Batman Workout Routine: 14 Week Superhero Workout

Workout Description

He’s one of the most iconic figures in superhero/pop culture history.

He’s a badass without “super powers” who uses his wits, financial resources, and (of course) athletic prowess to fight crime as a vigilante.

And, due to the inspiration of his superhero identity, he’s often misunderstood. A characteristic many gym-goers can often relate to.

We’re talking about Batman, of course.

Batman is a superhero character a lot of fitness enthusiast aspire to be like. It’s easy to see why Batman workout is good.

The character has always been portrayed as being fit – Aesthetically pleasing even. From comics to the silver screen, the man behind the suit is always absolutely shredded with well-defined muscles.

And he got there through hard work.

He wasn’t injected with super serum. He’s no god. He’s not a mutant. Planet Earth is his one and only home. He’s rich, but doesn’t get his heroism from fancy jewels or jewelry… well, aside from gadget belts and bracelets.

He’s human. He’s jacked. He’s badass. And because he’s human, Batman’s physique is easily a relatable goal for most people looking to get jacked themselves.

Before we get into some workouts that’ll help you look like you’re capable of fighting crime in the middle of the night, let’s talk about some of the portrayals of Batman in the past (and future).

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Since, the character has been depicted in many comic books, books, tv shows, cartoons, and movies.

We will primarily focus on movies, specifically on the actors who brought the superhero to life on the silver screen.

It all starts with Adam West. Not the most physically imposing Batman, but given the era, he was certainly in fantastic shape. His initial portrayal of Batman will be forever remembered.

In 1989, Adam West passed the torch to Michael Keaton’s portrayal of the character. Keaton’s Batman is argued as one of the best renditions of the superhero. And, given the success of his movies, it’d be hard to argue considering they came at a time long before the popularity of superhero movies.

From there we get Val Kilmer’s Batman and George Clooney’s Batman. Both received some criticism, but both hit the box office during my childhood, so they get a pass via nostalgia.

Next up on the timeline is Christian Bale. Bale’s portrayal also comes with a huge body transformation as he prepared for the role. However, what I remember the most about Bale’s movies are the villains. Between Heath Ledger and Tom Hardy, we get one of the most sadistic and one of the most physically imposing baddies we had seen in a superhero movie at the time.

From Bale, we move onto Ben Affleck. Affleck’s movies came at a rough time during the DC universe which is often overshadowed by the success of Marvel. However, the thing I’ll always remember about Affleck is how he prepared his body for the role.

Affleck really went all in and added a lot of muscle size and density to play Batman. And, to me, that’s pretty admirable.

That leaves us with the Batman we have yet to see, Robert Pattinson. It’s safe to say, we’re all pretty excited to see how that plays out. And we’ll be curious to see if Pattinson goes the route of many Hollywood superhero stars by adapting his training to align with the character he’s about to play.

Now that we’ve discussed all of the actors who have played Batman, let’s get to the main point of this article – teaching you some workout programs that can have you looking like the superhero!

Batman Workout

Just as each actor has brought a different acting style to their depiction of Batman, many have also brought a different physique.

This 14 week Batman workout routine will use 3 phases. Each phase will be inspired by an actor who has starred as Batman.

The first phase is inspired by Ben Affleck. The goal of it will be to help you build strength and size.

From there, we’ll move onto more of a hypertrophy style phase inspired by Christian Bale’s look as Batman.

Lastly, we’ll wrap up by working on definition in a phase inspired by how we imagine Robert Pattinson will train for his upcoming role.

Each phase will be explained more in-depthly further down. That said, please keep in mind that these programs aren’t the actual programs performed by the actor.

And the routines are simply well-rounded templates that do not factor in your individual needs and/or workout/injury history. They may need to be altered to fit your needs.

Phase 1: Build Strength like Batman (Weeks 1-5)

The first 5 weeks of the workout will be focused on building strength and size. The goal here will be to utilize as heavy of a weight as possible while maintaining solid form with every single repetition.

Since the focus will be building strength, rest periods will be fairly lengthy. The recommended rest duration for the heaviest compound movements is 3-5 mins. For all other exercises it is recommended you rest for 2 mins.

This part of the program is necessary to build your foundation for the remainder of the program. Most view strength training as an unnecessary component of building muscle, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Focus on getting stronger during this phase and watch as you increase muscle size quickly.

For the sake of having a theme or goal for the first 5 weeks, imagine utilizing this program to transform your physique similarly to how Ben Affleck transformed his physique to play Batman.

Affleck’s Batman was one of the more muscular portrayals of the character. And he utilized strength training to build that size.

This phase focuses on heavy compound movements. As mentioned, your goal should be to go as heavy as possible on all of your lifts and maximizing the weight used through increased rest periods.

Try to progress by adding weight to the movements each week if you’re capable of doing so.

Any letters used in the workout represents a superset. Perform both exercises one right after the other before taking your rest period.

If you do not have access to a sled, the leg press and hack squat machines are suitable alternatives to the sled based exercises listed.

This phase is simply a template, you’re more than welcome to modify it however you see fit to better reach your goals.