Reviewing LEGENDARY Anime Workout Scenes

Co-Blog by: Max Hall and Payton Cowan

Whether you think something is legendary in it's own right OR just a different way to mess up something perfectly good, opinions are unique to you. That goes doubly so for anime.

Today, the team broke out some of their favorite scenes from anime and gave their thoughts on the matter?

What do you think is the right way to go?

Anime Scene #1- Saitama’s Workout

Workout - 100 Sit-Ups, 100 Push-Ups, 100 Squats, and a 10km run every day

Max’s Reaction- 

The legendary One Punch man workout.
Honestly I have more bad to say than good about this workout routine however there are some positive takeaways. First and foremost no back exercise? C’mon One Punch Man, I know this is a parody but still.

I think this workout may prove to be really challenging and may need to be modified for beginners and alternatively the repetitiveness will lead to it becoming not challenging after a period of time and will require further adjustments. It does emphasis the positive attributes of consistency and the impacts it can have although I think most would be better off at 4-6 days a week rather than working out everyday.

I like the part of mental toughness; sure the whole no AC or heater may be kind of silly but the concept of mental toughness is important for many looking to better themselves.

Payton’s Reaction - 

I couldn’t agree more with Max’s reaction here. I think that one of the biggest things is that with the idea of “linear periodization” there is a set program with incrementally increasing intensity throughout the block - however after a certain period of time the block needs to be changed to allow for new stimuli. Therefore, even modifying it for beginners and increasing it until you can complete it in complete capacity has a limited use - but even that use comes with high risks.

This workout will, most of the time, cause injury to the person trying to do it. While, yes, these movements are unloaded… with the frequency and intensity which you will be performing every single day without rest it is safe to imply that the cumulative fatigue will be atrocious. When fatigue is left unmanaged, over time in every case this will cause injury or discomfort. Therefore, unless you are an anime protagonist who wants to kill every single enemy in one punch - I strongly advise staying away from this workout!

Anime Scene #2- My Hero Quirk Training Arc

Max’s Reaction-

Can we take a second to appreciate how cool this scene is? Imagine a powerlifting camp where you got carted out into the woods with other people super serious about getting stronger and training your butts off. Amazing, pure and simple. Eating together, training together and just nothing else to worry about.

In My Hero Academia they refer to how training their quirks are like training muscles, you have to place them under stress for them to grow. As admirable and motivating this scene may be, I would suspect many of the participants are over training.

Quirks may be a little different in training recover than the human body but if you trained to the point of non-stop screaming 8+ hours a day that sounds like an injury waiting to happen.

On the flip side with many other stressors removed from their lives for this period of time they likely have higher recovery budgets to allow them to train harder for this short period of time.

Now who wants to build a crazy training facility in the woods and recreate this arc with powerlifting?

Payton’s Reaction - 

This scene is one of my favorites in the series just because of the comedy within it… however there is one thing that I want to take into account when considering the extremity to which they are training.

The animated reactions to their training I believe are to show that they are working hard, but need to be taken with a grain of salt solely for entertainment purposes. However, one positive thing about this scene is the idea of fully committing yourself to the training regimen you choose/have chosen for you and completing it even if it is outside of your comfort level.

There is a certain mental fortitude level that is required to chase your goal whether it be training or not, and the journey you take to get there will most certainly take you through phases of extreme discomfort which you will have to find a way to persevere through. I would say that the main positive takeaway here would be the mentality that this scene shows.

On the contrary, it does seem that they are training all day without break which for most sports is a highly nonoptimal training style. The human body is a complex machine and will most certainly complete the training cycle all day - however for the most optimal progression allowing the body to rest is imperative. 

Anime Scene #3- The Body Improvement Club

Max’s Reaction-

Who else started working out to get girls?? I think on some level all of us who have taken up lifting as our hobby and passion can relate to Mob. We started from a place of feeling helpless for some reason or another and found working out as a way to help us take control.

I absolutely love that Mob chose the Body Improvement Club. Despite being portrayed as these big scary gym jocks they are the nicest, most supportive people for mob and encourage him all along the way. A lot of people see those that have been workouting for a long time and assume because they are big they are scary. Some might be but many gym environments are very similar to the Body Improvement Club where the people may be big but are caring, supportive and want the best for you.

Payton’s Reaction - 

From what the anime shows, The Body Improvement Club runs the training style of the most stereotypical “gym bro” and, frankly, there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone at some point goes through a bodybuilder era in their fitness journey and most people should revisit it often, as that is how you build the foundation for your long term goals!

The people in the club also wholeheartedly embody what a lot of the lifting community is like. While many of the people in the gym seem very scary on the outside, a lot of them truly do want to see nothing more than people chasing and obtaining their goals. There is a beauty to that, truly, as they see a little bit of themselves in every single newcomer to the gym. That part of fitness is not talked about nearly enough, and it really is a crime.

The big message from this video is, find yourself a good community to train with… having people who care about you and want you to chase your goals will change not only your gym progress but life. 

Anime Scene #4- Gojo Says Be Greedier

Max’s Reaction- 

Being greedier may be the key to your gains. Powerlifting, like being a jujutsu sorcerer, is an individual sport. And if you are NOT a powerlifter the only one with power over your health is you. The help of others can be a powerful tool but sometimes we can become reliant on others and forget to prioritize ourselves. 

I love training with other people. In fact training partners and training with a team have been powerful tools in my own personal progress over the years. However at times it can also be a hindrance. There is power in learning to train on your own and self motivate yourself as well. Balancing these too tools will help you get the best gains. So be greed and believe in yourself.

Payton’s Reaction - 

I argue that this statement does not carry over into powerlifting. The most successful powerlifters will always cite that they never did it alone, and even people outside of powerlifting will say the same. Life is not a battle that you can fight alone, and while it is important to prioritize yourself…

I believe there is a large difference between prioritizing yourself and being “greedy”. While it is true that there is a large percent of life that is fought by yourself - it is the people around you who give you the power to fight on… because a life where you strive for nothing but individualism has no drive.

Within my own training, I can confidently say that without my coach, my friends, or my First Step family, I would never be where I am today. I have been inspired to keep training and keep pushing by every single one of them no matter how hard life gets. I would argue that powerlifting is not an individual sport… you do the lifting on the platform - but somebody has to help lift you up when the curtains are down.

The Broadstrokes:

While these are some absolutely incredible scenes with intense animation, you can see that opinion can be SPLIT.

What are your thoughts? Who's right here? Who's wrong? Why?

 

Authors:

If you are looking for a coach, reach out to either ONE of these amazing powerlifters to get your training right!

Max - For Coaching Email maxhallfitness@gmail.com or check out my free e-book.

Payton - For coaching requests email prometheuspowerlifting@gmail.com, or DM Instagram @thejackedmclovin!