The Dark Knight Workout!

Have you ever read the Batman's workout routine in the Batman Files? If you never have, Google it now. 

It's ridiculous. Even that filthy pillow biter from Metropolis would struggle. It's HOURS of "conditioning" everyday. And by "conditioning", I mean lifting EXTREMELY heavy loads for high reps, for many sets, for hours everyday. Running marathon and swimming marathon distance several times a week, even on off days. Plus hours of heavy bag work and martial arts training which is a workout in itself. This workout could cripple any elite athlete with ease. 

This is a workout for the Dark Knight, should he exist in the real world. What would Batman require from his workout? What would his goals be? Mostly functional strength for one. Sorry meatheads, but the chances of the Dark Knight wasting any time or energy on isolation exercises like biceps curls or triceps kickbacks are slim to none.

The Batman's workout needs to be a hybrid combination of many different styles of working out, because he has many different goals. Bruce Wayne has very little free time being that he's out fighting crime and patrolling the streets at night, and napping through board meetings and ribbon cuttings during the day. So hours a day at the gym are out of the question. Most of his workouts HAVE to be under 1 hour. Probably even shorter.

He needs functional strength to clean the streets of Gotham with an Iron Fist. He needs to be agile to chase thugs across rooftops, leap from fire escapes, and move with Ninja silence and agility. His workouts need to give him the best results of many worlds, from plyometrics and olympic total body lifts, to gymnast-esque body weight training. He needs max strength AND endurance. AND agility. And yes, looking like a beast is a byproduct, but not his goal. Works well for his Bruce Wayne Playboy image though doesn't it?

The Workout, followed by descriptions and explanations why:

Warm up: HIGH box jumps. 3 sets of 5

The Workout:

Superset #1: 1 arm dead KB snatch. 3 sets of 5 each arm

                     Plyo-Push up. 3 sets of max reps with good form. Emphasis on 4 second negative.

Superset #2: Jump squats (or pistol squats). 3 sets of 5 with emphasis on pause at bottom and 4 second negative.

                  Wide Grip Pull up 3 sets of max reps with good form. Emphasis on slow negative

Superset #3: Handstand pushup with feet on wall 3 sets.Max reps with good form. Slow negative

                    TRX or cable Row.   3 sets of 6 reps. Again, slow negative.

Cooldown: 3 sets of hanging knee raises. Max reps with good form.

Rest. Refuel. Recover. Take one day off in between workouts.

How and why?
In the near future I'll be uploading exercise how to videos. In the meantime for proper exercise form simply google/youtube search for exercise demonstration videos for anything you are unfamiliar with.

Box Jumps: A GREAT warm up for the CNS(central nervous system), as well as great for explosive leg strength. Batman's gotta jump!
Supersets for those who are unaware is two exercises paired together and performed as alternating sets without rest. Ex. push ups, then pull ups, then push ups, then pull ups, etc.
Negatives are the descending portion of the lift, go slow on these! Great for muscle building and endurance. Batman needs both.
Dead one arm KB snatch: A great total body explosive exercise.Period. Hits SO many muscle groups.
Plyo pushups: Amazing push strength and core exercises. With the negative it's a beast. Chest Shoulders Tris
Jump Squats: Lower body explosive movement. More endurance with the negative.
Pistol Squats: If you can do em, best lower body exercise ever. ASS TO FLOOR!
Wide Grip Pull ups: One of the best upper body strength movements period. Do em! Back and Bi's. Batman's got a lot of climbing to do!
Handstand pushups: More upper body push. In my opinion the push equal to the pull up, and with the core element and constant tension on the shoulders, superior to the military press.
TRX or Cable Row: More upper body pull for back and bi's. If you're not rowing you're missing out.
Hanging Knee Raises: Straight core to finish out. Core strength affects EVERYTHING and helps prevent injury. So don't skip em! Batman can't pull a muscle lifting Robin's bony ass off that ledge!

You might think there's no cardio element to this. You're wrong. First of all, supersetting total body compound movements like the snatch and plyo push ups will crush steady state cardio any day of the week.
And second, Batman gets PLENTY of cardio chasing down Blackgate and Arkham escapees on a nightly business.
Give this a shot, and let me know how it goes for you. Send progress photos! Maybe you'll be featured in a future article!

In closing, get it done!

-Tom