What would it take to be the Dark Knight? What would your eating and training habits have to look like for your body to stand up to the riggers of jumping off buildings, to be agile, yet strong, fast, and mentally sharp all at the same time?
I have personally been into health and fitness now for over fifteen years, and my ideology has drawn inspiration from Batman and what Bruce Wayne had to become to put on that cape and cowl. I’d like to share with you my personal thoughts on what it would take to be Batman.
Diet
Let’s start with the hardest component, and the most important one. Given how much money Mr. Wayne has and through the services of Alfred and other resources, Bruce really doesn’t have an excuse in this area. Everything would be tailor made for him, however, even with that you would need the willpower to stick with a clean diet for 80-90% of the time. Remember, with diet there are so many debates about what to eat, when, and how, that it can be endless. Given the amount of physical movement needed and the time in which is happens (between midnight and 4am), a good balance between the right carbohydrates, protein, and good fats would be essential.
A split across those three categories daily would be required without skipping meals, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner every day, and with a busy schedule that can get difficult even at the best of times. Some of the following are based off what I consume as part of my regular diet:
Breakfast Options (each of these options would be 1 meal per day):
- 6 Egg Whites / with Two slices of toast
- High protein / low carb greek yogurt with plain oats. Mixed with berries and strawberries
- Salmon, half an avocado with grilled greens and 4 poached eggs
- Protein Pancakes with natural peanut butter X3
Lunch Options
- Lean hamburger meat (no more than two fist fulls as a portion size), grilled with herbs and spices / Brown rice / boiled broccoli
- Tuna in Spring water (2-3 servings), cottage cheese, salad with mixed green vegetables
- Grilled Chicken with sweet potato, broccoli, and beetroot
- low fat mince (beef), grilled with beans. Mixed with broccoli, zucchini, herbs, carrot.
Dinner Options
- Protein Pasta, with home made tomato sauce, herbs and cottage cheese
- Steak, broccoli, with sweet potato
- Homemade Beef meatballs mixed in a stir-fry of green vegetables
- Grilled Salmon steak, brown rice, with salad
- Fish Whiting with lemon, mixed salad with feta, olives and brown rice.
Cheat Meals (once or twice a week)
- Home made pizza (get that stove going, Alfred)
- Pasta
- Home made chips
Fluid Intake
- Water
- Tea (unsweetened)
- The occasional wine (while playing the role of CEO)
With protein, I have always tried to take the approach of consuming 2x in grams per Kg of my body weight (Yes I am an Aussie, sorry I don’t use pounds). If your weight is 100kg, then you should be trying to take in 200 grams of protein a day as part of your diet. Not easy while keeping your carb intake at a balanced level. Now, given the amount of physical activity you would exhaust as the Batman, then you would need to consume your carbs straight after those events. So instead of going to bed at 4:30am after fighting crime for 4 hours and training during the day, you would need to eat after then ensure you have a good night’s sleep. Hard to do when you need to back it up night after night. I average 6-7 hours of sleep a night, to do what Bruce Wayne does your sleeping patterns would need to be around 8-10 hours.
Cheat meals would be a required component of your diet, given how much your body would be going through night after night. The body would need the sugar, and other elements as part of the overall process.
I’ve always said, Hydration is important. I have read so much about water intake and there is no definitive answer to how much your intake should be. It is different for every single person. Again, based on movement and energy that you’ve used, my metric is actually the colour of my urine. The darker it is, the more water you need. Better ensure your Batman Outfit has a handy zipper!!
Training (Based off parts of my own routine)
For the type of work required to be the Dark Knight, one of the priorities is to be able to push and pull your own body weight. There is no point in bench pressing 200 pounds if you can’t do 50 push-ups and 50 pull-ups! Jumping off buildings, crawling and pulling yourself across all sorts of surfaces means you have to pull and push your own body weight and then some. Add your suite, gadgets, outdoor conditions, and in the event you have a side kick; well you may need to help that person out a few times!
Body Weight Training (Executed every day)
- 100 Pull Ups: 10 sets of 10 reps with a 10 second rest
- 50 Pull Ups: 10 sets of 5 reps with 40KG hanging from your waste
- Upside down pull ups (concentrating on your back): 10 sets of 5 reps
- 100 Dips: 10 sets of 10 reps with a 10 second rest
- 50 Dips: 10 sets of 10 reps with 60kg hanging from your waste
- 500 Push-Ups: 5 sets of 100 with a 1 minute rest
- 100 Push-Ups with 20KG plate on your back
A weight training program would consist of two body parts (A small with a large) 4 days a week, with no weights over the weekend for recovery, but ensuring that every two months the program is altered to ensure you body doesn’t get used to the routine.
Each of the days below would be your weights session + the body weight training above.
Monday (Chest and Triceps)
- Dumbbell Chest Press – 4 sets of 12 reps
- Dumbbell Flys – 4 sets of 12 reps
- Clap Push Ups – 3 sets of 20 reps
- 45 Degree Bench Press – 4 sets of 12 reps
- Overhead Tricep Extension – 4 sets of 15 reps
- Tricep Push Downs – 4 sets of 20 reps
- Tricep Kick Backs – 4 sets of 12 reps
Tuesday (Back and Traps)
- Seated Row – 5 sets of 15 reps
- Cable Cross Overs – 5 sets of 15 reps
- Bent Over Row – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Laying Down Overhead Dumbbell Extension – 4 sets of 12 reps
- Barbell Pull Downs (wide grip) – 4 sets of 15 reps
Wednesday (Arms and Shoulders)
- Standing Dumbbell Curls – 4 sets of 15 reps
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 4 sets of 12 reps
- Medicine Ball Slams – 4 sets of 12 slams (15kg ball)
- Kettle Bell Swings – 4 sets of 20 swings (40kg, no rest)
- Barbell Curl 21s – 7 reps low, 7 reps mid level, 7 reps high = 1 set. Execute 4 sets, no rest
Thursday (Cardio only with Body Weight Exercises)
- 7-14km Run (depending on the state of your body), OR
- 30 Sprints, 1 min at 15-19km per hour, 30 sec rest
- 5km Sprint, as hard as possible
- Interval 8km Run
Friday (Legs)
- 45 degree Leg Press – 4 sets of 15 reps
- Seated Leg Extension – 4 sets of 15 reps
- Barbell Squats – 5 sets of 10 reps
- Box Jumps – 10 sets of 20 reps
- Sled Push – 30 meters with minimum of 200kg, up and back = 1 set. Execute 5 sets
Saturday (Cardio only with Body Weight Exercises)
- 7-14k Run (depending on the state of your body), OR
- 30 Sprints, 1 min at 15-19km per hour, 30 sec rest
- 5km Sprint, as hard as possible
- Interval 8km Run
- 5km Swim
Sunday (REST)
So there you have it, it would take a monumental effort to have the body, mind, spirit, and eating habits of the Dark Knight. To make time and eat those meals every day, find the hours to train to the routine I have designed, and then you’re fighting crime at night, time would catch up with you very quickly, and given 3-5 years of that type of intense workload, your body wouldn’t be able to keep it up. Unless you use your imagination and think about what advantages you could buy with Wayne’s billions.
Let us know if you’re into health and fitness. If so, what does your training and diet look like?
