April is “The Punisher” month here at Legion Fitness. While Gwen continues to punish herself with 8 weeks of the “Insanity” Workout, I have taken up the Frank Castle challenge. Some of you who follow me on Facebook have no doubt seen my links to the MensHealth Punisher Workout used by Tom Jane to prepare for the role of Frank Castle aka, The Punisher. I am a big fan of MensHealth’s celebrity workouts even though I have no use for the magazine. Many of these workouts have been designed by professional Hollywood trainers to whip their clients into shape for filming and movies. While you may not have the luxury of 5 hours a day to train and a personal instructor to follow you around it doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from the same hardcore fitness routines these stars use.
Instead of going into workout itself I thought I’d take some time to address another important issue of fitness that often gets overlooked in articles; eating. I will post a link to the actual workout at the end of this article. There is no real eating plan included in the workout as it appears on MensHealth so I’ll share mine with you as an example. Those of you with Paleo, Vegan, zero-this and that, and other diets may need to make substitutions to achieve the protein amounts I list below and carb requirements. Also I should also tell you that this is not a workout designed to lose weight. In fact you may gain some by following it in the form of increased lean muscle tissue. Those seeking to cut fat may be better off following a more interval, lighter weight themed circuit style routine.
First off I do this workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I do it this way to force my body to burn body fat for fuel over carbs, because I use pre-workout supplements that need to be taken on an empty stomach, and because working out with this intensity level can indeed make you nauseous. Immediately after I complete the workout I drink a shake of two scoops of Whey protein isolate and water along with eating a banana. About 45 minutes after this I make breakfast. My usual breakfast is a two egg omelet, a piece of link chicken sausage or two slices of bacon along with whole wheat toast.
This combination including the protein shake gets me about 75-100 grams of protein. I eat the banana and toast for carbs. Those of you who are new to biology let me share a secret with you. Carbs are absolutely essential to a healthy body. Your muscles do not burn actual fat so to speak but break down fatty acids to release carbs for energy. This process itself actually requires more carbs just to perform. Everything your body does it burns carbs for energy in the form of glucose. When you cut out carbs your body will burn fat for a short time but quickly turns on itself and begins consuming muscle tissue for energy. This is not good if you want to add muscle.
About two hours after my morning workout I go for a run. After the run I will eat again this small meal will be high in simple sugars and complex carbs to replace those I torched running. This also insures that my body has a stable supply of incoming calories so there’s no need for it to hold onto some and store them as fat. About two hours after this meal I’ll eat lunch. This meal will have a lot of fiber with some protein. Mostly this meal is just meant to hold me over and get me through my evening workout. All total I’ll eat around 5-6 small meals throughout the day, being sure to consume a ratio of protein/carbs/fat of 2:3:1.
Before my afternoon or evening workout I will drink another shot of my pre-workout beverage about 30 minutes before I start. This shot contains caffeine, amino acids, and simple sugars. It also contains a proprietary blend of Nitric Oxide promoters that help increase blood flow throughout your body. After this workout I will drink another protein shake with one scoop of Whey Isolate and start preparing dinner. Most nights I have some form of meat; usually chicken or fish in a serving size around six ounces or the size of a closed fist. I will also include green vegetables, wild rice, and maybe even a whole wheat roll. My protein goal for the day is around 200grams. I use this 4 days out of the week when I am working out and drop it by anywhere from 20-30 grams on my rest days of Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.
This is a very generalized rundown of my typical eating plan. You may have noticed I eat more then it seems I should especially carbs. However I work out twice a day for an hour each time and also include a run. At this level of exertion I must eat a set amount of calories a day to add muscle. Those seeking to add a lot of muscle should cut out the runs to only those days they are not using weights and even then keep the distances below 2 miles. It is very hard to cut fat and add muscle at the same time without consuming a diet high in calories from protein and carbohydrates. As I stated before the Punisher workout is intended for those seeking to add size to their muscles, it can be easily modified thought to shift the focus in other directions just by altering the number of reps per set and changing the weights from heavy to lighter or from 85% of your one rep max to say 50-60%.
I have decided to simply include the link to this workout instead of breaking it down piece by piece in this article. Follow the link to MensHealth.com and you will find a clear explanation of the routine, training days, and movements. As always feel free to change it around to suit your circumstance, abilities, and equipment available to you. http://www.menshealth.com/celebrity-fitness/tom-jane-workout