The Krillin Workout

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Krillin and Goku start on relatively even footing.  Of course, as Dragonball and then Dragonball Z progressed, the gap between them continued to widen, but in the beginning they were both mere pupils of Master Roshi, the turtle hermit.  Roshi trained them together, and boy did they train!   Roshi’s training was old school stuff, and we’re going to go modern-old-school as well, with bodyweight style exercises (with some modern-day “turtle shells” – weighted vests!)

A word of caution here: Wearing weighted clothing all the time like anime characters sometimes do isn’t going to dramatically increase your speed, strength, and agility.  It’s just going to dramatically increase the speed at which your joints deteriorate.  However, adding some extra weight to specific bodyweight exercises can definitely increase your speed, strength, and agility, so that’s just what we’re going to be doing with The Krillin Workout!

For your diet, check out Macros and You! to get started on building a nutritional program!  Or, if you want to go world class, then you’ll want to grab RPG Fitness as soon as you are able.

As with all workouts, you’re going to want to Warm Up before every session, and Cool Down afterwards.

Note: This workout, like most, is split up into four levels to easily plug into the RPG Fitness workout system.

Equipment Needed:
Pull Up Bar
Rings

Strength

Style:
Circuit –  Perform one set of one exercise, and move immediately onto one set of the next exercise.  Rest one minute when one set of all exercises have been performed, and then repeat until all sets have been done.

Level 1 (Beginner):

5×5 Kneeling Fingertip Push Ups
5×5 Chair-Assisted Towel Pull Ups
5×5 Pike Push Ups
5×5 Bodyweight Squats
5×20 second Planks

Level 2 (Intermediate):

5×5-10 Fingertip Push Ups
5×5-10 Towel Pull Ups
5×5-10 Pike Push Ups
5×5-10 Bodyweight Rows
5×5-10 Bodyweight Squats
5×20 second Planks
5×10 second sprints

Level 3 (Advanced):

5×5-10 Fingertip Push Ups (with 10-25 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Towel Pull Ups (with 10-25 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Handstand Push Ups
5×5-10 Bodyweight Rows (with 10-25 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Tuck Jumps
5×5-10 Hanging Leg Lifts
5×20 second Sprints

Level 4 (Turtle Hermit):

5×5-10 Fingertip Push Ups (with 25-50 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Towel Pull Ups (with 25-50 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Handstand Push Ups (with 5-15 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Bodyweight Rows (with 10-25 lb weighted vest)
5×5-10 Tuck Jumps
5×5-10 Hanging Upside-Down Situps
After full circuit workout is done:
Tabata Interval sprints (sprint 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, repeat 8 times for a total of 4 minutes)

Strength Notes:

We’re building some Monk-style finger and hand strength with this one!  Fingertip push ups are CLASSIC, and the towel grip pull ups will really work your crush grip and endurance!  Beyond that, we’re in relatively high rep range because we want to develop solid strength but ALSO excellent endurance.  Our “Turtle Shell” weighted vest helps us with the strength, the higher rep ranges help us with the endurance.  We’re also working sprints into our strength days to really bolster our leg work (since we don’t have much hitting them otherwise, and Krillin runs like stupid fast.)

Cardio

Level 1 (Beginner):

20-30 minute Brisk Walk

Level 2 (Intermediate):

20-30 minute Ruck (10-20 lb backpack)

Level 3 (Advanced):

30 minute Ruck (20-30 lb backpack)

Level 4 (Turtle Hermit):

30-60 minute Ruck (30+ lb backpack)

Cardio Notes:

What is rucking?  Rucking is throwing a weighted backpack on and going for a walk, essentially!  Originally a fitness measure developed by the military, rucking has begun to enter mainstream fitness as an alternative to running.  We, of course, will be going with rucking for our cardio becaaaaaause turtle shell!

You need a sturdy backpack (get one with a chest harness) and some weight to put in it (there’s specialty plates out there but you can also just use playground sand or something like that.)  Start slow, with low weight, and work yourself up (don’t add more than 10% a week.)  Pay attention to your body, and stretch out if you’re feeling stiff but otherwise don’t overthink it, just throw weight on, keep a good upright posture, and go for a brisk walk (or hike!)

Schedule:

Day 1: Strength
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Strength
Day 5: Cardio
Day 6: Strength
Day 7: Rest

Schedule notes:

Our normal routine, just keep an eye on how you feel and don’t worry about taking an extra rest day if you need it (I’d recommend day 6.)  These workouts get pretty high-intensity towards the upper end of things so ramp yourself up gradually!

That’s it for the Krillin Workout!  I hope you enjoy it!

Tune in on Monday for The Skills of a Monk!  Until then, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace