Yes, the article title sounds like clickbait, but whatever you’re about to read did happen.
One-Punch Man‘s Saitama follows a simple workout routine: “100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 km run every day.”
After gaining weight over Chinese New Year, one Singaporean man decided to adopt Saitama’s workout routine for 30 days to see what would happen. Sean Seah posted publicly on Facebook on February 10 that he would be attempting the One-Punch Man challenge.
Seah sorted the challenge into “levels” that would best suit an individual’s fitness level. Level 1 would involve 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats, and 1 km run; level 2 would involve 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 20 squats, and a 2 km run, and so on. Seah started at level 5 and gradually increased the levels as the days went on. By day 23, he had reached level 10, Saitama’s level.
On March 10, Seah posted another Facebook video showing the results of the challenge. He had lost 5kg (11lbs) and had noticeably gained muscle. This video went viral, accruing 1.6 million views over three weeks.
It is notable that Seah claims not to have significantly changed his diet while undertaking the challenge, only cutting down on fried and fatty foods because he noticed it made his workouts harder. He also said that he will not be doing the workout every day from now on, and will instead do it three or four times a week. He will also go to the gym to build up his resistance.
The One-Punch Man challenge has previously been attempted by other online personalities. Fitness YouTuber RezFitness said it was not an easy way of getting fit, claiming, “If you run 10 kilometers every day, I can just imagine what kind of tension it would put on your knees. The 100 push-ups and squats, that’s nothing, but the 10 kilometers… In other words, it’s not a joke.”
For his part, Seah started a “One-Punch Man Workout” Facebook group to encourage others to participate in the challenge. He has also continued to post updates about his daily exercise routine on his Facebook account. Will you aspire to be like Saitama?