The Viking Workout Routine and Diet: Train like a Norseman Warrior

Last updated on January 28th, 2020 at 10:21 pm

If you guys didn’t know this was Viking week…

Honestly, where have you been?

We already saw Clive Standen, who was the third celeb from the show Vikings (we also have Katheryn Winnick and Alexander Ludwig), and Alexander Dreymon this week.

And now, we’re building on that to turn it into a sick Viking workout to build some big BEASTS out of The SHJ Army.

I’ll be honest: The Kratos workout routine inspired me to take this week out to do The Vikings!  We were talking about BIG and BURLY, and we had multiple requests for Standen and Ludwig already – so it just felt right!

Viking’s Stats:

Height:

Men Average: 5 ft 7-3/4 in.

Women Average: 5 ft 2-1/2 in

Location:

Denmark, Norway, Swedan

So, normally I’d talk all about where the character or celebrity fits in among the rest that we’ve seen on SHJ – but that’s not going to work that well on this one.

I WILL say this: Vikings were pretty short.

What I’m also going to do is give you my source for the stats I provided.

It’s a bit of a long quote, so if you’re not interested, just go ahead and skip through to the diet and nutrition:

“The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in. The most extensive recent anthropological study was carried out in Denmark, but the situation must have been similar elsewhere. Skeletons of people as tall as 6 ft 1/2 in. have been found, and those in richly furnished Viking graves – belonging to high- ranking people – were on average considerably taller than those in the more ordinary graves, undoubtedly because of better living conditions. A double grave on Langeland in Denmark contained two adult males, typically, the smaller one had been decapitated, and had probably had his hands tied behind his back, while the other was interred with his spear in the normal fashion – obviously a case of a slave (measuring 5 ft 7-1/4 in.) who had to accompany his master (5 ft 9-3/4 in.) in death. However, the skeleton found in Jelling church, thought to be that of King Gorm of Denmark (later known as Gorm the Old), was only of average height. This man was 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall, with heavy, robust features, but not heavily built.” (Else Roesdahl, The Vikings, p. 31).

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Vikings Diet and Nutrition

**Keep in mind: this section will be nearly identical for each hero, unless I mentioned differently (for example someone like The Hulk may get something specifically different**

^^^ That being said, I’m hopping in here and plugging The Nordic Diet, because that’s the dang Viking Diet, AKA what we’re talking about here.  

But, that doesn’t mean you should skip the information below!

Every hero needs to still have a good diet.

Unfortunately we can train like them, but I don’t think any of us are suddenly getting their powers, or the ability to magically stop caring about nutrition.

You can’t out train your diet, so I want to still give some pillars for nutrition.

You can start by checking out The Nutrition Pillars on the site, but I’ll break down some more information for you guys as well.

Guys like Hugh Jackman and Terry Crews utilize intermittent fasting daily, and I also use it myself in conjunction with cyclical ketosis.

That being said, I also recommend tracking and paying attention to protein intake.

BUT, there are a thousand different ways to reach your goals, so finding the most sustainable way is what’s important.

Which is why our Academy utilizes multiple different Nutrition Classes (Vikings, Spartans, Hunter Gatherers, Monks, Samurais, Minimalists, Superhumans) to allow people to choose what is right for YOU!

Oh, and if you’re down with calorie counting instead, that’s always an option as well.  It’s just important to be aware of specific rules and precision while counting.

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Viking Workout Routine Research

Vikings were warriors.

That much we all know.

The strong and talented survived the battles that they engaged in when they pillaged and fought.

So we’re going to need to be strong and talented in order to replicate them.

BBC gives us some simple information I want to talk about:

he Vikings came from three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The name ‘Viking’ comes from a language called ‘Old Norse’ and means ‘a pirate raid’. People who went off raiding in ships were said to be ‘going Viking’.

The Vikings travelled to other places using their famous longboats that were able to travel much more efficiently and effective than others at that time.

From there they would pillage the places (often times monasteries) on the coasts.  They would race in before the town or monastery knew they were there, raid it, and leave.

They are also famous for their battle axe, although they are known to use other weaponry as well.

BUT, just know you’re definitely going to be rowing in this one.

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The Viking Workout Routine

Training Volume:

4+ Days Per Week

Explanation:

You’re always welcome to take extra days of activity to add in, but this is going to more-or-less follow a strength, four day split, for both men and women!

Supersets: 

Do both exercises once with no break, then break and finish another 2 sets in this same cycle.

Ex: 12 reps of X movement, 12 reps of Y movement, then break, then repeat.

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Viking Workout Day One: Chest and Triceps

Warm Up:

Stretch

1600m Row

Workout:

Bench Press

5×12,10,8,5,3

Incline Bench Press (DB or BB)

3×12

Overhead Tricep Extension (Dumbbell)

3×12

Superset 1:

3×12 reps each w/ dumbbells

Chest Flys

Hex Press

Superset 2:

Tricep Cable Pushdown

Tricep Cable Kickbacks

Finisher:

Dips

3×10-20 (weighted if you can)

Viking Workout Day Two: Back and Biceps

Warm Up:

Stretch

1600m Row

Workout:

Deadlift

5×12,10,8,5,3

Lateral Pulldowns

3×12

Bicep Curls

3×12

Superset 1:

3×12 reps each

Dumbbell Rows

Face Pulls

Superset 2:

Cable Hammer Curls

Cable Curls

Finisher:

Wide Grip Pull Ups

3×10-20 (weighted if you can)

Viking Workout Day Three: Shoulders and Traps

Warm Up:

Stretch

1600m Row

Workout:

Military Press

5×12,10,8,5,3

Barbell Shrugs

3×12

Barbell Upright Rows

3×12

Superset 1:

3×12 reps each w/ dumbbells

Arnold Press

Dumbbell Front Raises

Superset 2:

Machine Shrugs (or cable shrugs)

Dumbbell Shrugs

Finisher:

Push Ups

3×20-50 (weighted if you can)

Viking Workout Day Four: Legs and Calves

Warm Up:

Stretch

1600m Row

Workout:

Back Squats

5×12,10,8,5,3

Calf Raises (on Leg Press)

3×12-20

Leg Press

5×12,10,8,5,3

Calf Raises (on Leg Press)

Superset 1:

3×12 reps each w/ dumbbells

Weighted Step Ups (6 each leg)

Goblet Squat

Superset 2:

Straight Leg Deadlift w/ Kettlebell

Weighted Calf Raises

Finisher:

Lunges

3×10-20 (weighted if you can)

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