Workouts
The Witcher Workout
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Note: This workout is divided up into four levels to easily plug into the RPG Fitness leveling system.
Required Equipment:
Pull Up Bar
Sledgehammer
Weighted Backpack/Vest
Sandbag
Sturdy Tire (or something to swing the sledgehammer at)
Strength:
Level 1 (beginner):
3×3-5 Chair-assisted pull ups
3×3-5 Kneeling push ups
3×3-5 Pike push ups (or wall push ups if you can’t do pikes yet)
3×3-5 Bodyweight squats
3×5-10 second planks
Level 2 (intermediate):
5×3-5 Pull ups
5×5-10 Push Ups
5×5-10 Pike push ups
5×5-10 Bodyweight squats
5×5-10 second planks
Level 3 (advanced):
5×5-10 Pull ups
5×5-10 Push ups (with 5-25 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×3-5 Handstand push ups
5×5-10 Front Squats (with 25-50 lb sandbag)
5×15-20 second planks (with 15-30 lb weighted backpack/vest)
Level 4 (Witcher):
5×5-10 Pull ups (with 5-30 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×5-10 Push ups (with 30-75 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×5-10 Handstand push ups
5×5-10 Front Squats (with 55-100 lb sandbag)
5×15-20 second planks (with 35-50 lb weighted backpack/vest)
Strength Notes:
Geralt’s a strong dude, and I was tempted to do a full weights workout with this (bench, squat rack, etc.), but given his propensity in hand to hand combat, I decided to go with weighted bodyweight and sand based exercises instead. Weighted bodyweight will help you learn to manage your body better, and sand lifts are great for developing extra hand strength and stabilizer muscles.
Cardio:
Level 1 (beginner):
20 minutes brisk walking
5-10 sledgehammer swings (each side)
Level 2 (intermediate):
20 minutes brisk walking and jogging (try to jog more than you walk, gradually working your way up to jogging the whole time)
10-15 sledgehammer swings (each side)
Level 3 (advanced):
20 minutes jogging
5 minutes sledgehammer swings (alternate sides back and forth for the full five minutes)
Level 4 (Witcher):
30 minutes jogging
10 minutes sledgehammer swings (alternate sides back and forth for the full five minutes, try to do these as fast as you can without hurting yourself)
Cardio Notes:
If this workout looks familiar to you, it’s because it’s actually the same as Ike’s! It’s a great workout for anyone looking to wield a two-handed sword, and I figured don’t fix it if it’s not broken! The sledgehammer swings are awesome for building core muscles, upper body endurance, and forearm strength. Keep the pace up, and don’t ease up on your swings!
Schedule:
Day 1: Strength
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Strength
Day 5: Cardio
Day 6: Strength
Day 7: Rest
Schedule Notes:
This is our usual workout schedule. If you’re just starting out, feel free to take an extra rest day (I’d personally pick either day 4 or day 6). If you’re a seasoned veteran, I’d go down to one rest day. As usual, listen to your body, and be careful! It’s better to lose one or two days to rest than one or two months to injury!
That’s all for this week! This Saturday I’ll be uploading my American Ninja Warrior audition on the Youtube channel, but that’s not an OFFICIAL blog video, so you’ll still be getting one of those next Saturday! Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!
Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace
PS: Hey, all you new year’s resolutioners! Did you know that posting a workout log in a public place gives you much better odds of sticking to your goals? It’s also a great way to get feedback on your workouts! Oh, and look at that, we have a forum devoted to that sort of thing! Shocking! 😉
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Hey Dan, love the website! I’m a pretty slim guy looking to tone up and put on a lean physique without getting huge. Would the Witcher workout be better for that than, say, the Edward Kenway or the Nathan Drake workout?
Hey Ash! Thanks for stopping by! If you’re looking to put on some muscle, my personal recommendation out of those three would be The Witcher Workout, yeah. Also remember to be taking in lots of protein! The general rule of thumb is to consume one gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight. =D Let me know if you have any more questions!
Thanks for the help! I plan to be seeing some good improvements by summer.
Awesome! Keep me posted!
Hay ash! I am new to your website and i like your routines . I am a fat guy could you recommend me a workout routine to loose fat and gain some muscle.
The answer to losing fat isn’t really about the workout so much as it is the diet. Check out Macros and You as a starting point! https://zts.wty.mybluehost.me/website_d99cde43/2014/05/07/macros-and-you/
Hey man keep it up. Get a good diet going and whenever you work oUT (which should be almost everyday) push yourself and you should see awesome results!
I dont have access to that sledgehammer workout. With what would you replace it?
Medicine ball slams are good. Sledgehammers aren’t too expensive, though, and you can get an old tire to whack for free if you ask a mechanic nicely enough, so I’d recommend getting those ASAP. =D Not really a great replacement for the exercise.
Hey-o, I’m a bit young, and a bit slimmer then I would like, would this workout be better for me to beef up and gain some strength in the process? Or would the Ezio workout be better?
Either would be great, I’d recommend this one a bit more if those are your goals. Make sure you check out Macros and You because food is going to be even more important for “beefing up” than working out! https://zts.wty.mybluehost.me/website_d99cde43/2014/05/07/macros-and-you/
OK, so this will be my first workout. I don’t know how levels work. Is it just level 1 being days 1-7? Or am I doing level one for a week until I feel comfortable to move on to level 2? Because I can’t see 1 week…or 4 weeks of 4 levels each week doing anything. But then again, I’ve never worked out enough to see results. However I am fairly built, so I feel this is a workout worth tackling. But I just need to know scheduling recommendations please so I don’t screw up. Thanks anyone!
Hello. I was training comfortably with a 15,5 lbs backpack (push ups, front squats, planks; pullups without the extra weight) using the advanced level of this workout. I had great results but suddenly after a few months of training i have experienced pain on the lower part of my back. Should i stop exercising with extra weights?
Honestly, Jacques, that’s difficult to say without seeing your form and/or knowing the circumstances of when the pain occurred. I’d recommend talking to a doctor about it, personally.
The pain occured the next morning after my strength workout and lasted for 3 days. Then it stopped. However, will not using additional weight in my exercises compromise my strength gains? I care mostly about strength and endurance. Can you provide some advice regarding this? Thanks in advance.
Well again, without seeing you perform the exercises, it’s difficult to say if you’re having a form issue causing this or not.
If I had to guess, it may be the planks causing the problem. You can cut those out completely and go for hanging leg raises if you’d like. Give that a shot and leave everything else the same and see what happens. Also pay attention to your back during your workout, see if there’s any particular exercises that are causing it to “twinge” while you’re performing them.
Hey. This workout and the solid snake one are the two I would think of doing. Is it possible to do one for one week and then the other the next, or is this ineffective?
Personally, I’m not a fan of switching between workouts that frequently, and it’s generally ineffective for significant improvement, especially if they have two different goals. The Solid Snake workout is a much more muscular endurance and cardiovascular based workout. The Witcher Workout is much more strength based. I’d say pick which you’d rather prioritize, do that for eight weeks, and see where you’re at.
Thanks, I think I’ll do snake as easier to get equipment. One more question, how effective is swimming as cardio? Ive been swimming for a few months and am wondering whether to keep at that or replace it with the cardio in the workout?
I would just keep at the swimming. Or, alternate between swimming and running.
Hey, really like the idea of this workout and I think I’ll give it a try! I’m just too dumb to do the handstand push ups, do you have any tips for me? Or another exercise to replace them with?
Keep up this amazing website!
Hey Kai, glad you like the workout! I don’t think you’re too dumb for handstand push-ups! I’d love to help you out, though. What are your issues with doing them?
Hey Dan, I’m a bit torn between doing this workout and Galen Marek’s workout. Both land nicely in the fighter and weapon user archetype, but it seems that Geralt’s is more strength based and will lead to more muscle mass. If I wanted to put on decent muscle mass then I’m assuming that Geralt’s workout would be the better suited of the two choices. Would that be correct?
Yep!
Hey Dan. I have a heart condition, so I can’t exactly do the jogging part of the cardio, but I can bike. So what do you think would be a good amount of biking to do compared to jogging. Like if the day says do 15 minutes jogging, should I do 15 minutes biking or so. Thanks!
Honestly, that’s a conversation to have with your cardiologist/doctor. The general idea is to get your heart rate into 75%-85% of your maximum heart rate for at least 20 minutes when you’re jogging, but I don’t necessarily want to recommend any level of intensity to you if you have a pre-existing condition unless you’ve gotten explicit clearance from your doctor, first.
Hey, I love this workout and I am a couple pounds away from being overweight and I was wondering if I were to cut down would I lose muscle or is there a way of gaining some muscle while cutting?
Personally, I’d just exercise regularly while cutting. You’ll find you retain a good portion of muscle even as you’re losing fat (though you probably won’t grow too much muscle as you’re cutting.) Once you’re at your goal body fat percentage, then you can start a nice, clean bulk.
The thing about weightlifting for size is that even if you’re starting from a lean point, it’s still going to be 4-6 months before you see any significant size gains because up to that point, strength gains are mostly neuromuscular adaptation, not actual fiber growth. It’s only once you hit the soft brain/muscle recruitment wall that your body starts to really focus on increasing muscle tissue size.
It may sound dumb, but what does the “3×3-5” etc mean? I’m new to this. Does it mean 3 sets of 5 or something like that?
Wait nvm, I’ve watched your video and it really helps me understand!
Awesome, glad you got it. =D Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi! I’ve been doing this workout along with some free weight training for a few months, and am somewhere between beginner and intermediate level, How long will it usually take to advance further?
Honestly, it depends on how quickly you’re trying to increase your weights, and how much you’re eating, believe it or not. Sleep is important, too. Are you following the schedule as laid out here, or do you miss workouts sometimes?
I have missed 1 or 2 workouts due to extreme heat, but I stick pretty closely to the plan laid out.
Alrighty then, how are you doing on raising your weights and how often do you try to increase them?
I can’t raise my weights very often due to the cost, so I mostly just increase reps and sets until I’m able to afford to buy more weight plates. But I go well when I am able to increase weight.
Okidokey, so your concern was advancedment, what exercises in particular are you having a hard time reaching the advanced tier on?
I’m having a good deal of trouble with the pike pushups and with jogging. I’ve never been a fit guys, and while I’ve seen decent weight loss from this I’m noticing that my fitness isn’t advancing the way I’d like, especially compared with everything else in the plan here.
If you’re having a hard time with pike push ups, start with Wall Push Ups. Just lean forward against a wall and do push ups off the wall. Lower your hands along the wall as it gets easier until you’re on the ground doing full pike push ups.
For the jogging, the most important thing is to be out and moving for the prescribed 20-30 minutes. I would recommend jogging for one minute, and then walking for three, and repeating for the full 20-30. Then, every time you go out, add another five seconds worth of jogging, and take away five seconds of walking from each set (so next time you go out, jog for 1:05, walk for 2:55, the next time jog for 1:10, walk for 2:50, etc.) You can start even lower if you need to (0:30 jog, 3:30 walk, etc.)
Excellent, thank you so much!
Hey there, this might be a silly question but when you say 3×3-5 Chair-assisted pull ups for example, do you mean 45 in total? I just don’t understand ?
Hey Cam! 3×3-5 means three sets, with three to five repetitions per set. So basically, you do three to five chair assisted pull ups (whatever you can manage), then rest for a little bit (like a minute,) and do it again, then rest a little bit (like a minute,) and do one final set of three to five repetitions, then move on to your next exercise. So it will end up being somewhere between nine and fifteen chair-assisted pull ups, total.
Nice! Thanks for help mate !?
Hey I’m gonna do the witcher work out, I just don’t know what my diet should be or what supplements I should use.