The Samurai Jack Workout

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Jack is, as we mentioned in his character spotlight, lean and powerful.  He’s strong without being huge, and incredibly fast.  He’s also got extreme levels of endurance, and the ability to “Jump Good.”  All of these things together create a formidable Weapons Master, and one we want to emulate as best we can with our workout.  We’ll be using some weights to build raw strength, some bodyweight conditioning to build endurance, some plyometrics to build speed, and weapon drills for practical muscular development.

As with all workouts, make sure you Warm Up before exercising, and Cool Down afterwards.  For dietary concerns, make sure you check out Macros and You! and The Fighter Diet.

Note: This workout, like most, is split into four tiers in order to easily plug into the RPG Fitness workout system.  For the weightlifting portions, stick with the guidelines for “The Warrior Workout” in that volume.

Workout Type: Station – Perform all sets and repetitions of an exercise before moving on to the next exercise.  Rest 1-2 minutes between sets.

Equipment Required:
Pull Up Bar
Squat Rack
Bench
Dumbbells
Barbell and Weights

Strength

Level 1 (Beginner):

5×5 Bodyweight Squat
5×5 Kneeling Push Ups
5×5 Chair-Assisted Pull Ups
5×5 Russian Twists

Level 2 (Intermediate):

5×5 Back Squat (Should be enough weight that 5 sets of 5 reps is a real struggle to do while maintaining proper form)
5×5 Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (Same weight guidelines as the back squat)
5×5 Pull Ups
5×5 Russian Twists (Holding weight plate)
3×10-20 second Planks

Level 3 (Advanced):

5×5 Back Squat (Same weight guidelines as before)
5×5 Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (Same weight guidelines as before)
5×5-10 Pull Ups
5×5 Russian Twists (Holding weight plate)
5×10-15 second Hanging L-Sit

Level 4 (Samurai):

5/3/1 Back Squat (Three sets, increase weight on every set.  Last set should be near your 1 rep max [1RM])
5×5-10 Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (Same weight guidelines as before)
5×5-10 Weighted Pull Ups (Same weight guidelines as before)
5×5-10 Russian Twists (Holding weight plate)
5×15-20 second Flexed-Arm Hanging L-Sit

Strength Notes:

So, we’re doing several things here.  One, we’re building solid power with our trifecta of squats, inclines presses, and pull ups.  Two, we’re building awesome rotational strength with our russian twists(great for swinging any given weapon around.)  Three, we’re building muscular endurance in our upper body with the planks, hanging L-Sits, and flexed-arm hanging L-Sits.

Cardio

Level 1 (Beginner):

10 minute Walk
5×5 Bodyweight Lunges
5×5 Calf Bounces
10 minute Weapon Drills OR 5 minute Sledgehammer Slams

Level 2 (Intermediate):

10 minute Jog
5×5 Tuck Jumps
5×5 Jumping Lunges
5×5 Calf Bounces
10 minute Weapon Drills OR 10 minute Sledgehammer Slams

Level 3 (Advanced):

15 minute Jog
5×10 Tuck Jumps
5×10 Jumping Lunges
5×10 Calf Bounces
15 minute Weapon Drills OR 15 minute Sledgehammer Slams

Level 4 (Samurai):

20 minute Jog
5×10 Tuck Jumps
5×10 Jumping Lunges
5×10 Calf Bounces
15 minute Weapon Drills OR 15 minute Sledgehammer Slams
4×20 second Sprints (rest 10 seconds between each sprint)

Cardio Notes:

Our cardio portion is a combination of standard cardio (jogging/running) with plyometrics (jumps, bounces, lunges.)  We want to build Jack’s “jump good” prowess in addition to developing our aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.  Finishing off with weapon drills adds to our ability to do more of what Jack’s good at, swinging a weapon around! If you aren’t learning a weapon art yet, sledgehammer slams can be a good substitute in a pinch.

Schedule:

Day 1: Strength
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Rest

Schedule Notes:

You’ll notice this isn’t a seven day schedule.  That’s intentional.  You just repeat this three day cycle, infinitely.  Your strength day will hit basically all your major muscle groups, and your cardio day is going to put your lower body through the ringer.  You take a day of rest, and then you start all over again!

That’s it for the Samurai Jack workout!  I’ll see you again on Thursday with Becoming the Super Samurai!

Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace