Saitama is a joke. Or at least, he started as one. The protagonist of the massive hit series One Punch Man attained god-like strength through a routine so mundane it baffled every other character in the show. No magic. No radioactive spiders. Just a guy who did some calisthenics in a dusty apartment until his hair fell out.
But then something weird happened in the real world.
People actually started doing it. Thousands of them. You’ve seen the YouTube thumbnails: "I did the One Punch Man workout for 30 days and this happened." Usually, it’s a guy with a slightly more defined six-pack and a very tired expression.
Look, we need to be real about what the one punch man workout actually is and why, honestly, it’s kind of a mess from a kinesiology perspective. It’s a cultural phenomenon that bridges the gap between anime obsession and fitness, but if you jump into it headfirst without understanding how muscles actually grow, you’re more likely to end up with a repetitive strain injury than a superhero physique.
What is the One Punch Man Workout anyway?
The routine is deceptively simple. Saitama claims he became the strongest being in the universe by doing this every single day:
- 100 Push-ups
- 100 Sit-ups
- 100 Squats
- 10km Run (6.2 miles)
And the kicker? No air conditioning in the summer. No heat in the winter. To "strengthen the mind."
It sounds like a lot. To a couch potato, it’s an impossible mountain. To a marathon runner, 10km is a Tuesday. To a powerlifter, 100 air squats is just a warm-up. The problem isn't the volume—it's the frequency. Doing this every. Single. Day. That is where the fiction of the anime clashes violently with the biological reality of human recovery.
The Science of "Every Single Day"
Muscle isn't built while you're working out. It’s built while you’re sleeping. When you perform 100 push-ups, you’re creating microscopic tears in your pectoral and tricep fibers. Your body then rushes to repair those tears, making the fibers slightly thicker and stronger to handle the stress next time.
If you do those push-ups again 24 hours later—and then again 24 hours after that—you’re essentially picking a scab.
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According to a study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, muscle protein synthesis typically peaks around 24 to 48 hours after a workout. If you don't give the muscle that window to breathe, you hit a plateau. Or worse, you enter a state of overtraining where your cortisol levels spike, your testosterone dips, and you start feeling like a zombie. Saitama’s hair loss might be a gag in the show, but in reality, extreme physical stress and hormonal imbalance can actually lead to thinning hair. Life imitating art in the worst way possible.
Why the Sit-ups Are a Bad Idea
Let's talk about the sit-ups.
Honestly, fitness science has largely moved past the classic sit-up. Dr. Stuart McGill, a world-renowned expert in spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, has spent decades explaining why repetitive spinal flexion (the "crunching" motion) is a recipe for disc herniation. Doing 100 sit-ups every day puts a massive amount of compressive load on your lower back.
Most people have terrible form. They pull on their necks. They arch their lower backs. If you’re dead set on the one punch man workout, swap the sit-ups for planks, dead bugs, or hanging leg raises. Your spine will thank you in ten years.
The Missing Link: Pulling Movements
If you only do what Saitama does, you are going to look like a caveman.
Think about the mechanics. Push-ups work your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Squats work your quads and glutes. Running works your cardiovascular system and legs. What’s missing? Your entire back. Your posterior chain.
There are no pulling movements in the Saitama routine. No pull-ups. No rows.
If you train your chest every day and never train your back, your shoulders will eventually start to roll forward. It’s called "internal rotation." It leads to impingement syndromes and makes you look hunched over. It’s the opposite of a superhero posture. Real-world athletes who try this routine almost always have to add pull-ups just to keep their shoulders from falling apart.
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Is the 10km Run Overkill?
Ten kilometers is roughly 6.2 miles. For a beginner, jumping into a daily 10km run is a fast track to shin splints and stress fractures.
Running is high impact. Every step sends a force of about three to four times your body weight through your joints. If you haven't built up the "bone density" and tendon strength for that kind of volume, your knees are going to quit on you long before you reach Saitama’s level of power.
Interestingly, many "One Punch Man" challengers find the run to be the hardest part to maintain. It’s time-consuming. It takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes for the average person. Add that to the calisthenics, and you’re looking at a 90-minute daily commitment. That’s a lot of time for a routine that lacks a balanced stimulus.
The Psychology of the "Hero Journey"
So why do people keep doing it? Because it’s a clear goal.
Modern fitness is confusing. There are a million apps, macro-trackers, and "bio-hacking" podcasts telling you to optimize every second of your life. It’s exhausting. The one punch man workout is the antidote to that complexity. It’s a "set it and forget it" mentality.
There is something deeply satisfying about checking off 100 reps. It’s a mental toughness test. For many, the physical results—which are usually "okay" but not "superheroic"—matter less than the fact that they actually did something hard for 30, 60, or 100 days.
How to Actually Make it Work (The "Sane" Version)
If you really want to try this, don't be a literalist. Use the spirit of the routine, but apply some actual sports science so you don't break yourself.
First, introduce a "Rest Day." Even Saitama probably had days where he just sat around eating hot pot. Aim for a 3-days-on, 1-day-off split. This gives your central nervous system a chance to recalibrate.
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Second, scale the reps. If you can’t do 100 perfect push-ups, do 10 sets of 10. If 10 is too many, do 20 sets of 5. Quality of movement always beats quantity. A "junk rep" with bad form does nothing for your muscle and everything for your injury risk.
Third—and this is the most important part—add some pulling.
- 50 Pull-ups (or 100 rows)
- 100 Push-ups
- 100 Squats
- 100 Hollow body rocks (instead of sit-ups)
- 5km Run (instead of 10km, but run it faster)
This modified version is actually a decent, well-rounded calisthenics program. It hits the "Big Three" of bodyweight fitness: Push, Pull, and Squat.
The Diet Factor
In the anime, Saitama says he eats three meals a day, but a banana in the morning is fine.
In reality? If you are running 10km and doing 300 reps of calisthenics, you are burning a significant amount of calories. If you only eat a banana, you’re going to whither away. You need protein. Aim for about 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight if you want to actually see muscle definition.
Saitama's "no AC" rule is also technically a form of heat acclimation training, which some athletes use to increase plasma volume. But mostly, it’s just a way to get dehydrated. Drink water. Electrolytes are your friend.
Final Insights for the Aspiring Hero
The one punch man workout is a fantastic gateway drug into the world of fitness. It’s got a great "story." But remember that Saitama is a parody of the "shonen" genre—the joke is that his training is actually quite mediocre compared to his power level.
If you want to get strong, you eventually need "progressive overload." Doing 100 push-ups becomes easy after a few months. Once it’s easy, your body stops changing. You have to make it harder—wear a weighted vest, do diamond push-ups, or move to the bench press.
Next Steps for Your Training:
- Assess your baseline: Try to do as many push-ups as you can with perfect form today. If you hit 20, don't try to do 100 tomorrow. Start with 3 sets of 10.
- Swap the sit-ups immediately: Go for 3 sets of 1-minute planks instead. You’ll build a "functional" core that actually protects your back during the squats and runs.
- Buy a pull-up bar: You can get one that fits in a doorway for twenty bucks. It is the single best investment you can make to balance out the Saitama routine.
- Listen to your joints: Muscle soreness is fine. Joint pain (in the elbows, knees, or lower back) is a signal to stop.
Don't train until your hair falls out. Train so you can still move when you're eighty. That's the real hero move.