Afro Samurai Workout: Train like A Ripped Swordsman!

Last updated on December 6th, 2022 at 08:13 am

You guys have been asking for Afro to join our Anime Inspired Workouts for a while and we finally have enough requests to prioritize him!

And some of you guys wanted him added to our calisthenics workouts – but we’ll actually be weight training for this one.

While I will agree that his lean and shredded physique would work well with some bodyweight training, his power level and abilities are better achieved with weight training added in to some extent.

We’ve seen a lot of swordsman to date, so you’ll have to trust me on this one.

Afro Samurai is going to be a great addition to the growing number of them, and I already know exactly how I want to build this one out to do his character justice.

Afro Samurai Stats:

Real Name: Afro

Height: 5’11

Weight: N/A

Anime: Afro Samurai

Powers: No

Afro is actually fairly tall, but would be considered under average height if compared to other male celebrities and superheroes.

That said, he falls in an above average range among anime characters we’ve seen.

Wolverine was 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.

Want The Absolute Best Anime Calisthenics Workouts Booklet?
Grab you Anime Calisthenics Workouts Booklet and Unleash Your Inner Superhuman!

Afro Samurai Diet and Nutrition

**Keep in mind: this section will be nearly identical for each hero.**

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 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!

Curious where over a hundred celebs fall in their dietary choices ranging from High Protein and Keto to Vegetarian, Vegan and Intermittent Fasting? Want exclusive celeb meal plans? Check this out.

Need Help Choosing The Best Anime Inspired Workout?
Take The Anime Workout Placement Quiz Now!

Afro Samurai Routine Research

We’ve made it to “the fun part”.

And, if you don’t know by now, I say that every single time we get to the workout routine research section for character workouts.

To learn more about Afro I’ll be pulling right from his Wiki Fandom page starting with his bio section here:

Afro, or better known as Afro Samurai is the main protagonist of the Afro Samurai series.

Afro is an incredibly talented swordsman whose father was decapitated in front of his own eyes as a child. That traumatic experience caused an innocent little boy to have a mind flustered with revenge and, with that, Afro grew into a cold-blooded killer, willing to kill anyone in his pursuit of the number one.

As the number two, Afro has killed many in defense and revenge for the ultimate goal of avenging his father.

When we move into his abilities we begin to get a better perspective of just what we’re working with here.

To start us off I’ll be pulling information about his swordsmanship and weapons before moving into his actual physical abilities.

Here’s how they break that down for us:

Master Swordsman: Afro is a Highly skilled swordsman able to deflect crossbow bolts and shatter bullets as well as perform lethal sword attacks. Afro can use his subconscious mind to create completely new combat techniques in the middle of battle as taught by his Sword Master. He was also able to effectively fight during an aerial battle with the Afro Droid.

Weapons: Afro’s only weapon is his sword, previously wielded by his father, Rokutaro. It’s a long bladed sword with a square gray guard, and a red colored hilt and sheath. It also has a string with a small cowrie shell at the end of it on the bottom of the sword.

We’ll obviously be factoring this in and working around his body control and agility, but he also has a bunch of other physical abilities we need to consider as well.

His Wiki page tells us all about them here:

Enhanced Durability: Afro can also survived a dangerous events he also took a few punches from his father(clone) in the Resurrection before coming back to life and defeating him at the end.

Enhanced Strength: He is fairly strong able to cleanly slice through thugs and warriors quickly and effortlessly or pierce a person’s throat with his sword sheath. He is also able to jump quite high and his speed and agility are his only skills that match his strength. He show enough strength to send a guy twice his size flying into a wall with a single punch he strong enough to cut hills in two .

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Afro normally fights with his sword in one hand but when facing stronger opponents or higher numbers he will use two hands for a stronger attack.

Enhanced Speed/Agility: Afro’s speed and agility are such that he can quickly slice a RPG Missile in two and shatter a bullet into molten shards. Afro is also fast enough to easily avoid the sword attacks of Jinno/Kuma and the Afro Droid and can dodge Justice’s bullets, too counter and deflect a volley of crossbow bolts and is agile enough to perform a jumping front flip over the Afro Droid in their first Fight.

We see the agility there again, but we also now see how strong Afro is as well.

Because of this enhanced strength we’re going to be using weight training for this, as well as his lean and toned muscles and speed.

The goals for our Afro Inspired Workout are:

• Afro’s Lean and Toned Aesthetic
• Afro’s Enhanced Strength and Speed
• Afro’s Body Control and Swordsmanship

This one will have some aspects of a hybrid training system, but mainly be built around a full body training split, which will really allow us to strengthen up our muscles while toning and staying lean.

It won’t be too hard to scale down and will be more or less beginner friendly minus the amount of volume that might take some getting used to, but you’re more than welcome to start with our Beginner Behemoth Workout if you’d like to as well.

Ready to Transform?!
Check out all The SHJ Programs and start unleashing your inner SuperHuman.

Afro Samurai Workout Routine

Training Volume:

3-5 days per week

Explanation:

For this one we’re going with one of my favorite full body splits but I’m mixing in some extra calisthenics to make it a little more hybrid, giving you guys a day devoted to Swordsman Endurance Work and also a final day devoted to a Rokutaro Circuit Test that you can do weekly, biweekly or even monthly.

Want To Upgrade This Workout?

The Superhero Academy now comes with an Upgrade Your Workout Tool that allows Academy members to turn any SHJ workout into a 4-8 week fully planned regime detailing exact weights to lift and including reverse & traditional pyramid training, straight sets, super sets, progressive overload and more.

Afro Samurai Workout Routine: Sample Workout Schedule

Monday: Samurai Full Body A

Tuesday: Rokutaro Circuit Test

Wednesday: Samurai Full Body A

Thursday: Swordsman Endurance Work

Friday: Samurai Full Body A

Saturday: Optional Bonus Training Day

Sunday: Rest Day

Afro Samurai Workout: Samurai Full Body A

Warm Up:

800M Jog

Workout:

Superset One:

A. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

3×10

B. Dumbbell Skull Crushers

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Leg Press

3×10

B. Calf Raises on Leg Press

3×10

Superset Three:

A. Cable Rows

3×10

B. Chin Ups

3×10

Superset Four:

A. Arnold Press

3×10

B. Kettlebell Swings

3×10

Afro Samurai Workout: Rokutaro Circuit Test

In a perfect world our Academy members or 90 Day System members will use this day to work in our Benchmark Workouts to continue testing and improving scores and tracking them against other members; especially our SHJ Core Benchmarks (although our Hero Benchmarks are just as awesome).

If you are not an Academy member or you don’t have access to a 90 Day System, you can also sub in different circuits here from some of the HIIT resources I provide.

(Another note: You should continue coming back and re-trying to workout every so often to see how much you can improve your score!)

Rokutaro Circuit Test: Complete 1 Round

100 Jump Rope Skips

90 Air Squats

80 Second Plank Hold

70 Mountain Climbers

60 Sit Ups with Twist

50 Push Ups

40 Box Jumps

30 Pull Ups

20 Burpees

10 Wall Climbs

Afro Samurai Workout: Samurai Full Body B

Warm Up:

800M Jog

Workout:

Superset One:

A. Chest Flyes

3×10

B. Cable Pushdowns

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Goblet Squats

3×10

B. Glute Bridges

3×10

Superset Three:

A. Wide Grip Pulldowns

3×10

B. Wide to Close Push Ups

3×20

Superset Four:

A. Standing Dumbbell Front Raises

3×10

B. Hanging Leg Raises

3×20

Afro Samurai Workout: Swordsman Endurance Training

For your endurance, HIIT or MMA/Parkour days you have quite a few options.
You can utilize enforced endurance training that I will program for you based on your fitness level like we do with other workouts here at SHJ…OR you can do 45-60+ minutes of varied cardio (bike, treadmill, elliptical, stairs, row, swim, etc.)…OR you can even use the HIIT resources I’ll provide.

I’ll break it down in that order:

Option One – Run Based on Overall Fitness Level:

Beginner: 1-3 Miles

Intermediate: 3-5 Miles

Advanced: 5+ Miles

Endurance Work Resources:

• Constance Wu Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Ewan McGregor Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Kid Flash Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Grant Gustin Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• How To Continue Training After Your First 5K (Workout Included)

Option Two – Varied Cardio for 45-60 Minutes:

Split your cardio up however you’d like but complete 45-60+ minutes using:

• Treadmill Walk/Run
• Rower Machine
• StairMaster
• Elliptical
• Swim
• Bike

Option Three – Complete HIIT Training Using SHJ Resources:

• The Best HIIT Workouts
• Jump Rope Workout Database
• Academy Members: Insert a Benchmark Hero Workout (Circuit) or SHJ Core Circuit Test

Afro Samurai Workout: Samurai Full Body C

Warm Up:

800M Jog

Workout:

Superset One:

A. Chest Dips

3×15

B. Seated Dumbbell Overhead Extension

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Hamstring Curls

3×10

B. Quad Extensions

3×10

Superset Three:

A. Deadlifts

3×10

B. Hammer Curls

3×10 each arm

Superset Four:

A. Upright Rows

3×10

B. Sit Ups

3×20

Afro Samurai Workout: Bonus Training Resources

Parkour Training Resources:

• The Nightrunner Parkour Workout Routine
• The Assassin’s Creed Parkour Workout Routine
• The Robbie Amell Parkour Workout Routine

Main MMA Training Resources

• Anna Diop Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Ryan Potter Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Frank Grillo Boxing Workout

Other MMA Training Resources:

• Deathstroke Workout Routine
• Daredevil Workout Routine
• Moon Knight Workout Routine
• Sagat Workout Routine

Looking to step it up a notch and unleash your inner Superhuman?
Join The Ultimate Fitness X Fandom Membership.