In the world of Assassin’s Creed our protagonists are required excel no matter what situation they find themselves in. It could be a difficult assassination contract, climbing to death-defying heights to perform a leap of faith; daring chases and escapes via foot on rooftops and through busy streets or tackling a Borgia messenger. Whatever the situation – our heroes are required to deliver.
>>> Assassin’s Creed Workout: Reach New Heights
>>> Assassin’s Creed Workout: Cardio & Explosiveness
>>> Assassin’s Creed Workout: Responsibility
Check out the full Live By the Creed series.
So far in this series we have looked at developing strength and fitness for climbing as well as how to attain the Cardiovascular system of a master assassin, now we are going to hit the gym and the weights to look at a Strength-Endurance session for the entire body that can be applied practically in everyday life, especially if you are going to Live by the Creed.
Live By the Creed: Full body Strength-Endurance Resistance Workout [Day 3]
Everything we have done so far has a practical application or use to benefit our Assassin’s and the rigorous demands of their path in life, this session is no different.
This weights session is designed to support the muscles being used, which is basically all of them – and more importantly, using them in a way that involves them working as a team to promote function over fashion.
As this is the case we are going to be using compound lifts that require harmony in the body and using multiple muscle groups. The effect will be intense and a hard workout from head to toe to promote lean muscle as well as a hefty calorie burn as a bi-product – which is exactly what we want if we are stay on the right side of an athletic frame that will still perform during climbing or when other feats of agility are required.
The Rep Scheme and Tempo
For each exercise we will be performing 10 reps, for 3 sets with 1 minute rest between sets. This rep and set range is regarded to be in the “Strength-Endurance” range that is found between Endurance and Hypertrophy rep ranges and set schemes. This method is often regarded as a halfway house on the way to Hypertrophy, but as we don’t need to bulk up (due to how it will practically affect our Assassin skills) we will be staying in this set and rep range.
As for tempo, we want a 1 second explosive movement on the concentric part of our lifts followed by a 3 second controlled Eccentric part of the lift. This is to optimize the specific muscle fibers needed for explosive and powerful movements as well as making sure our muscle fibers required for endurance and continuous, effective isotonic movements are hit hard too in a way that will stimulate them.
Make sure you select a weight that allows you to lift for 10 reps on each set with failure occurring around the last rep of the last set. Once you are hitting that last rep of the last set easily it is time to move your weight up. This does not apply with the featured bodyweight exercises in this section, to continue advancing we suggest you add more reps – although as an alternative you could start holding a dumbbell between your feet or wearing a weighted vest or backpack for Pull ups or dips.
The Brace
You will not see any sit ups or exercises that will target your abs alone in this workout. To encourage you to use your abdominal muscles in their intended role of stabilizing you and fixating your spine, you will need to activate your core for each and every exercise. This does not mean sucking your stomach in or pushing it out but bracing yourself as if you were about to get punched in the stomach or like you would if you were trying to impress someone with how solid your abs are. If you do this for every rep of every exercise you will get a great core workout as well as a practical one. Start making this a habit.
The Exercises
Deadlift
The king of lifts, requiring you to recruit more muscles in your body than any other lift. Once of the few times we are going to hit the bar for an exercise. In this case, we want to go big or go home so bar trumps dumbbells this time. This will give you the mother of all posterior chains. Essential.
Dumbbell Chest Press
Everyone loves to work their chest. Rather than use the bar we are using 2 dumbbells. The reason? Function. Using two weights instead of one will require you to use less weight, concentrate on your form more and also benefit you by giving a fuller range of movement. Being able to push weight away from you has many practical applications.
Single Arm Bent Over Row
Again we are going for dumbbells here instead of the bar, for the same reasons as with the Chest press but also to try to iron out any imbalances that have one arm stronger than the other may provide. Also, you never know when you might need to lift someone one-handed – which could crop up in a climbing situation.
Back Squat
Get in the rack! Strong legs, core and glutes will give you stability and power from the ground up. Like the Deadlift, all your big muscles are getting worked – meaning you are burning through calories like no tomorrow.
Standing Dumbbell Push Press
The stress your shoulder joints are put under during climbing, fighting or carrying heavy loads is at times monumental. To help safeguard this joints we want capable deltoids, get these with this Shoulder press with dumbbells – staying clear of the bar to allow safer range of movement. It is recommended you always do shoulder presses standing up to help you build good posture and a solid core too.
Hammer Grip Pull up
Time to use your bodyweight now, placing more emphasis on the bicep using the hammer grip instead of chin up or pull up as well as hitting the back and lats. This will help you build on what was tackled in Day 1. If you can’t do 10 reps, do as many as you can and apply the Negative Rep method explained in The Eagle Circuit article.
Bar Dips
To promote muscular balance we need to hit the triceps again, nothing says strong triceps like the ability to dip. The same rule applies for this as the hammer grip pull ups if you can’t do 10, alternatively you can do bench triceps dips here if you prefer.
Dumbbell Wood Chops
Everyone has done a few medicine ball wood chops in their time, but in the interest of practicality we are going to use a single dumbbell here in order to simulate holding a sword, one of the main weapons used by an assassin. Hold the dumbbell in a sword grip and complete 10 reps each side. Remember the power and momentum should come from your hips and core – NOT your arms.
Once you have performed all the required reps and sets of the above exercises we have one hell of a finisher for you – and that is The Farmers Walk. Remember how we have stressed the importance of a strong grip for climbing? To finish off your workout you are going to grab the two heaviest dumbbells you can carry and walk around the gym for a minute without dropping them. Take a minute break between attempts and do 3 farmers walks in total – do the last one to failure. This will help build your grip and strong forearms; if you do it barefooted it will build the strength of your feet too.
Keep a Steady Pace
If you have been following the program as it is laid out day by day then you will have just completed your 3rd day in a row of intense Assassin fitness training. As this is the case, it would be wise to take a rest day now and let your body recover well before hitting the last two days of the week’s training sessions. Remember, your body gets stronger during the rest periods between workouts as your body repairs itself and adjusts to the stimulus being imposed upon it. So take a day off of training, take a little active recovery such as a walk and try to fit in some flexibility work on all your days off either with static stretching, foam roller work or even some yoga. All of this will help keep your body balanced, strong and lessen the chances of you getting injured.