser (3:00)

Yeah, I'll watch Cam and yeah, he runs a marathon every day and it's like, why? What are you doing?

That seems terrible.

Joe Rogan (3:07)

He likes those ridiculous ultra races, like those, the Moab 240s and stuff like that.

Mat Fraser (3:12)

Yeah, I got a buddy that does all those, like 200 mile couple days long.

And it's like, all right, like I get that that's your thing. I don't get it, but more power to you.

Joe Rogan (3:23)

They're just testing me for Cam. He's just testing his mind. He wants to find out when it breaks, you know, and he can't break it.

Yeah, and every day strengthens it. So every day he's running massive amounts of miles. He'll run like 19 miles in the morning. He'll run like six miles in the afternoon.

Mat Fraser (3:40)

And I mean, I wonder if like if he's ever played with like other challenges, you know, instead of just running, because I know like if I'm practicing the same thing over and over, you adapt to it, you get better at it, you get more comfortable with it. And it's like when those curve balls get thrown at you of something that you're not used to.

And I mean, that's basically that's CrossFit, right? That's what our training is. We're trying to think of different things that can be the test for us and figure out like, all right, if this comes up, how do we deal with it?