Kratos Callisthenics Workout Routine

One of the most physically impressive bodies in recent media belongs to Kratos, the protagonist of the God of War series.

At first glance, the titular God of War is built primarily for functional body strength, particularly in his 2018 redesign. And while his original design from the 2005 game is much leaner, the idea behind his physique remains the same.

The interesting thing about Kratos’ physique is that it is completely within the realm of possibilities to achieve it in real life. Of course, since he has a heroic build, the workout regimen is physically intense and requires a fair bit of dedication. But it can be achieved through callisthenics alone.

Curious to find out how? Then read this guide as we explore Kratos’ physique and how you can use callisthenics to achieve it. Learn all you need to know about replicating his chiselled musculature!

Approaching The Kratos Callisthenics Workout Routine

As mentioned earlier, the idea here is to take your functional strength and endurance to the absolute limit. And for the purposes of simplifying the workout process, we will primarily be discussing Kratos’ 2018 redesign.

Kratos is an extremely physically active character. His default weapon is a large axe that he frequently uses for various purposes, ranging from battling foes to chopping down trees.

If you’ve played the games, you may also have noticed that Kratos travels on foot for most of his screen time and he barely ever stops to rest for even a moment. The Spartan warrior has unmatched endurance to back up his strength, which is quite handy during his travels.

It goes without saying that replicating the strength of the God of War in real life is impossible. Kratos can split a mountain in a single strike, after all. But the character’s feats help us understand how to chalk out our workout routine.

The inherent difficulty of performing this workout routine makes it unsuited for beginners looking for a body similar to that of the God of War. You will be performing advanced callisthenics until the point of failure while on a strict, protein-rich diet, which is physically demanding.

So, if you have very little experience with intense workouts, it would be best to start out slow. Work your way up to the point of performing this routine, and you will have the means to build a chiselled physique on your own.

The Kratos Callisthenics Routine

The Kratos callisthenics routine demands that you perform different sets of exercises six days a week. Each of these sets can be further segregated into different levels based on your progression. 

These sets include four days of callisthenics with a day or two of endurance training. You will want to use progressive overload to the maximum with this regimen, making it so that your body is constantly being physically challenged. Over time, the routine will pay massive dividends, transforming your body type into a heroic one.

Something that is common in all workout sets is warming up with a 400m jog. This can get the blood pumping through your body and prime you for the rigorous training that will follow. 

Now, let’s look at each of the six workout sets in detail.

Day 1. Upper Body Workout

This set can be divided into three stages: initial workout, core workout and fatigue blowout. Each of these stages can be scaled to your strength level, allowing you to progress at your own pace.

For initial work, you will be performing:

• Push-ups: Four sets of 25
• Skull Crushers: Four sets of 20
• Dips: Four sets of 20
• Pull-ups: Four sets of 10

Next comes the core workout, which involves:

• Forearm planks: three sets, each lasting 60 seconds
• V-Ups: Three sets of 30
• Leg raises: Three sets of 25
• L-Sit Hold: Three sets of 15

With fatigue blowout, you will be performing three rounds of push-ups, dips and pike push-ups until failure.

Day 2. Full Body Callisthenics And HIIT

This set of exercises involves compound callisthenics combined with HIIT. The set is quite physically demanding, so be sure to scale your workouts accordingly.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, which involves alternating between high-intensity and low-intensity movements. Doing so will increase your heart rate to about 80% of its maximum heart rate, which can help increase strength and endurance.

For the initial workout, you will perform the following:

• Explosive Push-ups: Five sets of 30
• Jump Squats: Five sets of 20
• Dips: Five sets of 15
• Chin-ups: Five sets of 10

You can use a treadmill for HIIT sets. Simply run on the treadmill for 60 seconds and then walk for 60 seconds. 

Perform the HIIT set for 30 to 60 minutes to see maximum gains. The duration of high and low-intensity movements can be customised to fit your progression level.

Day 3: Long Distance Cardio

Day 3 is all about building endurance through cardio. Simply go on a nice, long run to improve your endurance.

Like the other sets, vary your running distance based on what you can handle at a time. Beginners may run up to three miles, while intermediate and advanced trainees can go up to or beyond five miles.

Day 4: Lower Body Callisthenics

Never skip leg day! You wouldn’t want a disproportionately built body, after all.

Day 4 is structured similarly to day 1, containing the initial workout, core workout and fatigue blowout. For the initial workout, perform the following:

• Air squats: Four sets of 25
• Glute Bridges: Four sets of 20
• Bulgarian Split Squats: Four sets of 20 per leg
• Box Jumps: Four sets of 10
• Alternating Pistol Squats: Four sets of 20

The core workout will include:

• Forearm Planks: Three sets, 60 seconds each
• Sit-Ups: Three sets of 30
• Russian Twists: Three sets of 25
• Hollow Hold: Three sets, 15 seconds each

For fatigue blowout, perform pause squats, wall sits, and lying leg raises until failure.

Day 5 And Day 6

The final two days of the week consist of workouts that you’ve performed on days 2 and 3. Simply repeat what you did on those days, and allocate day 7 for rest. 

After all, a good, fruitful workout gives the trainee room to recover from all the rigorous exercises they perform.

Final Words

Even at a beginner level, the Kratos callisthenics workout is no simple feat and requires at least some prior experience with workouts. But that training has payoffs beyond just musculature.

Strength training aside, the workout puts special emphasis on endurance and cardio training, both of which are essential for that strength to be functional. You will be stronger and capable of performing physically intensive tasks for longer, making it a completely practical workout regimen.

It would be folly not to scale these exercises based on your current strength and endurance. You must take care not to overtrain, or all that hard work will have no payoff. And by doing so, you will soon have a physique invoking the visage of the God of War himself!