One Punch Man Workout (How to Build Superhero Strength)

Saitama became the strongest man by doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and running 1 km daily.

In the manga, Saitamas was initially a weak character looking to gain strength, and that’s when he decided to do previously mentioned exercises every single day to become stronger.

As the anime suggests, the One Punch Man workout is excellent for building relative strength and muscle endurance but fails to build maximal strength.

It is hard to build maximal strength through bodyweight exercises because you need to lift maximal or submaximal loads to increase it.

You can increase muscular endurance and cardiovascular health by only exercising specific muscle groups through bodyweight exercises but never increase maximal strength.

Saitama's diet is simple, consisting of only three meals a day. He says you can eat whatever you want as long as you eat three times a day and never skip breakfast.

I would advise a little different approach, especially regarding carb and protein intake.

For the carbohydrate intake, I would suggest avoiding bad sugars, sweets, and starchy fibers in general, at least for most meals.

Also, I recommend taking at least 0.8 to 1 g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily to stay lean, ensure muscle recovery, and increase hypertrophy and strength.

One Punch Man Workout Benefits

There are countless benefits from doing One Punch Man workouts, but the most notable is increased muscle endurance and relative strength.

Calisthenics exercises are the best way to increase your relative strength, making your body more functional and more significant for daily life.

Nonetheless, you will develop significant muscle endurance from One Punch Man workouts because of the number of reps and workout frequency.

How Can One Punch Man Workout Make You Strong?

The One Punch Man workout can make you strong only if you are a beginner or never did strength training.

That isn’t to say that One Punch Man workouts are ineffective, but they aren’t the best option for developing strength.

You can become significantly stronger by doing this workout, but you must change the training regime if you plan to increase your strength further.

The One Punch Man workout can increase your muscle endurance and build relative strength.

Based on the article published by Harvard Health, engaging in bodyweight exercises trains your body to efficiently utilize its own weight, enhancing its functionality [2].

It is also effective for hypertrophy if you are a beginner, but I would advise using external resistance for more advanced lifters.

How Effective Is the One Punch Man Workout?

Based on my first-hand experience, the One Punch Man workout is particularly effective for beginners aiming to significantly boost muscle endurance

Other than that, there are many better options for building strength than doing a fixed number of bodyweight exercise reps daily.

Based on a study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to boost maximal strength, it's essential to lift heavier weights, something that can't be achieved solely with bodyweight exercises [3].

After putting the One Punch Man workout to the test, I've learned that overtraining is a major concern, necessitating careful attention to recovery and rest.

Overtraining means you didn’t allow sufficient recovery time or rest days for more muscle groups to recover.

This is when the negative effects of glycogen supercompensation occur, and you don’t make progress but decrease your performance.

To avoid overtraining, you must gradually increase the intensity of your workouts until you reach the original Saitama workout.

Also, proper diet and supplementation will help you recover faster and avoid injury and overtraining.