Black Widow: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

Black Widow: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

Let’s face it, I reckon both parties will agree on this – there is nothing better than seeing a woman who is powerful, can move with athletic ability.  In the Avengers movie, Black widow is a master assassin, who is martial arts expert – think stealthy, nimble and swift.  In terms of physical attributes she is fast, has great mobility, flexibility and power.  To me the best way to develop this is to add in plyometrics – the ability to land, effectively absorb force and use that stored energy in jumping and bounding etc.  I’ve also added in agility drills and squatting as this will help to develop leg strength and power (plus it won’t do any harm in terms of aesthetic appearance).

The Following programme is based around power, agility, speed and conditioning.

Black Widow Workout:

1. Single Leg Hops Linear 2 x 6+6
2. Single Leg Hops Lateral 2 x 6+6
3. Lateral Band walks 2 x 20s+20s
4. T-Test 5 x 1 rep
5. 5-finger Drill 3 x 1 rep
6. Squat 5 x 5 reps
7. Glute Hip Bridges 4 x 10 reps
8. Linear-Lateral Tabatas (20s work / 10s rest x8) x 2 rounds – 2mins rest between rounds (not shown in video)

Exercise Summary

Single Leg Hops

Great low level plyometric exercise.  Good for learning the basics of plyometrics and learning how to land.  It is important that you try to land as quietly as possible and with control. When jumping sink into a quarter squat, drive through the hips and extend the arms.

Lateral Band Walks

Step across the band on the mid-foot and cross it over in the middle, hooking it over the hands.  Sink into a quarter squat, push the hips back and spread the feet until they are at least hip distance apart.  Take small steps sideways in one direction, trying to keep the band the same distance apart.  Once you have went for 20s in one direction, go the opposite direction sideways.  It’s a good exercise for activating the hips, glute medius and external rotators, which are essential when performing explosive change of direction movements.

T-Test

This is an agility drill commonly used to assess an athlete’s ability to move in different direction, and change direction.  The first movement is a straight run, followed by a shuffle sideways to the left for 5 metres, a shuffle 10m to the right, another sideways shuffle to the left, until you reach the middle, followed by a backwards shuffle back to the starting cone.  It is important to stay low when changing direction.

5-finger drill

This drill teachers you how to pivot around a cone, both to the left and to the right.  Try to stay as low as possible throughout the drill to allow quick changes of direction. 

Squat

Black Widow looks great in here one-piece catsuit – in order to do this she has a toned legs and a neat bum.. Squats are one of the best ways to develop these muscles.  On the functional side of things, the squat is the king of exercises in terms of developing lower body strength, enhances jumping ability and improves sprint times.  This is an essential if you want to move like Black Widow.

Glute Hip Bridges

Seen as one of the best Glute developing exercises according to sports scientist Bret Contreras.  Gret assistance exercise for the squat too, as most people have weak hips and glutes.  Weak glutes are also thought to contribute to knee injury and lower back pain, so developing strength in this area seems like a wise move.  Focus on squeezing the cheeks throughout and pushing through the heels.

Linear-Lateral Tabatas

This is a protocol I learnt from top Strength and Conditioning coach Mike Boyle, who trains many professional athletes and college athletes.  Conditioning is both systemic and muscle specific – the muscles involved in moving forwards and backwards are different to the muscles involved in moving side-to-side, so each should be conditioned and fatigued appropriately.  For this exercise, run forwards between two cones for 20 seconds, then take 10 seconds break.  For the next 20 seconds move side-to-side between two cones and take 10 seconds rest.  This 20s/10s method should be performed for eight rounds (a total of 4 minutes), followed by two mins rest and repeated.  With Black Widow being a great mover, she must be able to move equally well in all planes of movement without getting fatigued.

Black Widow Programme

Feel like you want to focus more on developing your agility and speed? Then ignore the above and become more specialised in this area by doing the following.  By completing single sessions of Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and Captain America, the other qualities will be maintained, while speed and agility will be developed at a faster rate.

Mon: Black Widow

Tues: Incredible Hulk

Wed: Iron Man

Thur: Rest

Fri: Black Widow

Sat: Captain America

Sun: Rest/Stretch

All-round Avenger Program

Want to develop all the attributes of the avengers for an all-round programme?  Then follow the following workout split:

Mon: Black Widow

Tues: The Incredible Hulk

Wed: Iron Man

Thurs: Rest

Fri: Thor

Sat: Captain America

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Iron Man: The Avengers Workout Series

Iron Man: The Avengers Workout Series

Iron Man can fly, has all the gizmos and gadgets of the day, and has a bulletproof shell.  Maybe you may not be able to have a suit like Tony Stark, but you can certainly turn yourself into a machine.  This workout for Iron Man will help you develop a strong bullet proof core, and develop inhuman endurance.

The Iron Man Workout

1. Turkish Get Up 4 x 3+3

– the Turkish Get Up (TGU) involves all the muscles of the body and is a truly functional movement – after all the vast majority of us are accustomed to getting up onto our feet from a lying position (however we tend to be better at the lying part).  The TGU is a great movement for developing mobility/stability in the shoulders, thoracic spine and in the hip.  It’s also great for developing the core.

2. Kettlebell Suitcase Carry 4 x 20s+20s

– Who ever thought carrying a suitcase in the airport develops great core strength? Well it does! The main aim of this exercise is to keep your hips square and stop yourself bending at the side of the weight or overcompensating and tilting the other side.  This exercise is popularised by spine research Stuart McGill, who has changed a lot of ideas when it mes to true core training and the prevention and treatment of lower back pain.  You should focus on squeezing the abs and glutes throughout this exercise.

3. Cardio Machine Intervals 30s work / 30s recovery (x8 – 15 rounds)

Steady state cardio is dead and tends to have little relevance to those who compete in most sports unless you are an endurance athlete.  Cardio machines are easily accessible to most gym members and by performing intervals on them won’t do your general conditioning any harm.  Feel free to use this method for any of the cardio machines for added variety.  (you too will soon be a machine much like Iron Man!)

4. Plank 4 x 45s

– Probably the most well-known of core exercises, and it is a great starting point so I’m including it in the series.  Afterall f you cannot stay rigid in this position how are you ever going to do press ups with good form?? (not that press ups are the be all and end all, but everyone should b able to do more than 30)

5. Side Bridges 4 x 20s + 20s

– Variation of the plank but focuses more on anti-flexion, which develops stability in the external obliques.  Make sure everything is in strength alignment the hips and knees are fully extended.

You will probably have read that this is a workout that helps develops a strong core – some folks are probably wondering where the endless number of crunches, russian twists and sit ups are.  Get with the times – core training has evolved from these crunch type movements which do nothing but develop mobility in the lower back (when the main function is more geared towards stability and resisting movement) and chances are they’ll lead you closer to developing lower back pain than anything else.  “But I need to do crunches to get a six pack” I hear you say …..first of all I’ll tell you this – if your training goal is simply to get a six pack, your goal sucks and secondly if you want a six pack you better be prepared to majorly clean up your diet (you can’t crunch your way to a six pack!).  Personally I’m more interested in being strong than looking like a Jersey Shore replica.  Anyway back to my point, the main purpose of the core and lower back now is focused on stability rather than mobility, so most of the movements involve resisting movement rather than creating it.  For example, movements that involve anti-lateral flexion and anti-extension, rather than crunches which involve spinal flexion n the lumbar spine, which could lead to lower back pain if performed repetitively.

All-Round Avenger Split

Want to be a jack of all trades or get a taste of all the programme rather than deciding to specialise yet, then perform the following split.

Mon: Black Widow (power, speed, agility & quickness)

Tues: The Incredible Hulk (Power & Strength)

Wed: Iron Man (Bulletproof Core & Cardio Machine Conditioning)

Thurs: Rest

Fri: Thor (hypertrophy, strength, power)

Sat: Captain America (bodyweight conditioning)

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Iron Man Split

Maybe your core and/or conditioning need work? If that is the case, ignore the above and follow the following:

Mon: Thor

Tue: Iron Man

Wed: Rest/Stretch

Thurs: The Incredible Hulk

Friday: Iron Man

Sat: Captain America

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Stay tuned for the final workout of the series – Black Widow, which focuses on power, speed, agility and basic plyometrics.

The Incredible Hulk: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

The Incredible Hulk: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

The Incredible Hulk not only is massive in terms of stacks of solid green muscle mass, he also possesses great power and strength.  And let’s face it, he can shift too – especially when power and strength are the base components of speed.

The following workout is focused on strength and power…and let’s face it – it won’t do muscle development any harm while you’re at it either.  It is important that you follow the workout for the prescribed reps and sets, taking appropriate rest periods and follow the exercises in order.  By doing this, the workout will have the desired effect.  I would advise focusing on exercise technique, and gradually build up the resistance – don’t just jump in there and lift as heavy as you can injure yourself or wear yourself out.

1a. Deadlift – 3 x 3 reps

Super setwith:

1b. Tyre Flips – 3 x 2 reps

(3 mins rest between sets)

2. Push Press – 3 x 5 reps (2-3 mins recovery between sets)

3. Single Arm Rows – 4 x 6 reps (1-2 mins rest between sets)

4. Face Pulls – 4 x 8 reps (60-90s rest between sets)

5. Prowler Pushes (6-12 x 20m) or Hill sprints (6 x 20m) – (1-2 mins recovery between reps)

Explanation and pointers of exercises

Deadlift: develops tremendous strength in legs and back.  Go heavy with this exercise for a double, but make sure you maintain a flat back.  If possible use a straight bar, but if not possible, go for trap bar.  One of the best exercises for building strength, size and power.  Ever seen some elite heavyweight powerlifters – they have Hulk sized proportions.

Tyre flips: The focus here is on power and flipping the tyre as fast as possible – make sure you have a good thick tyre and maintain a flat back without rounding the shoulders.  Ever seen Hulk flip a car or swot off an enemy – this is similar.  If you do not have a tractor tyre don’t worry – try doing squat jumps instead or a medicine ball scoop throw.

Push Press: One of the lifts many Olympic weightlifters use to develop power for the clean & jerk.  Great exercise to develop upper body power and pack size onto the delts as you can handle more overall weight that the military press.  Focus on moving the bar upwards as fast as possible and punch the arms towards the sky.  Take plenty of rest between sets.

Single Arm Rows: Good exercise to develop strength in your lats and traps.  I like this exercise because it works each arm individually and can help correct and strength imbalances between dominant/non-dominant sides of body.

Face Pulls:  Help to develop rear deltoid, rhomboids and mid trap area, which can often be week if you work the beach muscles too much (biceps and pecs).  I often use this as a corrective exercise to prevent shoulder rounding and help improve scap retraction which is a common problem for many beginner lifters in the deadlift and squat etc.  Focus on inching the shoulder blades together at the top of the exercise and pause for a second.  Ensure you control the weight throughout.  Can be performed on a pulley machine with ropes/towel, with bands or with a weighted sled.

Prowler Pushes or Hill Sprints:  The aim of this as a finisher is to transfer the work done earlier in the workout into sprinting speed and acceleration.  Prowler pushes are not only brutal, but they help develop powerful leg turnover.  Hill Sprints are good for developing leg power too, but also brutal.  Perform either of these with high intensity and focus on running and pushing as hard as possible.

All-round Avenger Training Split

Want to develop all the attributes of the avengers for an all-round programme?  Then follow the following workout split:

Mon: Black Widow

Tues: The Incredible Hulk

Wed: Iron Man

Thurs: Rest

Fri: Thor

Sat: Captain America

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Incredible Hulk Training Split

Want to be more like the Incredible Hulk or need to focus more on strength, power and size? Follow the following split:

Mon: Black Widow

Tues: Incredible Hulk

Wed: Rest

Thur: Thor

Fri: Incredible Hulk

Sat: Iron Man

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Captain America: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

Captain America

Captain America in my opinion is more of an all-rounder – he’s strong, but not exceptionally strong when you compare him to the Incredible Hulk.  He’s fast, has good jumping ability and good mobility but one attribute does not stand out.  He has plenty of heart and determination – which is important, and this will be developed in the workout as you learn to push yourself.  Since he fought in the second world war and was left frozen for 70 years,  I’m going to go for good old-fashioned calisthenics for the Cap’s workout  (Ya know – the type you did in physical education class in primary and secondary school?!). They are great for teaching body awareness, general strength & conditioning, endurance and muscle control.  For Cap’s workout I’ve focused more on old-school bodyweight exercises.  When performed with high density they can be great for burning fat and getting lean.

1. Sprints – 40m x 6-8 reps – maximal (full recovery)

2. Chin Ups – 4 x 10 reps (2 mins recovery between sets)

3a. Press Ups – 6 x 10 reps

Super set with:

3b. Mountain Climbers – 6 x 10 (5 on each side) – 60s rest between sets

4. Walking Lunges – 60 reps (30 on each leg) and complete in as fast time as possible.

5. Boxing – 40s work / 20s rest x 10

6. Skipping – 30s on 30s off x 6

 40m Sprints – great for developing speed and acceleration.  Let’s face it, if you want to get fast you have to sprint at max or near max speed.  It can’t just be lifting weights.  Practice sprinting and work on running form for your warm ups (you’ll need a couple sub-max sprints for warm up anyway). Ensure you get full recovery in between reps – this isn’t about getting a burn or anything – just about running with max intensity for max results in terms of speed development.

Chin Ups – Chins are one of the best bodyweight exercises around.  Develops great biceps and lat strength.  If you are unable to perform 10 reps, just do as many as you can (with a couple reps left in the tank) for each set.  Make sure you fully lock out you’re elbows at the bottom – no cheating….Captain America wouldn’t!

Push Ups – again another great bodyweight exercise and develops the pectorals, shoulders and triceps.  Keep the elbows tucked in close to the sides and this prevents excess strain on external rotators.  You may do modified push-ups if you can’t do full push-ups or add some weight if 6 sets of 10 is too easy.

Mountain Climbers – great for developing mobility of the hips – if you want to be a super hero you have to be able to move…not just be a muscle-bound lump.  Make sure you bring your foot as close to you hand as possible.

Walking Lunges – great for leg strength development and will build good local muscular endurance.  Feel the burn!

Boxing – we all saw Captain America abusing that heavy punch bag in the Avengers movie – do likewise and release some aggression.  After ten rounds of going hard your arms will be toast.

Skipping – focus on moving the rope as fas as possible.  Another great conditioning tool and low-level plyometric exercise.  Develops endurance in the shoulders and calves (will also burn off as much calories as running).  Try to stay on toes and move rope as fast as possible.

Captain America Split

If you want to focus on bodyweight work and master this area then you could following the following programme and performing the assigned workouts on each day.  Don’t worry, they will compliment the Captain America workout and will help you further develop his physical qualities (if you so desire!).

Mon: Black Widow

Tue: Captain America

Wed: Rest

Thur: Thor

Fri: Captain America

Sat: Iron Man

Sun: Rest/Stretch

All-round Avenger

Want to develop all the attributes of The Avengers for an all-round programme?  Then follow the following workout split:

Mon: Black Widow

Tues: The Incredible Hulk

Wed: Iron Man

Thurs: Rest

Fri: Thor

Sat: Captain America

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Thor’s workout was previously featured and it was Captain America today – stay tuned to see who it will be tomorrow!

Thor: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

Thor: The Avengers Gym Workout Series

Thor Workout

1. KB Single Arm Swings 4 x 10+10 reps

– KB swings are a good simple exercise for developing hip power.  I find they are a great alternative to the more technical power cleans with a barbell, which require significantly more practice and expertise to get benefit from.  Performing KB swings with single arm introduces more rotational force and the body has to respond by activating core muscles.  Thor would be an excellent kettlebell swinger.

2. Close Grip Floor Press, DB or BB – 4 x 6 reps

– Thor has huge arms.  Triceps make up two-thirds of the arm, so anytime anyone asks me for bigger arms I tell them to do a triceps exercise.  Close grip floor presses are great for this purpose because they allow heavier weights to be used which overloads the triceps and leads to significant growth.  They are also great for developing a stronger bench press.  Make sure you pause at the bottom with your elbows resting on the ground to take out and elastic reflex and then explode the weight upwards.

3. Barbell Curls – 4 x 8-15 reps

– Barbell curls are my favourite bicep developer and the other piece of the puzzle when you want to create Thor sized arms.  Try going for higher reps, up to 15 and feel a real burn and build up of lactic acid, which stimulates Growth Hormone.  Strength coach Mark Rippetoe recommends barbell curls over EZ curls for bicep development.

4. KB Single-Arm Press – 3 x 6+6 reps

– Many folks say that kettlebells are not great at muscle-building – who says?  Use your common sense here  kettlebells are simply another form of resistance – it is how you use them that counts.  I find KB presses are great for shoulder developement as they increase the range of movement of the press (similar to Arnie presses).  They are also more difficult as the weight os off-set which requires greater activation of stabilizers.  Keep the hips square and don’t tilt to one since when performing the exercise – this will reduce the amount of weight you can do and activate true core stability (stuff your wimpy crunches!).

5.  4-Way Shoulder Complex (3 sets) – Upright Rows x10 reps, Lateral Raises x10, Front Raises x 10, Reverse Fly x 10.

– I like this as a shoulder finisher – it hits all the areas of the deltoid, anterior, mid and posterior.  It creates a tremendous burn – try going light to start off with and build the weight up gradually.  Important for shoulder health and will allow you to continue with Thor-like hammer-weilding activities.

6. Sledge Hammer Tyre Chops – 20s work : 10s rest (x8 rounds)

– The best way to condition for an activity is to do it itself.  If you want to be better conditioned for soccer, play soccer. If you want to be better conditioned to swing a hammer, then swing a hammer….simple!

All-Round Avenger Split

Want to be a jack of all trades or get a taste of all the programme rather than deciding to specialise yet, then perform the following split.

Mon: Black Widow (power, speed, agility & quickness)

Tues: The Incredible Hulk (Power & Strength)

Wed: Iron Man (Bulletproof Core & Cardio Machine Conditioning)

Thurs: Rest

Fri: Thor (hypertrophy, strength, power)

Sat: Captain America (bodyweight conditioning)

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Thor Workout Split

Have your eyes set on Thor and gaining some Viking-esque qualities – then work on the following workout split.

Mon: Thor

Tues: Captain America

Wed: Rest

Thur: Incredible Hulk

Fri: Thor

Sat: Iron Man

Sun: Rest/Stretch

Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for the next Avenger in the series.