The Fat Amy workout is the ultimate test of endurance as it is a high-volume WOD. While the actual exercises are fairly easy, the number of reps will start to break you down as you near the end of the workout. Your heart will be pumping, and your lungs burning.
This type of CrossFit workout is known as a chipper WOD. There are a variety of movements, so rather than exhausting one or two areas of your body completely, the workload bounces around from one muscle group to the next.
Since there are so many movements and the workout does not focus on trashing just one area of your body, it makes it more possible to push through each exercise quickly.
Be aware of the mental capacity this workout requires. You will need to keep track of many reps, and the number of reps changes a lot, seemingly without any rhyme or reason to the madness. Write them down nice and big and in perfect view of your workout space.
Ready for the Fat Amy workout? In this guide, we will cover the following:
- What Is the Fat Amy Workout?
- How to Do the Fat Amy WOD
- How to Scale the Fat Amy Workout for Each Fitness Level
- How Long Does the Fat Amy CrossFit Workout Take?
Let’s crush this thing!
What Is the Fat Amy Workout?
This workout is a well-known chipper workout in CrossFit. It consists of 6 exercises and requires a kettlebell for one of the exercises.
The functional movements in this workout are not particularly hard and do not require much strength or coordination. However, do not be fooled because completing this entire workout at a fast pace requires plenty of determination.
This workout aims to test an athlete’s cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, and will!
While the actual workout is not hard, the excessive number of reps and the requirement to do it as fast as possible puts a lot of demand on the body and mind.
The Fat Amy workout looks quite different from other CrossFit WODs named after girls. It is challenging in its own way, and some may argue that the need to focus and track reps is half the battle.
The Fat Amy workout is one of the more taxing chipper workouts out there, and though it is beginner friendly as far as the movements go, the ability to hang in there for the entirety of the workout or complete it quickly may be challenging for beginners.
How to Do the Fat Amy WOD
To prepare for the Fat Amy workout, you must have enough space to bear crawl 10 meters and complete movements like burpees and sit-ups that require lying on the floor. You must also check to ensure you can safely swing a kettlebell in your workout space.
You will probably notice a sense of pattern in this workout. Essentially you do an exercise, then burpees, another exercise, then burpees. So if you want to look at it positively, you get burpee breaks.
If sit-ups bother your tailbone or you want to avoid bruised knees from burpees and lunges, consider using an exercise mat for comfort.
Before beginning the workout, you will also want to check your form on the various exercises in a mirror. You will be doing a lot of reps, so you want to make sure you are doing them right. Let’s avoid injury!
Maintaining a steady pace during this workout may be hard due to the ever-changing reps and exercises. However, the more efficiently you complete the designated movements, the quicker you will be able to make your way through them all.
If you are quicker at some of the exercises in the Fat Amy workout than others, feel free to kick it into gear when completing those.
Here is the exact format of “The Fat Amy:”
For Time:
- 50 Air Squats
- 10 Burpees
- 40 Sit-Ups
- 10 Burpees
- 30 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 10 Burpees
- 20 Kettlebell Swings (54/36 lb)
- 10 Burpees
- 10-meter Bear Crawl
- 10 Burpees
- 20 Kettlebell Swings (54/36 lb)
- 10 Burpees
- 30 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 10 Burpees
- 40 Sit-Ups
- 10 Burpees
- 50 Air Squats
Everything must be completed in order. Your score is determined by the time on the clock once you complete your 50th air squat at the end of the workout. The faster you move, the higher you score.
How to Scale the Fat Amy Workout for Each Fitness Level
The Fat Amy workout does not require complex movements or heavy weights. In fact, for this CrossFit workout, you hardly move any weight.
It is unlikely that any movements will need to be modified, even for beginners. However, there are possible modifications to movements if need be.
When modifying this workout, the primary focus is to complete all exercises as prescribed but modify the rep number if needed.
CrossFit benchmark workouts are meant to challenge your mind and body; this one is no different. When you think the tank is empty, you can dig deep and find the ambition to continue. Mind over matter!
This workout is as hard or easy as you make it. Advanced athletes will likely suffer if they truly grind to get a great time.
On the other hand, beginner athletes may take a lot longer, but the massive workload may crush them just as much.
While no specific muscle group is targeted to suffer when completing this workout, your whole body should feel crushed.
The Fat Amy Workout for Beginners:
The Fat Amy workout is easy to scale for different fitness levels by modifying the reps. You can also decrease the kettlebell weight.
Beginners should consider starting here:
For Time:
- 40 Air Squats
- 5 Burpees
- 30 Sit-Ups
- 5 Burpees
- 20 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 5 Burpees
- 10 Kettlebell Swings (35/26 lb)
- 5 Burpees
- 10-meter Bear Crawl
- 5 Burpees
- 10 Kettlebell Swings (35/26 lb)
- 5 Burpees
- 20 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 5 Burpees
- 30 Sit-Ups
- 5 Burpees
- 40 Air Squats
Feel free to rest as needed between exercises but do not wait until you fully recover from one to the next, or your time will greatly increase. You can break each individual exercise into smaller sets if that is helpful.
For example, do four sets of ten air squats, five burpees, three sets of ten sit-ups, and so on. This may help the workload to feel more tolerable.
The Fat Amy Workout for Intermediates:
Intermediate athletes can likely complete these movements easily and may do the entire workout fairly fast without any rep modifications.
However, if it feels like too much at the time, then you can modify it slightly until you are ready to dive in fully. You should keep the kettlebell weight the same as the prescribed workout.
We recommend trying the following workout:
- 45 Air Squats
- 10 Burpees
- 35 Sit-Ups
- 10 Burpees
- 25 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 10 Burpees
- 15 Kettlebell Swings (54/36 lb)
- 10 Burpees
- 10-meter Bear Crawl
- 10 Burpees
- 15 Kettlebell Swings (54/36 lb)
- 10 Burpees
- 25 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 10 Burpees
- 35 Sit-Ups
- 10 Burpees
- 45 Air Squats
As you can see, very few modifications are here compared to the prescribed workout. Another option is to lower the burpees to 5 every time and do the full reps for the other exercises. Consider trying both in two different instances.
The Fat Amy Workout for the Advanced:
Advance athletes should not need any modifications for the Fat Amy workout. It should be completed exactly as prescribed.
For Time:
- 50 Air Squats
- 10 Burpees
- 40 Sit-Ups
- 10 Burpees
- 30 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 10 Burpees
- 20 Kettlebell Swings (54/36 lb)
- 10 Burpees
- 10-meter Bear Crawl
- 10 Burpees
- 20 Kettlebell Swings (54/36 lb)
- 10 Burpees
- 30 Lunges (alternating legs)
- 10 Burpees
- 40 Sit-Ups
- 10 Burpees
- 50 Air Squats
Advanced athletes may need to pause here and there to catch their breath, but athletes with immaculate fitness will most likely be able to speed through the entire thing without any noticeable rest.
How Long Does the Fat Amy Workout Take?
Fitness. Fitness. Fitness. This workout is all about how fit you are; the fitter you are, the quicker you get it done. A good aerobic engine is required to truly dominate a workout like this.
Once you find yourself in the groove of things, you may be surprised at how quickly you can go.
If you have someone available to tell you the reps you need to complete and assist in counting your reps, that will also help to speed up the workout.
For athletes who complete all of the reps, including making modifications to the weight and reps, here is how long we expect different skill levels to take:
- Beginner athletes completing the workout will likely take close to 20 minutes.
- Intermediate athletes can expect to take around 15 minutes to complete the workout, give or take.
- Advanced athletes should be able to complete the workout in under 15 minutes, hopefully closer to 12-13 minutes.
- Elite athletes who give the Fat Amy workout all they have should be able to complete the workout in about 11 minutes if they push.
Takeaways
The Fat Amy Workout is a challenging chipper workout in CrossFit that tests endurance, mental fortitude, and overall fitness.
While the individual exercises may not be particularly difficult, the high volume of reps and the requirement to complete the workout quickly make it physically demanding.
Efficiency and pacing are key to performing well in the Fat Amy Workout. Regardless of skill level, the workout is designed to push individuals to their limits and test their cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
Overall, the Fat Amy Workout challenges athletes both physically and mentally, emphasizing endurance, determination, and the ability to push through high reps.
It serves as a test of overall fitness and can be scaled to accommodate athletes at different skill levels, making it a versatile and effective workout for those looking to improve their conditioning and performance.
If you want to challenge yourself with another yet different CrossFit WOD style, try “The Cindy.”
