Inspired by his love of the anime One Punch Man, YouTuber Mane Yousuf set himself the challenge of recreating the punishing workout regime of its hero, the ninja Saitama. Comprising 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and a 10km run every single day, this routine helped Saitama transcend his physical limitations and become a formidable warrior, and Yousuf hopes it will do the same for him.
However, others who have attempted the One Punch Man workout, like Tyler Oliveira, have advised against it as a means of getting gains, because the repetitive, intense activity just breaks down the same muscle groups over and over without allowing time for recovery. Yousuf takes this under advisement, and decides to work on his conditioning and doing 50 percent of the One Punch Man regimen for the first 30 days: that’s 50 situps, 50 pushups, 50 squats, and a 5km run.
Even easing into things with a reduced rep count takes a physical toll; 20 days in, Yousuf sprains his ankle. However, he forges on, and at the 30 day point is already seeing results, with a 10 percent drop in body fat. (His pushup technique also sucks a lot less than it did at the start.)
“The workouts had started to get a little easy, so I started to make them more difficult,” he says at around the 40 day mark, switching to diamond cutter pushups and adding a plank to the daily session to help build up core strength.
After missing out on day 94, Yousuf admits that he can no longer claim to have done the One Punch Man workout, although he does carry on for the final 6 days of the challenge, reaching the 100-day goal. Upon completing the 100 days, he is leaner, with a visible increase in definition in his chest and abs, but he notes that the real benefit has come from building habits, consistency, and motivation.
“The challenge has changed me mentally more than it has physically,” he says. “Prior to this challenge, I was in this place of uncertainty and doubt… I had never committed to anything for such a long period of time. I’d always had that burst of passion to pick up a new hobby or pick up a new challenge, but I never really had the guts to follow through and complete it.”
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