This one was a Fight Gone Bad-style WOD. If you've never done this particular WOD, the name comes from the fact that it simulates a prize fight. You have to do 5 minutes straight of work (the same amount of time as a round) and then you get a minute of rest. You repeat this pattern 3 times, since that's how long most fights last (3 rounds of 5 minutes apiece). Trust me, it's one of those WODs that beats you up a little bit.
This particular iteration of Fight Gone Bad is heavy on leg exercises, so be very sure to stretch out the various muscles in your legs. You really don't want to cramp up in the middle of this, nor do you want to cause yourself injury.
WoD 3 rounds of:
- 60 seconds of thrusters
- 60 seconds of sumo deadlift high pull (with bar)
- 60 seconds of burpees
- 60 seconds of air squats
- 60 seconds of jumping lunges
Exercises
- Thrusters
You'll need two dumbbells for this. The traditional start has your knuckles facing away from you and the weights resting against the upper part of your chest (this position is often called "racking" the weights).
Do an air squat so that your thighs end up parallel to the ground; if you can "break parallel," that's even better. As you come up, press the two dumbbells over your head, until your arms are fully extended. Push the weights straight up & down, since any horizontal motion will put undue stress on your shoulders.
Bring the dumbbells back to the “racked” position to finish the rep. For this, you can actually make it a smooth motion, and go straight into the next squat instead of stopping at starting position. This is fine so long as you fully extend the dumbbells, bring the weights back down before you start your next squat, and keep a good curve on your lower back the whole time.
- Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP)
You need a weighted body bar for this. Most people use the 12lb bar, but if you're feeling industrious, you can grab a heavier bar. Keep your feet about 1.5 shoulder widths apart, and do a squat. Keep your hands between your legs, and reach down to grab the weight without bending at the waist. Come up from the squat, aggressively shrugging your shoulders as you do that (it might seem a little silly, but with heavier weight, the shoulder shrug is important to help drive the momentum). Finish by bringing the hand with the weight to about your chin. This is one of the few times that you want your elbows to flare out to the sides; it should look like your forearm is roughly parallel to the ground. Without bending over at the waist, squat back down to bring the dumbbell back to the ground to finish the rep.
Realistically, most people go right into the next squat/high pull; that's okay, so long as you don't compromise the curve in your lower back to do so. You can also keep yourself honest by making sure that you hear the sound of the weight hitting the ground for every rep. In essence, you're doing squats while lifting weight off the ground for every squat. In this case, you have to do 25 with each arm. It's up to you how you break them up, but it's hardest if you do 25 consecutively on either side.
- Burpees
It's a 5 step motion: 1) squat down & touch the ground, 2) kick your legs out into a push-up position, 3) do a push up, 4) jump back to the squatting position, 5) come up from squatting and jump 2 inches off the ground. Once it starts to feel normal to do this motion, you can start to make it a smoother motion by essentially dropping down into a push up position, rather than squatting and then kicking out your feet. It requires a little bit less energy, but it also requires more coordination and muscle memory.
Scale down: Step back into the push up instead of jumping. Same goes for when you go back to the squatting position (step 4); step forward instead of jumping.
- Air Squats
Make sure that when you go down, your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. If you can, squat farther down than parallel, so that your bottom ends up closer to the ground than your knees. You want to keep your weight on your heels the whole time, that will help ensure you keep a good lumbar curve & will help with any potential balance issues. For some people, it helps to look up at about 45 degrees to ensure you're not leaning forward & straining your lower back. To ensure this happens, you can throw your hands up to 45 degrees and focus your eyes on your hands on each rep.
- Jumping Lunges
Start by doing a regular lunge: bring one leg forward in a straight line, and then bend your knees so that both your knees are bent at 90 degrees. The back knee should be close to the ground, and your front knee should be farther forward than your foot (otherwise you're putting undue stress on your knees). One cue that can help some folks is to treat your lunge like you're going straight up and down with your front leg. Your knees don't quite have to touch the ground (you might get burns/scrapes that way), but come as close as you can to that. If you need extra support, you can use your hands to push up off of your lead leg.
Instead of standing up from that position, jump up in to the air. You want to switch which leg is forward and which leg is in the back in mid-air. When you land, go right into your next lunge. Essentially, you're just jumping from one lunge to the next. Same rules apply on subsequent lunges: keep your front foot farther forward than your front knee, and go all the way down. Keep jumping between each lunge.
Scale down: Do regular lunges.
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