If you’re familiar with functional fitness training then you’ve probably heard of the workout “Fight Gone Bad.” However, I bet you don’t know that research confirms that the Fight Gone Bad workout (WOD) is one of the best all around tests of fitness and aerobic capacity. In this article I’m going to review some awesome research, which explains just how many reps you need to achieve a good score on Fight Gone Bad. I’ll also be sharing some tips and tricks to set your own PR on this workout. Keep reading for more.
Fight Gone Bad (FGB) is a classic benchmark workout that originally appeared in 2004. Legend has it that mixed martial artist BJ Penn asked for a workout that would mimic the feel of an MMA fight, where you have 5 sixty-second max effort bouts, followed by a 1 minute rest interval.
When asked how he felt afterwards, BJ Penn claimed it felt like a fight gone bad, hence the name. This workout is comprised of 3 rounds where you spend one minute at 5 different exercises. You will then rest 1 minute before repeating the rounds. This benchmark WOD consists of the following exercises.
The first station is wall ball throws to a 10 ft target. Men will use a 20 pound ball, and women a 14 pound ball. The next station is sumo deadlift high-pull, with a 75/55lb barbell for men and women. Next is the 20in box jump, followed by push press at 75/55lbs. The last exercise is a row, done for max calories in the one minute interval. You will then take a one-minute break, before starting the next round. Check out the graphic below for more details.
Now that we know what this workout consists of let’s review some research on the WOD. This will explain why this test is such a good measure of overall functional fitness. After that I will provide some tips and techniques to improve your best score.
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Fight Gone Bad Research
Researchers have slowly started to do more research on functional fitness training, over the last several years. This is awesome as it tends to prove exactly what functional fitness athletes have been saying for years. The training works!
This study entitled, “Evaluation of the repeatability and reliability of the cross-training specific Fight Gone Bad workout and its relation to aerobic fitness,” was published in 2021. It compared FGB with standard aerobic capacity tests that have been validated for years. The goal was to determine if FGB could measure aerobic capacity as well as these more traditional tests. They were also attempting to determine the specific metabolic demands of the WOD.
The researchers recruited 21 functional fitness athletes, who were familiar with this training style. They put them through traditional cycling tests, to measure their aerobic capacity, and then had them do FGB on the following day.
They did a whole host of blood tests, including heart rate measurements, and other statistical analysis. They came to the conclusion that Fight Gone Bad is highly correlated with the traditional tests. They found that V02 max, cycling time to exhaustion, and anaerobic power were most closely associated with FGB performance. Here are their conclusions.
Our study showed that Fight Gone Bad is a reliable and repeatable test to measure cross-training performance. Moreover, FGB is strongly correlated with aerobic fitness. FGB can be used as a tool in interventional studies to evaluate the changes in cross-training scores. Furthermore, given that FGB is a non-invasive, easy to perform, and accessible test, it can be regularly used by coaches throughout the training season.
Evaluation of the repeatability and reliability of the cross-training specific Fight Gone Bad workout and its relation to aerobic fitness
I’m glad they came to this conclusion, as I’ve used this as a my go to aerobic capacity test for functional fitness athletes for many years. It’s nice to finally have scientific research confirming it works. In this next section we will cover Fight Gone Bad scores, so you can see just how your performance stacks up.
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Fight Gone Bad Scores
We know that FGB is a great test of functional fitness, but we need to find out what a good score for Fight Gone Bad is. Wouldn’t you know it, I have another research study where these scientists did a statistical analysis on this classic benchmark workout, as well as some other named WODs, like Grace, Fran, Helen, and Filthy Fifty. Check out this chart below for your score in total reps.
This chart is useful, but I want to point out a few things. First, this data was collected from the public profiles for athletes competing in the CrossFit Open in 2017. This population of athletes is likely to be a little more fit than more casual functional fitness athletes.
Sure enough, if you compare the scores from the research paper, to the scores listed in Beyond the Whiteboard, you’ll find that that those scores are lower for all percentiles. For example, the average score for CrossFit Open male athletes is 335 from the research paper. On Beyond the Whiteboard the average score is 265. That’s quite the difference. Here are the standards I use for athletes.
I think this is a valuable insight for those athletes that want to do local functional fitness competitions. It gives you a solid understanding of where you need to perform to be average, above average, and elite. You can also check out this analysis where I reviewed the benchmark WOD levels for top 10% functional fitness athletes.
We’ve determined that FGB is a valid workout to test your overall fitness. Moreover, we now have some solid scores to determine what your score should be. Let’s cover a few strategies to score well in Fight Gone Bad. If you want to improve your fitness and exercise capacity then you need to check out this program.
Fight Gone Bad Performance Tips
You need to have a game plan if you want to perform well in Fight Gone Bad. This plan will change based off of your specific strengths and weaknesses. I recommend trying out a practice round to get an idea of how many reps you can achieve for each movement.
You also need to be realistic. If you’re a shorter athlete, then wall balls and box jumps are going to be a little harder for you. This means that you need to work moderately hard on those movements, that aren’t in your wheel house. Conversely, you need to go all out on your good movements.
I find that athletes should focus on the sumo deadlift high pulls, and the push press as max effort movements. After all, box jumps, and wall-ball shots have a somewhat fixed pace. The sumo deadlifts and push presses have a fast cycle time, and you can really rack up the reps quickly.
No matter what kind of athlete you are, you should go max effort on the row. Recall that you have a 1 minute rest coming up, so you can push harder than you normally would.
My last tip is to transition quickly. There are no breaks between movements, as this is a running clock. You lose valuable time if you huff and puff for 15 sec between movements. It would be better for you to stop 5 or so seconds short, on a movement you aren’t as good at, so you can maximize the time at a strong movement. We’ve covered a lot of info, so let’s finish this article up with a few final thoughts.
Final Thoughts
Fight Gone Bad is a very good workout, and I recommend repeating this WOD every 6 months or so. This will give you a good idea how your fitness is progressing. To perform well you need a big aerobic engine, and decent full body strength.
Try a few of my programs and I think you’ll be surprised just how much progress you can make in a few short months. If you have any comments or questions, put them in the comments section below. Now get out there and start your functional training.
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