"Fight Gone Bad" was first introduced in the the CrossFit.com regimen back in 2004 to simulate the demands that are placed on the body and mind during a MMA fight. Originally it was designed for BJ Penn who does CrossFit. The workout is 1 minute stations, 5 exercises, and a 1 minute built in rest period. The workout is brutal, no doubt. It requires all out effort with no time for rest between transitions. The movements all complement each other and if you have experienced it, you know it does its job. But what are the benefits to this type of training?
I felt it was time to put this workout into he program at this time of year not only to establish a benchmark but to highlight an important point to fitness. FAT LOSS. This week marks the beginning of the Holiday season, where eating and socializing are at its maximum potential and where most people sometimes abandon themselves until after the new year! But fear not, by keeping true to your CrossFit training regiment through the holidays, our interval training will help keep the fat off and gain coming.
Exercise Physiology is a mathematical equation. Do X @ a certain percentage of effort and get Y as your result. The fun bit what fuels the percentage, how well you are trained at X and what you want to see at the Y. Do I still have your attention??? Well stay with me and I will explain.
Today we will cover how your body determines its energy source. And what is energy? Well your body has two primary energy sources, FATS and CARBS. Fats require more oxygen to burn and carbs are the easiest to burn. Your body will decide which type to burn based on the intensity and duration of exercising, your type of diet and when you last ate, and how 'FIT' you are.
Carbohydrates are utilized in all levels of interval training. If we return to our math equation, the higher the percentage of intensity your do X, the more carbohydrates you will burn. As I stated before, carbs burn higher in our anaerobic state than at a lower aerobic state.Carbs are easily gathered and burned because they float in the form of glucose throughout our blood stream and when called upon, the liver has a reservoir of glucose stored for the muscles when they need them.
An important point to mention at this point when we are talking about carbs and interval training is that when we mobilize our body to exert force and the heart increases demand, by decreasing the carbs in your diet will force the body to search for alternate forms of energy, i.e. FAT! And for most of you, that is the goal, total fat loss.
Fat, as opposed to Carbohydrates, are hidden a little deeper and therefore take more coaxing to burn recruit and burn off. The first type of fat that the body pulls from is called peripheral fat. This is fat that is held in the subcutaneous (under skin) or intraabdominal (under abs) area. The body burns this more efficiently and the pancreas does not have to work as hard producing insulin in order to store it. In the realm of CrossFit where the heart rate usually stays in the 75-80% zone, the body can access your fat stores as well as oxygen producing the best possible conditions for fat loss.
The cool thing about your fitness level is that the more 'fit' you become the better your body will be at maximizing your oxygen intake and processing level. We call that increasing your VO2 max. When you can keep oxygen pumping into the lungs at higher and higher levels of intensity, your ability to burn fat increases! That is major in the world of physiology. Efficiency and performance.
Interval training where your heart rate goes up and down, but you stay at a heightened baseline level, helps to increase your bodies ability to process oxygen. When you add in the constantly varied aspect of CrossFit training, boom!! You have a body that is efficient and can adapt to any modality or exercise thrown at it. Fitness Baby!!!
As we go through the week I will show you how diet and post workout recovery can influence your fat burning potential. Take what you have now learned about your energy sources of Fat and Carbs and begin thinking about how your nutrition is directly connected to what is stored and burned. Understanding this process will help you reach your goals of fat loss and coming out of the holidays more fit than before.
Baseline:
Plyometrics:
Plyo Steps
High Skip Drill
Lateral Bounding
Tuck Jumps
Broad Jumps
WOD Specific:
KB Goblet Squats
KB Toe Touches
KB Press
KB SDHP
WOD:
"Fight Gone Bad"
3 Rounds for max Reps
:60 at each station/ no rest between
Wall Ball 20/14
Sumo Deadlift High Pull 75/55
Box Jump 20"
Push Press 75/55
Row For Calories
REST
