Last updated on March 19th, 2020 at 10:21 pm

This is a good ol’ fashion video game inspired week.

We saw our first ever Blizzard Entertainment inspired workout (and cosplay guide) this week as well.

That came in the form of Tracer from Overwatch!

Of course we’ve seen a ton of video game inspired characters at SHJ, but I wanted to jump back into it and hit two since we’ve been slacking on them for a few weeks.

Plus, who doesn’t want to train to look like a Ninja?

By the way, if you don’t already know, this is our new category that I announced I’ll be starting due to the high demand in cosplayers we have hitting the site, but it’s also an opportunity for me to give you secondary options to the main character workouts that will be slightly more generic and beginner-intermediate oriented; whereas the character workouts get pretty high volume when we begin talking about our overpowered characters!

Ryu Hayabusa Stats:

Height: 5’10

Weight: 172

Real Name: Ryu Hayabusa

Video Game: Ninja Gaiden

Ryu Hayabusa would technically be speaking be considered below average height if compared to the male celebs we’ve seen at SHJ.

Although in my eyes he’s actually fairly tall…for a ninja!

Vegeta were tied Wolverine for the shortest spot among comic characters we’ve seen at 5’3, prior to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming in at 5’2, (and Gimli even shorter) – but Damian Wayne (Robin) is only 5’4.  Goku isn’t that tall either, though, standing only 5’7, with Miles Morales only an inch above him.

One Punch Man falls in at 5’9 right there with Ryu, Nightwing at 5’10, and then Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Green Arrow coming in around 5’11 and Beast joining them.

We’ve had Superman and Eddie Brock’s Venom at 6’3, and Captain America, Scorpion and Batman at 6’2, and Carnage at 6’1. Thor and Cyborg are towering over them at 6’6, Thanos and King right there with them at 6’7, Bane at 6’8, and Deathstroke right below at 6’5, and Black Manta at 6’4.

Ronan and Sagat are 7’5, and Doomsday came in at 8’10, and I doubt any characters are touching that anytime soon.

But, don’t worry if you’re not the same height or weight range.

We write these routines to be utilized by anyone and everyone.

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Ryu Hayabusa Diet and Nutrition

This is normally where (in the character workouts at least) I’d throw you guys a nice copy paster to give you some links to awesome dietary guidelines.

The celebrity workouts get their own custom planning based around what that celebrity does, but the characters are very contingent on specific goals/starting points.

The same is going to be done here, but I’m going to be making some changes to help you out a little bit more.  So I’m going to start by suggesting what I think is the best Superhero Program for this cosplay if you choose to step it up a notch.  Of course, you can really step it up a notch and join our Academy to get access to everything we have to offer, but if not, you might want to check out The Program Shop for other options or even take The Program Selection Quiz to help you out.

Either way, my suggestion would be: The Cut and Shred

Which brings us to our information from the character workouts if you’re looking to go the free-route (which is totally fine):

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 Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart incorporate 80/20 dieting with big weekly cheat meals, Hugh Jackman, Tom Hopper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Terry Crews utilize intermittent fasting (something I use daily as well), Ariana Grande, Mustafa Shakir and Madelaine Petsch are vegans, Brandon Routh and Frank Grillo opt for paleo, and tons of others utilize their own variations as well.

It’s all about sustainability.

AND, 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 (Greek Gods, Vikings, Spartans, Hunter Gatherers, Monks, Samurais, Minimalists, SuperHumans) to allow people to choose what is right for YOU!

Ryu Hayabusa Cosplay Information (and Options)

Now it’s time to not transform your body, but rather your attire.

That’s right, it’s the NEW fun part.

As you can tell from the picture above (and throughout the article as well), Ryu Hayabusa cosplay has a few different options.

You can definitely have some fun with this.

Here’s some suggestions, and I tried to diversify it (not Amazon this time due to lack of availability/variation):

• Ryu Hayabusa Costume
• Ryu Hayabusa Sword Prop
• Ryu Hayabusa Boots

And there you have it.

Along with this killer workout I’m going to build for you to turn you into Ryu Hayabusa, these are our favorite options for his outfit.

Don’t forget to tag me in your pics @MikeRomaine on Insta!

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Ryu Hayabusa Workout Routine Information (and Research)

So we have some more fun (although may not as much) in this section.

Here I’ll be giving you a bit of a bio and also utilizing what we’ve discussed in the section above (and some more) to break down what we’ll be looking to achieve with this workout routine I’ll be building for you.

So let’s start at Ninja Gaiden Wiki Fandom with a bit of a biography for Ryu Hayabusa:

Ryu Hayabusa is the protagonist in the Ninja Gaiden series developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo. Ryu is also known as “the Super Ninja” or “the Singular Super Ninja”, “Dragon Ninja”, “the Modern Day Ninja” and “the Ultimate Ninja”….

Here’s a bit more of his appearance information:

Ryu is the epitome of a present day ninja, his Legendary Black Falcon outfit’s sleek design is similar to that of the modern special ops agent, while the tabi boots, ninja head piece, mask, scarf and shin/forearm guards are reminiscent of the ancient ninja warrior.

Physically, Ryu Hayabusa is a young man in his early 20s, standing at 5’10” and weighing in at 172 lbs. He is in peak physical condition with a muscular build. As a ninja, most of his costumes and attire conceal his face, revealing only his eyes, one of his most distinctive features. Ryu’s eyes feature vibrant green coloration with a slight golden hue. This golden hue feature is more prominent accompanied with his wardrobe composed of mostly dark colors, something that points out even more of his peculiar eyes and gives him an intimidating appearance.

Underneath the ninja mask and hood reveals a youthful face, and brown hair almost always held in a ponytail, a completely opposite appearance to what many would expect, given his deadly skills and calculative, savage brutality in battle. (However, the ponytail was altered to a flat top in the OVA).

And the great part about these cosplay guide workouts is that we can build the routine around the character without having to fully adhere to their power.

In this case that means Ryu Hayabusa, who is insanely powerful.

Here’s what his Wiki tells us for his powers and abilities section:

Ryu Hayabusa is stated as being the most powerful ninja in the world, hence his nickname “the Singular Super Ninja”. This is further exemplified by his exploits where he defeated his toughest foes and beings of omnipotent nature.

Ryu’s ongoing rigorous training from childhood have shaped him into a powerhouse warrior. Physically conditioned Ryu’s speed and acrobatic skills are beyond exceptional, and while his strength may not be as immense as those of fiendish bloodlines, it is strong enough to wield hefty weapons and still maintain his agility. His senses are extremely high beyond the potential of a normal human being and predict an approaching attack. Cognitively he is a tactical fighter and highly calculative in battle. His skills in hand to hand combat and weaponry are at the master level, particularly his swordsmanship skill. Due to his level of mastery, Ryu is often seen using his weapons at their peak physical limit, often requiring the services of a legendary blacksmith to upgrade his weapons past these limitations. He also shows multiple chi and elemental abilities like conjuring a giant flaming dragon and using different types of elements with his attacks.

So yes, we’ll be training like a ninja, but we’ll be able to keep this routine at the beginner-intermediate level while doing so.

For the sake of the cosplay that I suggest I will focus in on a couple things:

1. Slim and Shredded
2. Agile and Quick w/ Calisthenics and Full Body Training

That should get you guys right into the character’s physique.

The mentality and personality is going to be all on you!

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Ryu Hayabusa [Cosplay] Workout

Training Volume:

5 days a week

Explanation:

We’re going to be training 5 days a week because 3 days will be built around calisthenics, cardio and a blowout bodyweight circuit, while the other 2 days will have you performing calisthenics and parkour!

Difficulty Level:

Beginner-Intermediate

When we do our celebrity and character workouts we base the difficulty level off of their routines/their powers.  For this one it’s just a judgement call on how I believe we can best get you looking like each character.  For that reason I’m providing a level for each.

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Ryu Hayabusa Cosplay Workout: Sample Workout Schedule

Monday: Calisthenics, Cardio and Circuit Blowout A

Tuesday: Parkour and Calisthenics

Wednesday: Calisthenics, Cardio and Circuit Blowout A

Thursday: Parkour and Calisthenics

Friday:Calisthenics, Cardio and Circuit Blowout A

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

Ryu Hayabusa Workout: Calisthenics, Cardio and Circuit Blowout

The calisthenics and cardio portion of these days will be the same, and then I will give you three different blowout circuits to switch between at the end.

Calisthenics:

Push Ups

4×25

Lunges

4×20 (10 each leg)

Dips

4×15

Pull Ups

4×10

Cardio:

Complete 30 Minutes of Varied Cardio (Choose from the following):

• High Intensity Interval Training
• StairMaster
• Elliptical at High Level
• Bike at High Level
• Row Machine

Circuit Blowout A:

Complete 3 Rounds

25 Plank to Push Ups

20 Clap Push Ups

15 Lying Leg Raises

10 Russian Twists

5 Burpees

Circuit Blowout B:

Complete 3 Rounds

25 Hanging Knee Raise w/ Twist

20 Bicycle Sit Ups

15 Box Jumps

10 Alternating Medicine Ball Push Ups

5 Inch Worms

Circuit Blowout C:

Complete 3 Rounds

25 Sit Ups

20 Wide Push Ups

15 Jump Squats

10 Close Push Ups

5 Double Unders

Ryu Hayabusa Workout: Parkour and Calisthenics

Calisthenics for Parkour days are as follows:

75 Pull Ups

75 Hanging Leg Raises

100 Dips

100 Lunges

100 Sit Ups

150 Push Ups

150 Air Squats

**These can be broken down into any number of sets/reps that are needed to complete the overall count.**

Parkour Training is from our Nightrunner Workout and is as follows (courtesy of Felix from our Academy):

Warm up:

Dynamic stretching

10 minutes of cardio (chose between Option A and B)

Option A: Jogging or running

Option B: Quadrupedal movement such as bear crawl, crab walk, spider-man walk, backward and forward (try to mix them a bit this will help for your mobility)

5-10 Parkour Rolls (both sides)

How you should roll: (example on right shoulder) get down on your left knee, put your left hand on the ground in front of your left knee, beside your right heel, then put your right hand on the left one. DO NOT CROSS YOUR FINGERS. Put your head down and roll on your shoulder, you should roll diagonally from your shoulder to the other side of your waist.

Note: Start by doing them on soft surfaces like grass, when you feel more confident while doing it try to practice them from walking, jogging and running. Then start to practice dive rolls.

5-10 back rolls

Vaults:

Flow out/safety vault: as you come towards the obstacle, place your outside arm on the obstacle, then put your outside leg on the obstacle, pass your inside leg under your outside leg, release your outside arm as you push with your outside foot to pass the obstacle.

Speed vault: very similar to the flow out vault except that your outside foot does not touch the obstacle, instead just kick in the air with it.

Lazy vault: this one is more useful to get over a rail. Come towards the obstacle from a diagonal or parallel direction, put your inside hand on the obstacle, swing your inside leg then your outside leg in the same motion, before placing your outside hand on the obstacle.

Note: the flow out vault as well as the lazy vault are two movements that you can practice without momentum.

Kong vault: press with both of your hands on the obstacle, at the same time, tuck your legs on your chest to pass over the obstacle, don’t forget to raise your hips.

Note: this one is the most known and most used vault in Parkour, however it is a very scary and tricky vault, so here’s a few steps you can do to break it down.

Step 1: practice it on the floor, crouch and dive into a kong vault, this will get used to the movement, you could also practice with your quadrupedal movements as a warm up.

Step 2: plant plyos/monkey plant; put both hands on an obstacle and use your legs to get on it

Step 3: following the plant plyo keep your hand on the obstacle and go down into a squat position.

Bar/Rail moves:

Under bar: as you come towards a bar or rail, jump feet first and place your hands on the bar, swing under the bar and extend your body while arching your back.

Tips: one exercise that you can do to practice it and test yourself is to find a park with bars, like a calisthenic park, put and elastic band between two poles parallel to the pull up bar, grab the bar and jump trying to pass your whole body between the elastic band and the bar, raise the elastic band as you get better.

Wall moves:

Wall run: run towards a wall, when you’re at the right distance (not to close, not to far) make a small jump at the same time plant the ball of your feet on the wall, a bit higher than hips level, push upward with your leg that is on the wall then try to reach with your arms the top of the wall.

Tik Tak: Similar to the wall run, run towards the wall then jump putting your other leg (feet facing upward) then push with the leg that is on the wall, then push away from the wall transferring your momentum wherever direction you need to go.

Arm jump: this one is like a long jump but you use it to grab the edge of a wall, or a bar as you jump.

Note: when performing this jump your legs should land slightly before you grab the bar. as you might hurt your knees on the wall. just don’t over do it so you don’t drop kick the wall.

Tips: this works for precision jump as well as arm jump, when you’re not sure if you can execute the jump as the jump might be high for example, go down and practice it from the same distance, if you can cover the distance, that means you can do it, if you can’t maybe you should wait. of course there’s always the height difference between the two objects that is important.

Balance: to practice your balance, you can practice it pretty much anytime anywhere, for example you can stand on one leg as you wait for the bus then to the other leg, you can also walk on the road lines (just not in the middle of the road please) there’s literally a lot of things you can do to practice your balance.

Now that you know a few movements for parkour try to find  places where you can try them (bench, picnic tables, etc). This really depends on your surroundings, as you get better you will also be able to see more things you can do: this is called The Parkour Vision. For example where others might see a wall, you might see a wall run, etc..

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