Today’s article is from Nerd Fitness’s newest team member, and Master of the Fitness Universe, Jim Bathurst. Take it away Jim!
Have you seen Captain America: Civil War yet?
Last week, we talked about why Captain America or Iron Man might be right in the epic battle within the Marvel universe.
Today the choice is yours: The Iron Man Workout or the Captain America Workout.
Iron Man wants to work within the new superhero registration law. He believes that the heroes of the world need to operate within the rules and regulations for the safety and well being of everyone. That’s why the Iron Man workout includes more classic, structured movements. And because this is Iron Man, we’ll primarily be using iron (weights) — these things write themselves!
Captain America is opposed to these superhero regulations and wants to be able to move and operate freely. You’ll notice his workout includes more bodyweight movements and non-traditional movements in multiple directions.
Warm up
Each workout will start with the same warm up.
- X-Men Jumping Jacks: The X-Men have declared neutrality in the Civil War, so whichever workout/side you choose you can start off with jumping jacks (passing through an “X” position, of course)
- Spidermans: While Spiderman appears to be on the side of Iron Man, I am willing to bet he still sides a lot with Captain America and the desire for superheros to protect their identities. He gets put in both camps in my mind, and is another good addition to the warm up.
So let’s do this. The full warmup; run through four times:
- 10 X-Men jumping jacks
- 5/side Spiderman and twist
Are you ready for the workout? The below workouts are two separate options. One workout is more bodyweight focused, one more barbell focused. Like Civil War, there aren’t clear cut answers as to which is better.
In fact, you could alternate between the two. Doing either one three times a week would be a great training week.
The Iron Man Workout
The exercises
Iron Man Deadlift
What’s more metal than deadlifting? I submit nothing. Pick a weight that you can move comfortably for 10 reps. You can use barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells. If using dumbbells, only lower the weight to just below your knees.
Black Panther/Bear Crawl
We’re looking to tap into our inner animal and crawl along the floor. Pick a distance that takes about 20-30 seconds to cover. Too easy? Crawl lower and/or crawl backwards too!
Vision Farmer’s Walks
Vision has the ability to manipulate his density. We’re going to getting a feeling for that by grabbing the heaviest dumbbells we can manage and walking around. Pick a distance that takes 20-30 seconds to cover. If your hands get exhausted during the workout, pick a lighter dumbbell, or just carry one around (switching hands as you need).
Black Widow Wall Chair Sits
Remember that awesome scene in The Avengers where Black Widow beats up a room full of baddies while strapped to a chair?
How does one even build up strength in such a tough position? Wall sits! Find a solid wall to plant your shoulders, back, and hips against and sit there for 30 seconds.
Too hard? You can sit a little higher on the wall, or reduce the amount of time. Too easy? Hold a weight in your lap!
(Fun fact: Sitting in a chair and not doing anything is the favorite activity of Marvel movie executives when asked when a Black Widow movie is going to come out…)
War Machine Curls
Grab a barbell or dumbbells. We’re working on our guns here. Again, these things write themselves.
Do this workout as two separate circuits — complete all 4 sets of the first circuit, and rest before starting the second circuit. (Take rest as needed after each set of Deadlifts and Bear Crawls, with a longer rest period before starting the second circuit.)
Circuit 1, 4x through:
- 10 Iron Man Deadlifts
- Black Panther Bear Crawl
Short Rest Between Circuits (2 min)
Circuit 2, 4x through:
- Vision Farmer’s Walks
- 10 War Machine Curls
- Black Widow Wall Chair Sit
- Black Panther Bear Crawl (repeat)
The Captain America Workout
The Exercises
Captain America Shield Plate Halo
Just like putting a shield on your back! Helps loosen up the shoulders while building strength.
Bucky Fall
Inspired by this article and its proposition that Bucky should be using the parachute landing. This exercise amounts to a reverse crunch to standing position. This can be done with or without a light medicine ball or weight.
A little too dynamic for you? Simply lay down on the ground, and then get back up anyway.
Dan John would agree this is a great exercise, and the scientists say it’ll make you live longer (Bucky is over 100 years old, so maybe there’s something to that).
You’ve got the option of doing 5 to 10 reps of this exercise, as I know this may be a very new exercise for many.
Falcon Pushup and Twist
Sam Wilson is one of Captain America’s best buds, so of course he would make an appearance here. One of my favorite moves he does in the movie is that jump and twist as he’s wrecking people. We could ask you to channel your inner Dacascos and do a butterfly twist, but let’s just hit a pushup with a twist instead. This can be done from the knees or an elevated surface as well.
Hawkeye Archer Ring Rows
The archer row is an awesome way to work the upper body in an asymmetrical pulling action. This same sort of asymmetrical pulling can also be done on a bar set around hip or chest height (think of a bar at a playground, or a smith machine set up at the proper height). Are you closer to the Incredible Hulk than Bruce Banner? Do some archer pull ups!
Too intense? You can also work your superhero archery skills with resistance bands. Step back and turn the body as you pull with the arm. If you only have one band, you can complete all the reps on one side before switching to the other arm.
Ant Man Jump (Box Jump)
Here you can imagine you’re jumping onto Iron Man’s arm (forward roll optional). If jumping is a bit too much, step up onto a box or bench instead. Step down from the box or bench in either case. Extra points for snarky remarks made while jumping (we love you Paul Rudd).
Scarlet Witch Wall Walks
The Scarlet Witch can alter reality for her enemies. What better way to turn your own world upside-down than to do some handstand wall walks? If this too challenging, go with twice as many inch worms.
The workout should be done as a single circuit, 4x through:
- 5 times each way Captain America Shield Plate Halo
- 5-10 Bucky falls
- 10 total (5/side) Falcon Pushup and Twists
- 10 total (5/side) Hawkeye Archer Rows (10 per side for those using bands)
- 10 Ant Man Box Jumps
- 3 Scarlet Witch Wall Walks (or 6 Inch Worms)
The World Needs Heroes
The world needs heroes, and we need heroic workouts to fight back the forces of evil. Whether you’ve sided with Cap or Iron Man, understand that we’re all fighting for the same thing:
A life we can be proud of. So which side do you choose? Which hero do you resonate more with? And which workout did you choose?
Sound off in the comments!
-Jim
