Fight Gone Bad is one of the CrossFit benchmark WODs. It was designed to simulate the time domain of a mixed martial arts bout of five minutes of work followed by one minute of rest. The workout first appeared on CrossFit.com on 1 December 2004, although a hint of the workout appeared as just a snapshot image on 7 October 2003. It was so named after BJ Penn, a professional mixed martial artist, remarked that it was like a “fight gone bad” when asked how it compared to a real fight.
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We’ve used this in 3 and 5 round versions. The stations are: 
- . Wallball Shots: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
- . Sumo Deadlift High-Pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
- . Box Jump: 20″ box (Reps)
- . Push Press: 75 pounds (Reps)
- . Row: calories (Cal)
The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses
I hate the rower! Let’s be honest, rowing 21 calories in 60 seconds for 3 consecutive rounds is going to be a whole can of suck! Let’s just say I can comfortably hit 15 cals on the rower in 40-50 seconds and have time to move to the next station. I will now need to make up 6 more repetitions on another station if I’m going to hit my required target of 105 reps per round. Luckily I like wall balls and box jumps. I will play to my strengths and aim to do 24 reps on these two stations to reach my target score.
In the first round these targets (24 wall balls, 21 sumo deadlift high-pulls, 24 box jumps, 21 push-ups, and 15 cals on the rower) might seem easy, but the idea is to finish each station with time to spare, time to recover, time to prepare for the next exercise. Trust me, as the rounds go on it becomes a lot harder to maintain these scores and the rest time between stations will become less.
Do NOT deviate from the plan
Far too often people start to think, “I’ve done 24 wall balls and I still have 30 secounds to do more in the first round.” STOP. REST. YOU’VE ACHIVED YOUR TARGET! DO NOT FATIGUE YOURSELF. If your aim is to set a new personal best then you must stick to the plan.
Do the maths, know the score, work to your strengths, stick to the plan, and be happy with a small improvement each time you step into the Fight Gone Bad arena.
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