The first Dragon Ball Z film in 17 years, Battle of Gods, hits Hong Kong theaters later this month, and in the spirit of the film, we decided to design a ‘Goku’-inspired workout routine!
Though you still won’t be able to fly or shoot kamehameha waves, this intense workout will help you put on a ton of muscle, allowing you to look and feel a little more like the Super-Saiyan himself.
Workout Plan: 3-4 times per week
Barbell squats: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Clean and press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Dumbbell flys: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Barbell bench press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Barbell curls: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Bench dips: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Weighted pullups: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps + 1 minute plank
High Weight/Low Reps
For building muscle mass, the main rule of thumb is high weight and low repetitions. Here, we’ve recommended three sets of six to eight repetitions for most exercises. You should also be lifting approximately 75 percent of your max-weight (the amount of weight you can complete in one repetition).
For heavy-weight exercises, you generally need about two to three minutes of rest between sets as well, at least for beginners. When you gain more experience, you can start ‘explosive repetition’ using high weights at a faster pace. Some of the lighter exercises, like crunches or pushups, only require one minute of rest between sets.
Pace Yourself
Over training throughout the week can lead to fatigue at the gym, in turn causing your workouts to yield negative returns. Generally, your muscles require two to three days of rest to recover from a workout. With this workout plan, for example, you could work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and rest on the off days.
The most important resting time is at night when you sleep, so make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep after a workout.
Compound Exercises
An effective way to work out your entire body is to use compound exercises, such as deadlifts or squats, which target multiple muscle groups. The clean and press, for example, works the deltoids, triceps, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves and abs. Compound exercises are an intense, time-efficient way to work your entire body and build muscle.
Workout Partner
Having a workout partner is one of the best ways to keep in shape. Not only is a spotter often required for many exercises, especially with heavy weights for weight gain, but having a workout buddy will also keep you motivated. If you skip a workout, you’re not only letting down yourself but your friend as well.
Exercise Variety
Although some bodybuilders do four or five different exercises per muscle group, this is more for gaining muscle definition. For gaining muscle mass, you only need one or two types of exercises per muscle group. For instance, for your chest, your primary exercise might be bench press, and your secondary exercise might be dumbbell flys or weighted pushups.
In this workout plan we’ve set compound exercises as the primary exercises and isolated exercises for the secondary exercises.
Diet
For gaining muscle mass, you should aim to consume between 1 to 2 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. So, for example, if you weigh 170 pounds, you should try to take in 170 to 340 grams of protein every day.
If that sounds like a lot of food, that’s because it is. Bodybuilders often state that the hardest part of putting on muscle is the constant eating that’s required. Make sure to stock your fridge with plenty of chicken breast and protein shakes.
Eat plenty of carbs in the morning before your workout as well, and stick to healthy fats like avocado and cashews. (Senzu beans are also a great option, should you ever get your hands on one. From what I remember, one bean should keep you full for a week!)
Follow our proposed workout, eat well, and get plenty of rest. If you follow this advice, you’ll look more like a Super-Saiyan in no time!
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods arrives in Hong Kong cinemas on August 15. It releases worldwide later this year.
For more health care related information, visit www.pacificprime.com.
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