Gray's Ice Mage Conditioning | Tough Like The Toonz: EP 4

Today, JaxBlade shows us how to lose some additional fat and condition our bodies and minds to deal with extreme cold, all in the spirit of Gray Fullbuster.  Watch the whole video to make sure you get all the tips about easing into the ice bath and warming up from the process.



That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Darker Than Black

Juvia Lockser: The "Stalking Gray" Workout

Army Crawl
Bear Crawl
Sprint

Batman Workout: How to get built like the Bat | Tough Like The Toonz: EP 3

Today, on Tough Like The Toonz, Jax is taking us through a strength routine to get you big and bad like the Batman. You also get to see Jax have a bit of a conversation with himself, which is fun. Fortunately, the majority of this workout will require relatively little equipment, but there is some need of a gym if you want to do it in its entirety.







That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

How to "Jump Good", Samurai "Jack"ed Workout | Tough Like The Toonz: EP 2

Another "Tough Like the Toonz" workout from JaxBlade. This time, Jax talks about Samurai Jack and increasing your vertical leap. Prepare to be shown how to "jump good," my friends.

Jax has got an amazing springiness to his legs, so you can definitely bet that he knows what he's talking about in this department.





That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

How to Get Fast like Sonic and Rainbow Dash | Tough Like The Toonz: EP 1

JaxBlade is a long-time reader of Real Anime Training and is a Certified Personal Trainer.  Some time ago, Jax started putting together some workouts/training videos for cartoon characters.  In this first episode of the series, he tackles the speedsters Sonic and Rainbow Dash and gives us a good breakdown of exercises necessary to build speed, endurance, and agility.

Also, he reminds us to run... because f#$%ing zombies.






Pay my boy some love and go subscribe and share his stuff all over.  That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

The Takamura Mamoru Workout

5 Best

http://thedaoofdragonball.com/affiliates/

http://fptraffic.com/

Earthbending Strength and Conditioning

Earthbending is based on Hung Gar kung fu (except for Toph, which is Praying Mantis based, apparently).  Hung Gar trains in low stances and has large powerful movements. Practitioners build tough bodies for combat through years and years of training. 

Earthbenders are tough and powerful.  They can launch stones at high speed or move slabs of earth with just a few movements.  And it's not just rocks and dirt-- there are earthbenders who can manipulate sand and even metal.  Their training forces them to be sturdy and unbending against oncoming forces. They move the earth and so, they become like it.

If you like the workout, support us on Patreon!

Behold! A rock!

Warm-up and Stretch (Follow Stretches in Order)

1. 1 Mile Easy Jog
2. Neck Turning- 15 Reps Each Way
3. Forward Bend and Stretch- 1 Minute
4. Palms-up Overhead Reach- 1 Minute
5. Palms-in Arms Behind Reach- 1 Minute 
6. Waist Twisting- 15 Reps Each Way
7. Side Bends- 15 Reps Each Way
8. Standing Back Bend to Forward Bend and Stretch- 15 Reps
9. Wide-Leg Back Bend to Forward Bend and Stretch- 15 Reps
10. Wide-Leg Standing Hamstring Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
11. Side-Lunge Groin Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
12. Forward Lunge/Runner's Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
13. Low Lunge Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
14. Standing Side Split Stretch- 1 Minute
15. Seated Side Split Stretch- 1 Minute
16. Butterfly Stretch- 1 Minute
17. One-Leg Seated Hamstring Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
18. Seated Turn and Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
19. Lying Knee-Pull- 1 Minute Each Side
20. Front Splits Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
21. Standing Quad Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
22. High Foot Hold- 1 Minute Each Side

Then Choose 1 of the Following (see notes for exception)

1. Stance Training    (Rest 30 seconds between each stance)

1. Horse Stance- MAX Time
2. Long Stance- MAX Time Each Side
3. Scissor Stance- MAX Time Each Side
4. Cat Stance- MAX Time Each Side
5. Crane Stance- MAX Time Each Side

2.  Combat Training

1. Taming the Tiger Fist- 3 Sets
2. Tiger Crane Double Style Fist- 3 Sets
3. Five Animals/Five Elements Fist- 3 Sets
4. Iron Wire Fist- 3 Sets
5. Heavy Bagwork- 20 Minutes
6. Sparring- 10 Minutes

3. Physical Conditioning and Iron Body (Choose 3)

1. Horse Stance w/Gripping Jars to Side- 10 Minutes
2. Horse Stance w/Gripping Jars to Front- 10 Minutes
3. Three Star Training- 10 Minutes
4. Turn and Punch (Slow) w/Kettlebells- 100 Each Side
5. Front-Overhead-Lateral Circles with Kettlebells- 100 Each Way
6. Spearhand into beans/sand/steel shot- 100 Each Side (notes)
7. Forms Practice with Iron Rings- 20 Minutes
8. Iron Palm Practice- 20 Minutes
9. 100 Push-ups/One-Arm Push-ups
10. 100 Squats/One-Leg Squats
11. 50 Pull-ups
12. Heavy Stone Lifting- 50 Lifts
13. Barbell Ground-to-Overhead- 50 Lifts

Notes:

• I have provided links to the stretching, stances and forms for your convenience.
• There is quite a lot of stretching, but it will be necessary to build the supple body necessary to handle all of the stances. 
• After the warm-up and stretching, beginners should pick one of the three workouts below to train for the day. The progression and inclusion of other workouts will follow the same progression as the Firebending Strength and Conditioning.
• The heavy bagwork can be broken up into rounds or you can push straight through. Work a single technique or combination or work your conditioning through High Intensity Intervals. 
• As always, wear gear during your sparring and try not to strike vital areas. 
• Your gripping jars will be held at shoulder height either in front or out to the side. If you cannot hold it for the whole 10 minutes, hold it for as long as you can during the 10 minute time period, resting when needed. After you can complete the whole time without stopping, add a cup of sand to the jars. Do this every time you can hold the position for 10 minutes. 
• Three star training can be done with a partner or a pole. Please start light and work your way up to hitting harder. The first hit is on the inner arm low, the second is on the inner arm high, as if performing an outside middle block, and the last is outer arm low, as if performing a low block. This training can be done standing or in a horse stance.
• The Turn and Punch with the kettlebells starts with a kettlebell in each hand, with a vertical fist so that the handle is vertical. You arms start at your waist and then, as you shift your weight to one leg and move into a bow stance, slowly punch out with the same vertical fist with the opposite arm of whichever leg has weight on it. Your punch will go in the same direction you were facing in horse stance, even though you have shifted to a forward bow stance facing another direction. Repeat on the other side without returning to horse stance. Start with a very light weight and only raise the weight when you can complete all 100 punches/side without stopping.
• Front-Overhead-Lateral Circles are performed with a kettlebell in each hand. Perform a front delt raise until the kettlebells are overhead, then lower them as if performing a side-lateral raise. When the kettlebells return to the bottom, reverse the motion, beginning with a side-lateral raise up, until the weights are overhead and then lowering them in the fashion of a front delt raise until they are in front of you. That is one rep. Only raise the weight when you can perform all 100 reps in each direction without stopping.
• The spearhands into beans/sand/steel shot can be done while standing or in a horse stance. Using a five-gallon bucket or large drum, fill it with the appropriate material and make sure that you cannot reach the bottom of the container with a strike. You will start with dry beans, thrusting your fingers into the container over and over until the reps are completed. You will not advance to the sand until you have performed this training at least 50 separate times. At this point, you will have two containers. One with beans and one with sand. You will do 100 reps on each hand in both of the materials from this point forward. You may not advance to steel shot until you have performed this training at least 50 separate times. At this point, you will have three containers. You will do 100 reps on each hand in all three of the materials from this point forward. 
• The Iron Rings for your forms practice can be found here. The rings are worn on your forearms. You should start slow and gradually add weight over time. 
• Here's an article I previously wrote on Iron Palm training.
• For the Push-ups and Squats, the idea is to do as many one-arm push-ups and one-leg squats as you can and then finish up the workout with normal push-ups and squats. This way you can work strength first and then work endurance after. 
• I recommend using many different hand positions for pull-ups throughout your training.
• The heavy stone lifting is very open. Find as heavy a stone as you can and attempt to lift it. If you can lift it even just a little bit, that's great!  Spend as much time as you need on the training session and lift it 50 times. Rest as often as needed. If it's a little bit lighter of a stone and you can lift it to chest height or over your head, that's fine, too. The idea is to find a heavy stone and lift it as high as possible 50 times. Once you can lift it over your head, though, you might want to find a heavier stone. I recommend that you find a smooth stone or make an atlas stone or you can wear long sleeves if you can't find a smooth stone. 
• Ground-to-overhead means you can use whatever technique you need to get a weight overhead. You can deadlift it, then curl it, then press it. You could even do that with just one arm.  You can clean and press/push press/jerk the weight. You can snatch it with both hands or just one. If the weight is lighter, you can use more muscle. If the weight is heavier, you may need to employ more technical lifts like the clean and jerk or snatch. Do this in however many sets with however much rest you need to get through it. Do yourself a favor and try to lift the weight in many different ways, so you can understand how the same weight can feel different in a very similar movement (i.e.- Ground-to-Overhead).

That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Check out this awesome website devoted to Sun-ken Rock!

Sun-ken Rock is about a Japanese guy that moves to Korea to be near a woman but ends up getting involved in crazy shenanigans involving rival gangs. It's funny and badass. We've even done a couple of workouts for it: Chirisan Mountain Training and Ken's Morning Routine

The guys at sunkenrock.com were awesome and posted our workouts on their home page, so you guys should do me a favor and check out their website and all of their Sun-ken Rock updates!

Strength Workouts Master Post

1. The Gravity Room Method
2. 10-Minute Heavy MetCon List
3. Strength Training, the Basics
4. Hanayama A and B
5. Baki Squats A and B
6. Shinogi Kureha's Power Workout
7. Straw Hat Luffy's Training
8. Luffy's New World Training
9. Stephen Makes Stuff Up #3: "The Curse of 5"
10. Furinji Saiga's Primal Strength Workout
11. Yamcha's Weight Training
12. Random Training with James Shiba: Workout #4
13. Naruto Ninja Movement 2.0- Workout #3
14. Shingeki no Kyojin: Cadets' Strength and Conditioning Workout

Workouts will be added to this list as I make them/have time. 

10-Minute MetCons List

Unless otherwise stated, all of these MetCons are 10 Minute AMRAPs for use with the Gravity Room Method.

MetCon #1

1. 8 Deadlifts @ 225#
2. 12 Pull-ups

MetCon #2

1. 5 Thrusters @ 135#
2. 10 Handstand Push-ups
3. 10 Double Unders

MetCon #3

1. 9 Deadlifts @ 185#
2. 6  Cleans @ 185#
3. 3  Front Squats @ 185#

MetCon #4

1. Bodyweight Bench Press- 21 Reps
2. Pull-ups- 21 Reps
3. 100 Meter Farmer's Walk @ 70#/hand

MetCon #5

1. 15 Kettlebell Swings- 2 Pood (70#)
2. 100 Meter Sprint
3. 15 Clap Push-ups
4. 100 Meter Sprint

MetCon #6

1. 20 Box Jumps @ 24"
2. 20 Overhead Walking Lunges/side @ 115#
3. 20 Strict Overhead Presses @ 115#

MetCon #7

1. 10 Barbell Biceps Curls @ 135#
2. 20 One-Arm Dumbbell Deadlifts @ 90#  (10 Each Side)
3. 30 Weighted Sit-ups @ 45#

MetCon #8

1. 10 Bent Over Rows @ 155#
2. Row 250 Meters
3. 5 Burpees

MetCon #9

1. 12 Sandbag/Log Cleans @ 60#
2. 50 Meter Sandbag Drag/Log Flip

MetCon #10

1-2-3-4-5-6, etc, reps until the time runs out. 1 for all three. 2 for all three. 3 for all three and so on.

1. Bench Press @ Bodyweight
2. Squat @ 1.5x Bodyweight
3. Deadlift @ 2x Bodyweight

MetCons will be added to this list over time. Feel free to comment below if you'd like to get one added to the list!

Major Armstrong's Training (Full Metal Alchemist)

Heavy Stone Lifting
Heavy Log Lifting
Aesthetic Lifts with Rocks

Boxing

Calisthenics

Posing

Firebending Strength and Conditioning

In the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra, firebenders are fast, explosive, and hot-headed (see what I did there?).  Their style of combat is based on Northern Shaolin, which relies on flexibility, power, and speed in combat.  It is very beautiful, but it can also be very brutal.

If you like the training, support us on Patreon!

That's fire.
Coming out of his foot.

And a brutal style of combat needs an equally brutal level of training. This training is based on the training a young martial artist at the Shaolin temple would receive in order to master his or her kung fu properly.


Warm-up and Stretch

1. 1 Mile Easy Jog
2. Stretch Kicking- 15 Each Side
3. Forward Bend and Stretch- 1 Minute
4. Side Splits Stretch- 1 Minute
5. Front Splits Stretch- 1 Minute/side
6. Big Arm Circles- 15 Each Way
7. Arms Overhead Side Bends- 15 Each Side
8. Trunk Rotations- 15 Each Way
9. Choice of Stretching- 5 Minutes (see notes)
10. Run Up Stairs and Bear Crawl Down- 10 Minutes

Then, Choose 1 of the Following (see notes for exception)

1. Stance Training (Rest 30 seconds in between each stance)

1. Horse Stance- MAX Time
2. Bow Stance- MAX Time Each Side
3. Sliding Stance- MAX Time Each Side
4. Cat Stance- MAX Time Each Side
5. Twisting Stance-MAX Time Each Side

2. Combat Training

1. Forms Practice/Shadowboxing- 30 Minutes
2. Heavy Bagwork- 10 Minutes
3. Two Person Forms/No Contact Sparring- 10 Minutes
4. Sparring- 10 Minutes
5. Body Conditioning- 20 Minutes

3. Physical Power and Conditioning (Choose 3)

1. 100 Push-ups w/Feet and Hands on Blocks
2. 50 Lengths Wrist Roller w/20# while in Horse Stance
3. 25 Clap Push-ups/15 Pullups x 3
4. 50 Pull-ups
5. 300 Sit-ups
6. 100 Sit-ups, 100 Side Bends, 100 Back Extensions
7. 100 Strict Toes-to-Bar
8. 50 Pistol Squats/side
9. 200 Jump Squats
10. 200 Squats w/partner
11. Handstand Hold Practice- 15 Minutes Total
12. 5 x 100 Meter Walk w/Gripping Jars

Notes:

• If you are a beginner, please do the warm-up and stretch portion and only 1 of the three workouts.  If you want to do the other workouts, you may do so on another day. I recommend a beginner train three days a week for the first couple of months. After that, you can move to four for a couple of months and then five days a week.  You can even move to six days a week if you feel up to it, but that may be too much for you.  You will not want to do the same workout back to back in the beginning. #1 on Monday, #2 on Wednesday, and #3 on Friday, for example. This will allow you to practice each of the disciplines and advance in them without beating yourself to death or injuring yourself right off the bat. 
• If you have been training for several months, you can do two of the workouts together, if you like. 
• After a year or more of training, if you have grown comfortable to doing two of the workouts in one day, you may try all three in one day. 
• I have linked a description of all the stances for the first workout, in case you are not familiar with them. 
• If you are just beginning with the stances and cannot hold them for very long, put 5 minutes on the clock for each stance and hold each stance for as long as possible during that time limit. Once you can hold each stance for five minutes without stopping, you can revert to doing one set for maximum time.
• In the second workout, if you don't know any Northern Shaolin forms, you can just shadowbox. You can also look up forms from that style on Youtube and practice them as best you can.
• I recommend that you at least wrap your hands for the bag work to keep your skin from ripping.
• Once again, if you don't have any knowledge of two person forms, you can just do no-contact sparring with a partner. This means that you will practice your techniques without making any contact with your partner and keeping an appropriate distance not to accidentally make contact. 
• For sparring, it can be light to heavy, but try to wear gear to keep yourself and your partner from getting hurt.
• Your body conditioning can be a variety of things from hitting and getting hit by your partner, to lightly hitting stones or wooden posts, doing knuckle push-ups, or anything that puts hard force on your body. Please start light and both volume and intensity over a long period of time. If you rush, you will hurt yourself.
• The calisthenics do not need to be done in a single set. Just complete the total number in as few sets as possible before moving on to the next exercise.
• It is good to vary your hand position on the push-ups and pull-ups.
• The push-ups on blocks will increase the range of motion of the movement for you.
• The wrist roller will be held out in front of you at shoulder height as you move the weight up and down. Make sure your horse stance is tops of thighs parallel.
• Your side bends should have your fingers interlaced and raised above your head, palms facing up. 1 rep is bending in each direction.
• Don't swing your body on the toes-to-bar. Raise your legs slowly until they touch the bar and then lower them slowly to the starting position. If you cannot touch the bar, raise them as high as possible.
• Do assisted pistol squats at the beginning if you have to. You could also do very high step ups.
• Make sure you are squatting as low as possible on all of these squats.
• Be very careful with the jump squats and the weighted squats. If your form is not good on your squat, you could easily hurt yourself, so please stop short of the listed number of squats as a beginner.
• For your handstand hold practice, put time on the clock and try to hold the handstand for as long as possible. It doesn't matter how many times you fall, just keep practicing. If you can get to the point of holding the position for the whole time, then try holding the handstand on your fists or fingertips sometimes just to change it up. 
• The gripping jars should start with no more than about 20# in each jar and weight should be added slowly over time in the form of sand or steel shot. 

That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

The Gravity Room Method

Training in a gravity room has long been a dream of mine and every other person who has watched Dragon Ball Z and dreamed of becoming stronger. Unfortunately, technology is not quite at the level necessary to create such a glorious masterpiece (and I don't have a few billion dollars lying around for R&D).  So, it's my job as the Anime Trainer to develop a training program to help mimic the effects and benefits of training in a gravity room. Using a Gravity Room is how Goku and Vegeta became Super Saiyans, after all.

30 times gravity can't be that bad, right?

Obviously, the answer lies in weightlifting and weighted clothing, but I can't just leave it at that. People lift weights and wear weighted clothes all the time. For example, George does 3 sets of 10 reps for Back Squat every Tuesday and Sally wears a weighted vest while she jogs and does sit-ups.  I'm sure each of you has done some sort of weight training at one point in your life and there are obviously many roads to strength depending on what your goals are.

Ideally, before starting this program, you should already be active. Preferably, you will have an understanding of the basic movement patterns found in the lifts and have already been employing them in body weight training or otherwise. If you lack mobility, fix it with Luffy, the Rubber Man, Kureha's Flexibility Workout, or check out MobilityWOD. If you possess muscular imbalances, identify what they are and correct them.

This program is about strength and mimicking being in a gravity chamber. This program may not fit your goals if you just want to run or swim or get huge.

Please read all of the notes. At the end of the post, an example of the overall schedule will be laid out.

Phase 0: Pre-Gravity Room Training

If you have not been training regularly, I do not want you to continue with the Gravity Room Method. You need to have an understanding of human movement and have experience using those movements in a training setting.

If you are new to exercise, you should begin here:

1. Starting the Journey
2. Ippo's Recovery Time
3. Goku's Gravity Room Workout
4. Luffy's Early Training
5. Yamcha's Weight Training
6. Sailor Moon- The Beauty Workout
7. SNK: Cadet's Strength and Conditioning Workout
8. Lei Wulong- Jackie Chan's Real Life Training
9. Strength Training- The Basics- General rules for strength training.
10. Level Zero- Apply concept for any other Real Anime Training workout. 

If you've been training on a regular basis, especially with weights, starting with the next Phase shouldn't be an issue for you at all. 

If you need help, you can comment on the post or you can send me an e-mail at realanimetraining@gmail.com.

Don't end up like Yamcha.

Phase 1: Basic Strength Program (Please read all of the notes)

1. Lower Body: Back Squat/Deadlift/Front Squat- 5 x 5* (See notes about rep schemes)
2. Push: Bench Press/Overhead Press- 5 x 5 
3. Pull: Pull-up/Bent Over Row/Chin-up- 5 x 5 
4. Abs/Core: Decline Sit-up/Good Mornings/Overhead Squat/Hyperextensions/Weighted Side Bends- 5 x 5
5. Choice: Choose 1 exercise for any body part- 5 x 5 OR 5 x 25 Meter Carry OR 10 Minute Heavy MetCon

(Notes:

1. If you are an absolute weight-lifting beginner, start with very light weights for the first few sessions, so that you are properly training the movement pattern of each of the lifts and only stick with the 5 x 5 rep scheme. 
2. Your Phase 1 workout will be 2 of the first three exercise selection groups, then abs/core, and your choice of exercise. First workout would be Lower Body and Push. Second Workout would be Push and Pull. Third would be Pull and Lower Body. It would recycle from there. After you've advanced a little while into Extended Sets, it alters slightly (see Note #10).
3. These lifts are with a barbell.  
4. 5 sets of 5 reps, building up to 85-90% of your 5 rep max.  For instance, 1 set at 50%, 1 at 60%, 1 at 70%, 1 at 80% and 1 at 85-90%.  
5. Begin with a warm-up set of 10 reps at about half of your first set's weight. 
6. Rest 2-3 minutes in between each set. 
7. You will cycle through the exercises in each group in each Phase 1 workout you do. 
8. If you fail on your final set, drop back to your 3rd set's weight and perform 8 repetitions. Do not however, do this on days that you have extended rep schemes (see Note #9).
9. *REP SCHEMES- On each Phase 1 Workout that you do, choose one of the first three groups of exercises to do additional work beyond 5 x 5.  The sets will be 1 x 3 and 3 x 1. That means for that one exercise for that day you will do sets of the following: 5/5/5/5/5/3/1/1/1+.  Your weight should increase, even if just 5# on each of the last 4 sets.That last set may or may not be your absolute maximum, but will be your heaviest weight of the day.  However if you still feel like you can go a little bit heavier beyond those sets, go ahead and try for additional singles, or you can start doing rack pulls or half or quarter squats. On upper body, you can use a power rack to do additional singles with a limited range of motion by only doing the top portion of the lift. On days you are scheduled for extended rep schemes, if you only get 3 reps on your fifth set (where you should have been doing 5 reps), go ahead and continue on up with another set of three and then the sets on 1. 
10. If you do Lower Body for an extended rep scheme in one session, the next session will be Push, and the one after that will be Pull. You will then take a session off from the extended sets and start again on the following session with Push, moving to Pull, then Lower Body, then rest. The next cycle would be Pull, Lower Body, Push, rest. See the chart at the bottom of this article.
11. When it looks as though your Extended Push sessions are going to be the same exercise, just switch to the other one. You'll see an example of it in the chart below. You don't want to only be doing extended sets on Bench or OHP.
12. If you succeed on your final set of 5 x 5, increase your weight on the final set in the next training session by 5 pounds. Use this new weight as the basis for your build up.  If you've added 20# to your lift, your build up sets should also be slightly heavier, at least in proportion to what your initial sets were. Your extended rep scheme sets should be recorded, but will have no bearing on your weight increase for the next workout, except the next time you do the extended rep sets.
13. The last portion, labeled "Choice," is an opportunity for you to do a heavy version of whatever exercise you would like to do. The only catch is that it cannot be one of the exercises in the rest of the Phase 1 workout. You could do Barbell Lunges, Dumbbell or Barbell Curls, Leg Press, or whatever. The main point is that it is heavy like the rest of the workout. You could even do heavy sled pushes or drags. I recommend throwing single-limb movements in here to make sure both sides of your body are doing equal work. Also, you have the option of doing a 10 minute heavy MetCon, which means you'll be doing multiple heavy lifts or one-arm/one-leg movements in rapid succession for the time period. The MetCons can be whatever exercises you like, but try to focus on heavier lifts or harder bodyweight movements. 
14. You can add weight to the side bends by holding a dumbbell on one side or by having a barbell on your back. 

Phase 2: Maximal Weight Exposure

1. Back Squat Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds 
2. Back Squat Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds 
3. Front Squat Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds 
4. Front Squat Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
5. Overhead Press Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
6. Overhead Press Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
7. Bench Press Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
8. Bench Press Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
9. Pull-up Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
10. Chin-up Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
11. Pull-up Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
12. Chin-up Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
13. Bent-Over Row Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
14. Bent-Over Row Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
15. Deadlift Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
16. Pick One Position Above- Max Time Hold
17. Front Rack or Back Rack or Overhead Positions- 50 Meter Walk

(Notes:

1. Do not move into Phase 2 until you have been lifting regularly for at least six months. Static holds of this nature should not be done by absolute beginners due to the amount of weight being worked with. 
2. Ideally, you should be using a power rack with self spotters to do this portion of the training. It will make your life a million times easier. Do not do these movements on a Smith Machine.
3. Use only weights for Phase 2 that correspond to at least tops-of-thighs-parallel squat, a competition height deadlift, and a normal bench press, overhead press, and pull-up. 
4. The weight on each of these positions is going to be different. However, there will be a thread of consistency running through the training. On each of these positions, your starting weight will be 100% of whatever weight you were using to train those movements during the Basic Strength Program. However, you will be calculating the weights for this Phase based on the final set of the 5 x 5 and NOT the extended sets. Once you are able to complete this session using 100% of the weight of the lifts from the Basic Strength Program (which, I'm sure that you will be able to, because you will be moving that weight for 5 repetitions already), increase the weight of each of these positions to 105% of the weight of your current lifts in the BSP. That means the weights will be higher due to the percentage increasing and because your poundages should be increasing in your Strength Sessions. If your 5 reps on the BSP was done with 100# this week, that means you will be holding the positions for that lift with 100#. However, next time, due to the increase of the weight (105#) and the percentage (105%), you will be holding 110# instead of 105#. 
5. Maintain proper body alignment at each position on this list. Keep your core braced. 
6. You may treat each lift's hold (top and bottom) as separate from the other lift's holds, e.g.- back squat vs. pull-up. You may be at 120% on one lift, but 110% on another. 
7. You will be able to hold more weight on the top position of squats and presses and the bottom position of the pulls than you will their counterparts.This is natural. Just remember to keep track of each individual position's percentage. You may be at 105% at the bottom of your squat and 120% at the top. This is normal.  At the bottom of the bench press and the overhead press, the bar should be supported by your hands and NOT your chest. It may touch your chest, but the weight should not rest there. 
8. To get into the bottom of the squat, you'll most likely want to start in the top position and lower yourself into the bottom. If you try to get into position from the bottom, you'll have a very hard time getting your body properly braced and you'll most likely be trying to hold that weight from a broken-down position. When you lower yourself, make sure you maintain a tight core and muscular tension in the legs, glutes, and hips.
9. The bottom of your squat should ideally be with the crease of your hips below your knees. Tops of thighs parallel is the bare minimum for a successful lift in the squat. 
10. To get into the top position of the deadlift, use the power rack and do a very short Rack Pull to get to the top of the motion. Your Rack Pull should be only about 2-3 inches.
11. This workout should be paired with another workout during the day, but should be shorter or of lower intensity than other regular workouts. You can do the workout before or after the Phase 2 training session. You can either pair the Phase 2 session with a normal workout with volume or weights cut in half or you can pick a shorter workout that is higher in intensity. 

"This was a terrible idea!!"

Phase 3: Daily Weight Exposure

1. You may not start this section until you have reached an average of 1.5x your bodyweight on all of your main lifts, i.e.- the first three groups. The pull-up and chin-up just have to add half your bodyweight in addition, since you're already pulling your bodyweight up, but not on the squats, because (well) squats. After all, your lower body is super strong, so don't cheat it.  Average out all the weights of all your lifts and see if it equals 1.5x your bodyweight. The goal of this is to make sure that you are not neglecting any of your lifts. 
2. Wear 5% of the highest weight you have held in the Maximal Weight Exposure section. Your first weights should be added center-of-mass up to at least the first 25#.
3. Examples of weighted clothes you can wear are: vests, ankle weights, wrist weights, weighted shorts, weighted shirts, weighted shoes, weighted gloves, weighted helmets, and weighted belts. The preferable weights are ones that are going to be more center-of-mass, like the shirts, shorts, vests, and belts. Acquire and add weight to those first and then acquire and add weight to the extremities. 
4. Ideally, this weight will be worn the majority of the day and may be worn while you train, but not during your Phase 1 and Phase 2 workouts or any other workout that is about lifting maximal weights. Workouts that are not about lifting maximal weights, however, are fine, e.g.- bodyweight, running, sprinting, climbing or non-maximal lifting workouts. If you have a job where you cannot wear a weights or you are absolutely sedentary at work, just wear them while you are at home, running errands, doing chores, and during your training. 
5. The weights will obviously make your non-lifting workouts more difficult. That is the point. We are adding additional resistance to your other workouts to increase your performance on top of your previously built strength base. 
6. As you can see, you will not be wearing a ridiculous amount of weight here: even if you were able to hold 1,000# at the top position of the squat, you would only be wearing 50 pounds around on a regular basis. But imagine what you would feel like after wearing weights for weeks or months during all of your non-maximal lifting training and then not wearing them. How light would you feel? How much faster would you be? How much higher could you jump? How much longer could you go? Studies show that wearing a weighted vest during your training can improve speed, vertical leap, and endurance and that wearing a weighted vest during your every day activities improves basic agility. For instance, at the beginning of DBZ, Goku is wearing (arguably, depending on the source) anywhere from 140-250#. Now, he can plainly lift far more than this, as he has lifted huge trees, cars, and stones over his head. If you were to calculate the highest weight Goku would hold following the strategy I laid out, he could have held upwards of 5,000# as a maximum hold. That's a reasonable amount given that his power level was around 400 without the weights on when he fought Raditz.

That moment when you take off the weights and your power level jumps 70 points.

The Program

Example (please note that "Other" is a choice of exercise or MetCon)-

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Week 1	BS 5/5/5/5/5/ 3/1/1/1+ Bench Press 5 x 5 Decline Sit-up 5 x 5 Other: Overhead Lunges 5 x 5	Cardio OR Recovery OR Mobility (Can do 2 of above together if easy)	OHP 5/5/5/5/5/ 3/1/1/1+ Pull-up 5 x 5 Good Mornings 5 x 5 Other: Muscle-ups 5 x 5	Phase 2  Workout + Choice	Choice of  Real  Anime Training Workout	Cardio OR Recovery OR Mobility	Recovery
Week 2	Deadlift 5 x 5 Bent Over Row 5/5/5/5/5/ 3/1/1/1+ Overhead Squat 5 x 5 Other: 8 Deadlifts @ 225# and 12 Pull-ups 10 Min AMRAP	Phase 2 Workout  + Choice	Cardio OR Recovery OR Mobility (Can do 2 of above together if easy)	Front Squat 5 x 5 Bench Press 5 x 5 Hyperext. 5 x 5 Other: One-arm Push-up 5 x 5	Cardio  OR Recovery OR Mobility OR Choice	Choice of Real Anime Training Workout	Recovery

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Week 3	Bench Press 5/5/5/5/5/ 3/1/1/1+ Chin-up 5 x 5 Weighted Side Bends 5 x 5 Other: Sled Pull 5 x 25 Meters	Cardio OR Recovery OR Mobility (Can do 2 of above together if easy)	Back Squat 5 x 5 Pull-up 5/5/5/5/5/ 3/1/1/1+ Decline Sit-up 5 x 5 Other: Pistol Squats 5 x 5	Phase 2  Workout + Choice	Choice of  Real  Anime Training Workout	Cardio OR Recovery OR Mobility (Can do 2 of above together if easy)	Recovery
Week 4	Deadlift 5/5/5/5/5/ 3/1/1/1+ OHP 5 x 5 Good Mornings 5 x 5 Other: Barbell Push Press 5 x 5	Phase 2 Workout  + Choice	Cardio OR Recovery OR Mobility (Can do 2 of above together if easy)	Bench Press 5 x 5 Bent Over Row 5 x 5 Overhead Squat 5 x 5 Other: Standing Ab Wheel Rollout 5 x 5	Cardio  OR Recovery OR Mobility OR Choice	Choice of Real Anime Training Workout	Recovery

Notes:

1. Cardio, Recovery, Mobility, or "Choice" workouts can be Real Anime Training workouts or another workout.  
2. Cardio Workouts to choose from.
3. Recovery Workouts to choose from.
4. Mobility Workouts to choose from.
5. Your Recovery/Mobility Days are good days to work on muscular imbalances such as an anterior/posterior/lateral tilt of the hips or rounding of the thoracic spine (upper back). 
6. Remember to warm-up and work on mobility before your workouts and to cool down and stretch afterwards. 
7. If you don't recover, you don't get stronger. Remember that. 
8. Pick your other workouts in accordance with your goals, be they sport, strength, endurance, or otherwise. If the workout doesn't fit your goals, don't do it. 
9. Please understand that trying to simultaneously increase everything at once (speed, strength, endurance, flexibility), specifically in one workout, will not work as well as increasing one, then another, then another, while the ones you are not increasing are merely at a maintenance phase. 
10. Your chosen workouts should also seek to hit your muscles from another angle, so try to pick workouts that have exercises in them that hit the same muscle groups, but differently. For instance, you could select a workout with heavy lunges or carries for your legs and back, you could select a workout that has one-arm push-ups or handstand push-ups for your pushing, and choosing a workout with seated rows, climbing, or even grappling for pulling.  Don't kill the same movement patterns over and over again. You'll notice that if you branch out and train hard and heavy with the same muscle groups in different ways, that you can continue to progress without a rest longer than if you just used a single movement pattern. 
11. If you are not in Phase 2 yet, then just do whatever workout you would choose for that day. 
12. The days on and off repeat every two week in the same fashion. That does not mean that the exercises or the Extended Sets repeat in the same way, however. 
13. At 12 or 16 weeks of training, it is recommended that you take a de-load/recovery week, or one of each, if you need it. During the de-load, you will perform all of your normal movements, but at no more than 50% of what you normally would do. Keep the reps the same, just lighted the load. During a recovery week (if it is a separate week from your de-load), you would focus on each movements, light cardio, foam rolling, stretching, and getting additional rest or sleep. However, if you feel as though you are stagnating or getting burnt out, please take a de-load or recovery day, so that you can heal and get back to it. Most times, if you are recovering properly during your normal training schedule de-loads are not needed unless you have been training for a few years.
14. I left a lot of room for choice in this program, specifically so that people could modify it to their own needs or desires, while still training strength and getting acclimated to heavy weights. If you need to recover, make sure you use the days listed in the schedule for recovery.
15. If you have to modify this program due to your sport, please feel free to do so. You may need to collapse all of the lifting (Legs-Push-Pull-Core) into a single day because you're already doing so many other things. Many martial artists have to only lift 1 day a week in order to preserve their energy for skill training. 
16. You may also completely drop off the additional "Other" exercise if you have sports practice or if you need to get in additional skill work instead. Remember: strength training is secondary in high skill sports!!
17. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about the program, it's implementation, or about how it might relate to your goals. However, if you are not quite sure where to begin, you may benefit from a Personalized Training Program.

That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

FREE! Workout

The Full Metal Alchemist Workout

Korra's Training

Aang's Training Under Toph

YouTube Videos

Hey, guys!

Comment on this post to let me know what kinds of YouTube Videos you would like us to start working on. You want more demonstrations?  You want us to answer more questions in videos?  You want to see whole workouts?  Let us know what we can do for you that would help you on your fitness journey!

Thanks!

Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #6: Sakaki Shio, the 100-Dan Brawler

Sakaki Shio is a man who lives and breathes Karate. He has fought against many different people in real battles as a "hero for hire" on occasion and just in his own brawls. He solves his problems with his fists, which is why he is often call the "100-Dan Brawler."  The spirit of this workout is full-on traditional Karate training. And it will beat you into shape.

That's not the sun, kid. You're dying.

Start slowly. This is a Master workout. Combined with the Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #2: Sakaki, you'll soon find yourself in a state of Karate bliss... also known as exhaustion.


Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #6: Sakaki Shio, the 100-Dan Brawler

Skill Training

1. Kihon Practice- Choose 10 Techniques to Perform 10 Reps on Each Side
2. Kata- 1 Hour (Any Kata, slow or fast)
3. One Step Kumite- 4 x 2 Minute Rounds
4. Three Step Kumite- 4 x 2 Minute Rounds
5. Free Sparring- 3 x 2 Minute Rounds

Strength and Conditioning

1. Nigiri Game (Gripping Jars) Lifting- 50 Lifts
2. Any Karate Footwork w/Nigiri Game- 100 Meters
3. Chishi (Stone Club/ sub out for sledgehammer) Lifting- 50 Lifts
4. Ishi Sashi Lifting (or KB Lifts)- 50 Lifts
5. Weighted Kicks- 50 Total Kicks
6. Awkward Heavy Object Lift- 10 Lifts

Striking Post Practice (Choose 3)

1. 100+ Straight Punches
2. 100+ Back Fists 
3. 100+ Elbow/Forearm Strikes 
4. 100+ Shuto/Knifehand Strikes
5. 100+ Haito/Ridgehand Strikes
6. 100+ Palm Heel Strikes
7. 100+ Hammer Fist Strikes
8. 100+ Side Kicks
9. 100+ Round Kicks
10. 100+ Front Kicks
11. 100+ Back Kicks

Additional Skill Training (Choose 1 to Practice Until Finished)

1. Free Sparring
2. Kata
3. One Step Kumite
4. Three Step Kumite

Notes:

• This workout is designed to be done throughout the day, so you definitely do not need to do all the sections back to back, but keep the sections together at least. Do skill in the morning, strength and conditioning later in the day and striking post work in the evening for example.
• Kihon practice is just the practice of your basic techniques. You can do them stationary or while moving.
• If you don't know any Karate Kata, I suggest you look some up or attend a Karate class. Also, if you don't know any Kata, why are you doing this workout?!
• One Step and Three Step Kumite or Sparring is a set attack/defense pattern repeated over and over between two partners.
• For Free Sparring, if you are going full force, be sure to wear some sort of gear for your own safety. If you are wearing minimal gear, like in Kyokushin Karate, don't punch to the face. 
• If you don't have gripping jars, you can fill a protein container with water or sand and use that or you can grip one end of a hexagonal dumbbell. Start light and work your way up.
• Make sure you control all weights and move relatively slowly to save your joints.
• Any time it just says "Lifts" in the Strength and Conditioning section, it just means some sort of lift. With the jars,  you'll raise the jars into various positions that you would find your arms in during kata or sparring. For the stone club (you can sub it out for various weights of a sledgehammer), you'll hold it out in front of you while in a deep sumo stance and raise and lower it in various fashions, trying to keep your wrist straight. You can also use it to lever to the left or right or front and back to train the wrist further. Try to maintain a good horse stance or some other karate stance while doing the majority of these lifts. You need to train those legs!
• The jars will be held down at your waist during the footwork portion.
• Ishi sashi resemble Shaolin stone locks and kettlebells to such a degree that any of them will be acceptable. The weight should always be held so that the heaviest part is furthest away from the body as you lift it. Try to mimic your karate movements as you lift the weight. 
• Weighted kicks are done relatively slowly and can be any kicks you like. You can weighted sandals, heavy shoes, or ankle weights for this portion.
• The awkward heavy object lifting can be rocks, atlas stones, logs, pieces of a car or whatever you have. The point is that you should switch between objects each time you do the workout and try to raise each object as high as possible on each lift, even if that means only a few inches.
• When practicing with the striking post, start out very light on your techniques and only complete a maximum of 100 reps for each technique that you choose for that day. As you get better, you can add a little more force and 5 or 10 reps per technique. Maybe one day, you'll get up to 10,000 full force strikes to the post like Sakaki, but for now, start slow and build up over a very, very long time.
• At the end of the day, if you have anything left, use it to come back and focus all of your attention on your Karate practice in the form of various types of sparring. Go for as long as you want, but once you start to throw out sloppy techniques, it's time to call it a day.

That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Baki's "Animal Power" Workout

Baki uses his imagination a lot, he's very athletic, and has a soft spot for animals.  In fact, he used his imagination to help him create gong fu based on dinosaurs! (I mean, T-Rex kung fu?!! That's freakin' awesome!)

Warm-up

1. Cat-Camel- 15 Reps
2. Bird Dog- 5 Deep Breaths (each side)
3. Downward Dog- 5 Deep Breaths
4. Cobra- 5 Deep Breaths
5. Downward Dog- 5 Deep Breaths
6. Upward Dog- 5 Deep Breaths
7. Downward Dog- 5 Deep Breaths
8. Bird Dog- 5 Deep Breaths (each side)
9. Cat-Camel- 15 Reps

Workout

1. 20 Tiger Push-ups
2. 20 Stork See-Saws (Each Side)
3. 20 Sloth Rows
4. 20 Dolphin Push-ups
5. Bear Crawl- 20 Yards
6. Scorpion Walk- 20 Yards (Each Side)
7. Crab Walk- 20 Yards (Forward and Back)
8. Spider Walk- 20 Yards
9. Inch Worm- 20 Yards
10. Dragon Crawl- 20 Yards
11. Frog Hop- 20 Yards
12. Frog Leap- 20 Yards
13. Frog Jump- 20 Yards
14. Bunny Hop- 20 Yards
15. Alligator Crawl- 20 Yards
16. Gorilla Walk- 20 Yards
17. Gorilla Crawl- 20 Yards
18. Monkey Bars- 50 Rungs
19. No-Legs Rope Climb- 20 Feet
20. Sideways Travelling Primate- 20 Yards (Each Side)
21. Duck Walk- 20 Yards
22. Chicken Walk- 20 Yards
23. Kangaroo Jumps- 20 Yards
24. Shrimping- 20 Yards
25. Chimpanzee Walk- 20 Yards
26. Leopard Crawl- 20 Yards
27. Seal Crawl- 20 Yards
28. Cricket Hop- 20 Yards
29. "Animal Play"- 100 Yards
30. Swim- 400 Yards

Notes:

• This workout is once through, but if you get to the end of it and feel like doing some more, you're welcome to play around with the movements further.
• The general idea of this workout is mobility, balance, and strength in awkward positions.
• You may have to stop in the middle of this workout, because it is an awful lot of stuff. The distances aren't too bad, but the variety of the movements is very high and may be taxing as a whole.
•  "Animal Play" is just flowing through whatever animal movements you like for the listed distance. It gives you the opportunity to be creative and to see what movements flow easily together and which don't. 
• I recommend that you do the majority of this inside, like on a basketball court or a grappling mat, as it will be easier to do things like shrimp and seal crawl.
• 
  

The Majin Buu Workout (Inspired by Majin Buu's Forms)

In the spirit of the previous two villain workouts: The Frieza Workout and The Cell Workout, this workout is based on the forms of Majin Buu, in all his bubblegummy glory. It is both inspired by how he looks and the things we see him do.

Buu was a monster from the beginning. He stomped his way through gods and heroes. For those who presented a challenge, he absorbed them into his being and copied their powers. It finally took a combination of two of the strongest warriors in the Universe and the use of a super technique that used the power of people all over the galaxies to put the pink powerhouse down.

Buu is GAINZ incarnate. 

Fat Buu 

1. 50 Jumping Jacks 
2. Skipping-100 Meters 
3. One Leg Zig-Zag Hops- 100 Meters
4. Run 400 Meters

--AMRAP in 20 Minutes. Rest 3 Minutes, then

Super Buu

1. 20 Deadlifts @ 225#
2. 20 Back Squats @ 185#
3. 20 Thrusters @ 135#
4. 10 Overhead Presses @ 135#
5. 10 Barbell Curls @ 135#
6. 10 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 135#

--AMRAP in 20 Minutes. Rest 3 Minutes, then

Kid Buu

1. 10/Side One Arm Dumbbell Snatch @ 40#
2. 20 Medicine Ball Slams @ 20#
3. 30 Sledgehammer Swings @ 10#
4. 20 Wall Balls @ 20#
5. 10/Side One Arm Dumbbell Thruster @ 40#
6. 25 Meter Sled Push @ 300#

--For Time

Notes:

• To perform One Leg Zig-Zag Hops, you start standing on one foot and then leap at a 45 degree angle (left or right), landing on the other foot. Then you hop in the other direction (left or right) at a 45 degree angle, attempting to keep jumping across an imaginary straight line down the field or path you are on.
• On the second workout, keep the clock running as you strip or reload the weights. Ideally, you should have a power rack to help you with the lifts. If you are unable to complete all of the reps in one set, that's fine. Just complete the reps for one exercise before going onto the next one. If you have to decrease the weight, that's fine, too.
• The Fat Buu workout is to emulate the child-like nature of Fat Buu as well as mimicking some of the motions we saw him do.
• The Super Buu workout is because Buu is pretty muscular-looking during this form. He's long and lanky, but still built. He's got some aesthetic going on, but he's still tough as well. That's the general idea of the second workout: using exercises that will build muscle and stringing them together to beat you down and build you up.
• Kid Buu's workout is based primarily on the things we see him do. The Dumbbell Snatch is for his Vanishing Ball move, the Med Ball Slams and Wall Balls are for throwing energy blasts, the Sledgehammer Swings are to mimic the times that he literally slammed Vegeta into the ground like a freaking hammer, and the Sled Push is to mimic his last moments of pushing the Spirit Bomb away.

That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Caterpie Line Yoga Set

Bri takes us through a series of yoga positions for Caterpie, Metapod, and Butterfree. You can do this set for as long as you like and go as fast or as slow as you like. 

Although not a certified yoga instructor, Bri enjoys practicing yoga and loves Pokemon. If you need additional help, please seek out the aid of a certified instructor.