The Sekiro Workout

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Game: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Archetype: Rogue

Class: Assassin

Skills/Attributes:

• Trained shinobi.
• Extremely tenacious.
• Expert swordsman.
• Incredibly agile.
• Capable of moving seamlessly between stealth and open combat.
• Adept at using prosthetic “ninja tool” prosthetic.

Overview:

Sekiro, the one-armed wolf, is the quiet, lethal protagonist from the From Software game of the same name.  When he loses his young lord and his left arm in a single fateful night, he goes on a blood-soaked campaign through feudal Japan to recover one, and avenge the other.  His skills as a shinobi are not to be underestimated, and in some ways losing his left arm made him stronger than he ever was with it.

With his high agility and athletic ability, Sekiro is able to move easily throughout any environment he’s presented with.  This, combined with his slim build and lethal tendencies with a blade place him solidly in the “Rogue” archetype, and while I considered the Marksman and Saboteur, I’d say he’s definitely in the Assassin class.  We’re going to be looking at a primarily bodyweight based workout for him to get us ready for climbing, parkour, and high speed reaction-based combat.

Before we get into that, though, here’s our standard brace of supplemental posts.  Remember, the workout is only half the battle, you need to lock in your nutrition, warm up/cool down, and recovery as well!

General Nutrition Info:

• Macros and You!

Lose Weight, Burn Fat:

• The Secret to Burning Fat
• Losing Weight is Not a Side Quest

Build Muscle, Bulk Up:

• The Secret to Building Mass

Before and After Workout Programs:

• Warm Up
• Cool Down

Alright, let’s get to the workout!

Strength:

Equipment Required:

Pull Up Bar

Style: Station – Perform all sets of an exercise, resting 1 minute between each set, before moving on to the next exercise.

Level 1 (Beginner):

3×5 Bodyweight Squats
3×5-10 Kneeling Push Ups
3×5-10 (each side) Reverse Lunges
3×5-10 Chair or Band Assisted Pull Ups
3×10-20 second Planks
3×5-10 Hanging Knee Raises

Level 2 (Intermediate):

5×10 Bodyweight Squats
5×5-10 Push Ups
5×10 Reverse Lunges
5×5-10 Pull Ups
5×5 One Arm Push Up Negatives
5×5 One Arm Pull Up Negatives
5×10 Inverted Rows
5×20-40 second Planks
5×10 Hanging Knee Raises

Level 3 (Advanced):

5×10 (each leg) Chair Assisted Pistol Squats
5×10 Uneven Push Ups
5×20 Jumping Lunges
5×5-10 Uneven Pull Ups
5×10 One Arm Push Up Negatives
5×10 One Arm Pull Up Negatives
5×10 Uneven Inverted Rows
5×20-40 second (each side) One Arm Planks
5×10 Hanging Leg Raises

Level 4 (Wolf):

5×10+ (each leg) Pistol Squats
5×10+ One Arm Push Ups
5×20 Jumping Lunges
5×10+ One Arm Pull Ups
5×10 Box Jumps
5×10+ One Arm Inverted Rows
5×1 minute (each side) One Arm Planks
5×10+ Toes-To-Bar

Strength Notes:

We’re building up to one limbed exercises here because thematically it obviously fits, but also because it’s the best way to develop exceptional strength through bodyweight exercises.  That and plyometric movements like box jumps and jumping lunges.  As you’re working your way through the levels, you’ll be doing some negatives (just the lowering portion of an exercise) to build up to the single limb movements. Once you’ve got everything down (level 4) you’re going to increase difficulty on the non-plyometric exercises by doing more than 10 reps per set, and increase difficulty on the plyometric exercises (jumping lunges, box jumps) by going for more height.

Cardio:

Equipment Needed:
Sledgehammer
Old Tire

Cardio A:
30 minute Walk/Run
8×20:10 Interval Sprints (20 seconds sprinting, 10 second rest, repeat 8 times)

Cardio B:

5×1-3 minute Sledgehammer Slams
20 minutes Weapon Drills (kata, cutting exercises, sparring, etc.)

Cardio Notes:

Pretty simple on both fronts for our cardio.  We want to move fast like a shinobi over long distances, which Cardio A will help with.  When you’re first starting out, your 30 minute run may just be a walk, and your sprint intervals may just be jogging.  That’s okay.  Just go as fast as YOU are able, every time.  For cardio B, increase the time you spend doing the sledgehammer slams as you are able, but make sure you always get five rounds in.  Again, try to swing as fast as you can.  For your weapon drills, you can do whatever fits the martial arts style you’re studying.  If you aren’t studying a martial art, just go for another run for 20 minutes, just try to go at a faster pace than your longer run.

Schedule:

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

Schedule Notes:

Our schedule is pretty straightforward!  You’ll get a large volume of work in, so you should be able to progress pretty quickly, as long as you’re eating enough food and getting enough rest.  We go more cardio heavy than strength heavy here because Sekiro is definitely more about mobility and agility than he is about size and strength, so we’re going to favor the stuff that keeps him mobile, while still getting in enough work to get strong!  Feel free to add in an extra Strength OR Cardio A day on one of your rest days if you’d like!

That’s it for the Sekiro workout!  I’ll see you tonight at 7 on the Be a Game Character YouTube channel for our regular Tuesday night live hangout!

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

The Best Dan Wallace