The 'One Punch Man' Workout is KILLING Your Gains!

If you’re an anime fan that also has an interest in fitness, you might be wondering if the One Punch Man workout is killing your gains. In this video, I am going to review the popular daily workout routine and determine whether or not it is beneficial to building more muscle.

While this is certainly derived from a source of fiction, this workout routine has gained traction lately and likely because of its simplicity. Perform 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 bodyweight squats, and a 10 kilometer run everyday. A straight forward and easy workout, but I do have some issues with it that I think need to be addressed.

My first problem with the One Punch Man workout is the lack of posterior chain work included. As I highlighted in my Stop Doing 100 Pushups a Day video, ignoring the muscles on the back side of the body is a big mistake. By doing so, we are allowing our bodies to create muscular imbalances that will lead to postural deficiencies. As a physical therapist, this is something that I can let go by the wayside.

Now, as I said above, I don’t think that performing 100 pushups every day is a good idea because it is most likely not challenging you at the right difficulty level, whether it being too easy or too difficult. Instead, as I mentioned in the Stop Doing 100 Pushups a Day video, you are much better off finding the appropriate volume for your ability levels or finding the right pushup variations to challenge you adequately.

The One Punch Man workout continues with performing 100 sit-ups everyday. I am a big proponent of daily ab training and appreciate the fact that this workout promotes that idea. However, my issue with this part of the routine is that you are training your abs very one dimensionally. I love the sit-up, but the abs and obliques are multifunctional in that while they work through flexion of the spine from the top down as well the bottom up, they also provide and prevent rotation while also preventing extension. By not training through every function of the core, we are limiting the benefits that can be achieved.

The next part of the One Punch Man workout contains 100 bodyweight squats. What I do like about this is similar to what I like about the 100 sit-ups portions: increased frequency of leg training. Often enough, I see people opting to train their legs only once a week or at even worse, skip training their legs altogether. I’m grateful to see One Punch Man being able to promote MORE leg training. My big problem, however, with the 100 bodyweight squats is the remedial nature of the exercise and the lack of ability to overload and thus I think there are better options for building more muscle.

The final part of the workout is the 10 kilometer run. Another area where I have an appreciation and in this case, the merit of daily conditioning. Now, while cardiovascular training is not necessary to be ripped and lean, it is, however, important to our overall health. Cardio is extremely important for a healthy and optimally functioning heart - something that can’t ever be ignored. It doesn’t matter if you have to walk, run, or ride a bicycle, you need to train your heart. My issue with this part of the One Punch Man workout is that running 10 kilometers is a little daunting for many, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start somewhere.

So while I wouldn’t recommend that One Punch Man workout as something to be part of your daily routine, I would say it could be a good measure of your overall fitness. In fact, in the ATHLEAN-X Training System, we have a similar workout that is presented as a challenge to do just that, called the 400 Challenge. It includes 100 reps of pushups, sit-ups, inverted rows, and bodyweight squats. While the 400 Challenge seems similar, the key differences are that is simply a challenge, a measure of your fitness level as opposed to a daily workout, and that it includes an exercise to train the posterior chain (something I mentioned previously).

For more videos where I breakdown workouts and the results they’ll deliver to you, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on YouTube below and turn on your notifications so that you never miss a video when it’s published.

[athleanx]

*NOTIFICATION SQUAD GIVEAWAY* - Alright guys, I’m giving away a complete 30 Day Workout program to 100 lucky clickers within the first hour this video is published! Remember, this is NOT THE FIRST 100, but those randomly selected within the first hour the video is published. Click the link to see if you’ve won. No strings attached! 

If you don’t win, no worries, you’re not going away empty handed. Just be sure you have your notifications turned on so you can get to my next video quickly and try again. Good luck and thanks for being a loyal subscriber…

[johnnyfox]

I love how Jeff has fully embraced the things we make fun of him for.

[wanderlustwarrior]

Even in the One Punch Man series, other characters outright pointed out this workout shouldn't be responsible for getting the build he had. The point of the series is actually something I'd think Jeff would get behind - the character kept pushing beyond what he thought his limits were. Yes his limits were low, but it was about the dedication and the challenge for him.

[JohnDoe-qqet]

"Living is killing your gains"
"Dying is killing your gains"
"Never having been born is killing your gains"

[JaxBlade]

Athlean X Talking about One Punch Man? Um Hell yeaa

[HybridCalisthenics]

This video is LITERALLY unwatchable. Didn't review the 3 meals a day (just a banana in the morning), no AC in the summer, no heating in the winter, or training so hard that your hair falls out. 0/10 would not recommend.

Just kidding. Love the breakdown. I get asked about this workout all the time. I'm glad it's inspiring people but I do hope people keep their workout difficulty progressive, train pulling motions, and maybe add rest days. Great point about how this can be used as a challenge to get people into the working mentality.

... Then again, I can't jump to the moon and back, so maybe I should just listen to Saitama.

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

You'll know the workout is working when you start losing your hair

[tmarks]

So what im hearing is
100 pushups - 5x20 challenging
100 weighted crunches with twists
100 squats with weights
+100 deadlifts
10k run
And finally, 10000 facepulls

[NemoK]

So, I actually restarted my fitness journey with the One Punch Man routine and in so doing, found my way to doing research on fitness, diet and exercise; so even though the routine itself wasn't overly helpful, it did ultimately bring me to a place where I'm now working with weights, eating a healthy diet, and building lean muscle and have lost about 40 pounds, and maintained that weight loss for over a year. I still have larger goals, but it was the starting point, so I'm grateful for it.

It's great as a motivator for people who don't want to work out, and it sounds simple enough to get the ball rolling.

Lovely video, Jeff

[TheElderNexus]

The OPM workout is what got me into training, but like (I'd hope) most people, I very quickly moved on to a better workout routine.

[KurNorock]

That's the point of the OPM workout. It was never about the number of reps you do. It was always about the fact that he did it EVERY day, no matter how much it hurt, how much his body creaked or popped or cracked. He did it EVERY day, even as his body was breaking down. He even says it is the most important thing about the workout.

Because the human body has limits. And at least in anime, those limits can be broken. The OPM workout didn't make him ultra strong little by little over time just by doing this workout. He "broke" his "limiter" and unlocked limitless power all at once.

[martingamer]

Jeff is fluent in modern culture/memes in the best possible way. It doesn't come across as a "how do you do fellow kids" thing, he tastefully incorporates meme references into his videos evincing that he knows what he's talking about without trying too hard.

[mariogamesandanime]

I am glad that he is a man of culture for knowing one punch man and it's workout, but he is not entirely wrong for how that full workout that saitama does can give extreme fatigue and pain in your body and bones for doing it every..single..day. working out is fun and worth the results but always beware of the amount of how often you do workout and the exercise you do during it.

[michalsimo]

Jeff could you cover one of the following:
How to double your dips in 21 days
How to achieve one arm pushup
How often do you suggest to shake up your workout routine/split to keep the gains coming.
Shout out to Jesse and thanks for all the content !

[s.m.]

The OPM workout, I think, is just meant to place in the back of the mind of sweaty nerds (like myself) that bodyweight exercise can help them. There's a lot of people in Japan that suffer from inadequate-exercise related mental illness, which I'm sure is true for the rest of the world. Even if they aren't able to do as many pushups as OPM, and even if they aren't training their back, I do think OPM provides solid motivation in the form of dreaming that you could become like Saitama.

[finn-vqwe]

Well technically even other characters in one punch man denied that 100 push up sit up and crunches and 10k run was enough to make you super strong... It was mildly difficult ... So one punch man workout was said to be flawed in that same episode in the anime

[MrPound]

The One Punch Man's best friend in the show got outraged when he heard that workout routine One Punch Man used to get insanely strong and said 'That's a normal workout, and not even high intensity!'

[ThePro]

Jeff is now addressing the anime workouts it’s about time

[ROMANTIKILLER]

The funny thing is that Saitama's training regime being bad was part of the joke in the series, even other characters point that out.
The good message was to be diligent in training and aim at improve one's limit, no matter how bad the starting point is.

[scottboyan]

I don’t know, Jeff. Something is off. Saitama can defeat any enemy with one punch. He trained so hard he went bald. You have hair so you must not have trained as much as him. Keep going though, your other videos are good! They can’t all be winners.