Captain America: Build A Real World Ready Winter Soldier Physique
Brad Borland is a strength & conditioning specialist, cancer survivor and the founder of WorkoutLab.
The new Captain America: Winter Soldier movie is set to hit theaters soon and you bet the lines will be long to set eyes on the continuing adventures of the super soldier himself. Wrought with exceptional strength, speed, dexterity and overall ability Cap is one skillful dude not to mention his antagonist foe the Winter Soldier.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have just a little slice of that physique for yourself without fighting the crowd at the most popular stations at the gym? Have you been lifting all the heavy stuff for a while now on a traditional training plan with slowed or stalled gains and need something completely different? Do you also want to increase your real-world abilities and practical strength so you can not only look like you can take on those feats but actually do it too?
Below is an unorthodox training plan to get your physique progressing again. Chalked full of body weight moves and real, practical strength exercises the plan is designed for performance, functionality and (as a cool side effect) one kick-butt body. It will focus on building strength, speed and a superhero physique of your very own. So, if you want some change, big change, then try it out for yourself.
A brand-spanking new training program wouldn’t be complete without some structured guidelines. Like the virtues of Captain America you should have a few of your own to help stay the course and ultimately become successful.
- Honesty: Be honest with yourself, your weak points, your ability and your goals. Adhere to the program details as best you can. Rest periods, rep ranges, cadence and effort all add up toward big gains. Don’t try to be like everyone else, you have a unique vision of what you want to do – go for it.
- Bravery: Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. You will become more and more conditioned as you go so don’t give up and challenge those fears into successes. Little by little you will create a whole new mindset and what you thought you couldn’t do in the past, will soon become your ability.
- Humility: If something seems tough at the start, don’t fret. Keep trying and it will happen. Also, be humble enough not to perform any exercise with too much weight or loose form that could cause injury. When in doubt, lighted the load slightly and try to use perfect form and technique.
- Conviction: Become determined and believe you will succeed. Having this type of mindset will help you in so many ways as you ebb and flow through the program. Some days you may lack some energy and motivation (that’s life) but if you are committed from the beginning you will have that faith as a foundation.
- Authority: Take charge of your actions and reactions to challenges that may arise. Think of better ways to deal with stress and adversity. Only you will have the ultimate authority over both how you move forward and how you can deal with potential setbacks and roadblocks. Take charge and press on!
The Captain America Program
Perform the following program for six weeks. Perform the workouts over any five day period that fits your schedule. Again, pay close attention to rest periods and challenge yourself to perform a little better each week.
Pre-Workout Warm-up Circuit
Perform the following full body circuit prior to every training day. This will get you primed for the work ahead. Do one or two rounds with a 30 second rest between rounds.
- 10 burpees
- 10 prisoner squats
- 10 push-ups
- 10 walking lunges
- 10 floor crunches
| Day 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Body | |||
| Exercise | Warm-Up Sets | Work Sets | Rest |
| Box jump | 3 x 10 | 30 | |
| Walking lunge | 3 lengths | 30 | |
| One leg calf raise with kettlebell or dumbbell | 3 x 10-15 | 30 | |
| Barbell deep squat | 1x12 | 3 x 8-10 | 60 |
| Superset: Lying leg lift with floor crunch (slow cadence) | 3 x 15-20 | 30 | |
| Intervals: For warm-up walk for 5 minutes. Sprint for 20 seconds and rest for 40 seconds. Repeat for 10 to 15 minutes | |||
| Cool down and stretch | |||
| Day 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Body | |||
| Exercise | Warm-Up Sets | Work Sets | Rest |
| Incline bench dumbbell press | 1 x 12 | 3 x 8-10 | 60 |
| Superset: Push-up with close-grip push-up (diamond style) | 3 x AMAP | 60 | |
| Medium-grip pull-up | 3 x AMAP | 60 | |
| Superset: Two-arm dumbbell row with standing dumbbell shoulder press | 3 x 8-12 | 60 | |
| Superset: Dumbbell curl with parallel bar dip | 3 x 8-12 | 60 | |
| Hanging leg raise | 3 x 15-20 | 30 | |
| Steady-state cardio with exercise of choice for 20 minutes | |||
| Cool down and stretch | |||
| Day 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprints | |||
| Exercise | Warm-Up Sets | Work Sets | Rest |
| Intervals | |||
| Walking | 5 minutes | ||
| Sprint for 20 seconds and rest for 40 seconds | 15-20 minutes | ||
| Day 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Body | |||
| Exercise | Warm-Up Sets | Work Sets | Rest |
| Jump split squat | 3 x 10 | 30 | |
| Dumbbell Stiff Leg deadlift | 1 x 12 | 3 x 8-10 | 30 |
| Superset: Goblet squat with reverse lunge | 3 x 8-10 | 60 | |
| Superset: Sissy squat with one leg calf raise with kettlebell or dumbbell | 3 x 10-15 | 60 | |
| Planks | 20-30 sec | 30 | |
| Steady-state cardio with exercise of choice for 20 minutes | |||
| Cool down and stretch | |||
| Day 5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Body | |||
| Exercise | Warm-Up Sets | Work Sets | Rest |
| Feet-elevated push-up | 3 x AMAP | 30 | |
| Flat bench dumbbell or barbell press | 1 x 12 | 3 x 8-10 | 60 |
| Reverse-grip pull-up | 1 x 12 | 3 x AMAP | 60 |
| Superset: Inverted rack row with dumbbell upright row | 3 x 8-12 | 60 | |
| Superset: Dumbbell hammer curl with overhead dumbbell triceps extension | 3 x 8-12 | 60 | |
| Intervals: For warm-up walk for 5 minutes. Sprint for 20 seconds and rest for 40 seconds. Repeat for 10 to 15 minutes | |||
| Cool down and stretch | |||