The Connor Kenway Workout

Connor/Ratonhnhaké:ton is a pretty good sized dude. It’s been stated and observed multiple times that he’s both bigger and stronger than his compatriots Ezio and Altair. He’s still very fast, and acrobatic, though, which means we’re going to need a pretty well rounded workout to fill him out and still keep him agile.

If we had to compare them to animals, Ezio and Altair are more like wolves, wild dogs, or other canines, focusing on running down their victims and/or traversing large distances. Ratonhnhaké:ton is more like a tiger or a leopard, stalking his prey slowly and lying in wait before using an explosive burst of speed and brutality to finish his opponents.

As always, please remember to Warm Up Properly before any exercise session, and then Cool Down afterwards as well, to help prevent injury and preserve range of motion/flexibility. I would recommend The Big Guy diet for this plan, although if you find yourself putting on too much weight you might want to lower your caloric intake a bit.

Note: This workout is split up into four levels to easily plug into the RPG Fitness leveling system!

Equipment Needed:

Chinup Bar
3 Chairs
Towel
Sturdy Backpack(I use this army surplus bag[referral link]) or Weighted Vest
Weighted Sand Bag(you can learn how I make my sand bags in the Kratos workout)

Schedule:

Day 1: Strength Set A
Day 2: Cardio Set A
Day 3: Rest(or Active Rest)
Day 4: Strength Set B
Day 5: Strength Set A
Day 6: Cardio Set B
Day 7: Rest(or Active Rest)

Strength Workouts

For all pushup variations in this workout, as well as how to work up to doing a full pushup, check out this video.

Strength Set A:

For an added degree of difficulty, and to build hand strength, drape a towel over your pull up bar and hold onto THAT for all of your pull ups, instead of the bar itself.

Level 1(beginner):
3×5–10 Kneeling Pushups
3×5–10 Chair-Assisted Pull Ups(overhand grip)
3×5–10 Seated Bodyweight Rows
3×5–10 Pike Pushups or Leaning Pushups

Level 2(intermediate):
5×5–10 Pushups or Suspended Pushups
5×5–10 Pullups(overhand grip)
5×5–10 Inverted Bodyweight Rows
5×5–10 Pike Pushups or Handstand Pushups

Level 3(advanced):
5×5–10 Suspended Pushups(with 10–40 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×5–10 Pullups(with 10–40 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×5–10 Inverted Rows(with 10–40 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×5–10 Handstand Pushups(with 10–40 lb weighted backpack/vest)

Level 4(assassin):
5×10–25 Suspended Pushups(with 40–100 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×5–10 Muscle-ups(with weighted backpack/vest if necessary)
5×5–10 One-Armed Pullups(with weight if you’re crazy)
5×10–25 Inverted Rows(with 40–100 lb weighted backpack/vest)
5×10–25 Handstand Pushups(with 40–100 lb weighted backpack/vest)

Strength Set B:

Note: On all of these exercises that require a sandbag, I’ve intentionally left a recommended weight out. Every person is different. You should start with a lower weight, and add more as you feel more comfortable with the exercises. You want to be lifting weight equal to about 75–80% of the maximum amount of weight you can lift in one repetition(your one rep max).

Level 1(beginner):
3×5–10 Bodyweight Squats
3×5–10 Straight-leg Deadlifts With Sandbag
3×5–10 Calf Raises
3×10–25 Bicycle Crunches

Level 2(intermediate):
5×5–10 Front Squats with Sandbag
5×5–10 Straight Leg Deadlifts with Sandbag
5×5–10 One-Legged Calf Raises
5×10–25 Bicycle Crunches
5×5–10 Hanging Pike Leg Raises

Level 3(advanced):
5×5–10 Front Squats with Sandbag
5×5–10 Straight Leg Deadlifts with Sandbag
5–10 One-Legged Calf Raises with Sandbag
5×10–25 Bicycle Crunches(holding 10–40 lb sandbag on chest)
5×10–25 Hanging Pike Leg Raises

Level 4(assassin):
5×5–10 One-Legged Squats with Sandbag(you’re going to need to seriously decrease the weight from what you were lifting before since you’re on one leg now. Remember to watch your form!)
5×5–10 Straight-Legged Deadlifts with Sandbag
5×10–25 One-Legged Calf Raises with Sandbag
5×25–50 Bicycle Crunches(holding 10–40 lb sandbag on chest)
5×10–25 Hanging Pike Leg Raises(with 10–40 lbs hooked onto feet)

Cardio Workouts

Cardio Set A:

Level 1(beginner):
30 Minutes Brisk Walking
5×10 Seconds Sprint on Flat Ground

Level 2(intermediate):
30 Minutes Jogging
5×10 Seconds Sprint on Flat Ground

Level 3(advanced):
30 Minutes Jogging, sprinting for twenty seconds at every five minute mark

Level 4(assassin):
30 Minutes Jogging, sprinting for twenty seconds at every five minute mark
Hill Sprints(as many as you can, it depends on the length/incline of the hill)

Cardio Set B:

Level 1(beginner):
5×15 Jumping Jacks
5×1 Burpees(no pushup, no jump at the end)
No rest between sets on these. Do one set of jumping jacks, followed immediately by a burpee, and then right into jumping jacks again)

Level 2(intermediate):
5×20 Jumping Jacks
5×1–2–3–4–5 Burpees(no pushup, no jump at the end)
Same as before, no rest between sets. On every set, do one more burpee than the last set(so first set is one burpee, second set is two, etc.)

Level 3(advanced):
5×25 Jumping Jacks
5×1–2–3–4–5 Burpees(pushup when you go down, perform a tuck jump when you come up)
Same as before, no rest, but this time we’ve also added in a pushup and a tuck jump on every burpee!

Level 4(assassin):
?x25 Jumping Jacks
?x1–2–3–4-? Burpees
Same as before, no upward limit on sets. See how many you can do! For a different variation, pick a high number to start with, and count down the number of burpees each set instead of up!

Active Rest

Up above in the workout schedule you’ll see entries on rest days for “Active Rest.” Basically, once you’ve moved beyond level one in your cardio workouts, feel free to go back to the next lowest level cardio workout of your choice, and do it on your “rest” days. So, if you’re on level two, and you feel like remaining active on your “rest” day, you can perform cardio level one (either set A or B) on that day. This isn’t necessary, but if you feel up for it it can help keep your muscles from stiffening up too much on an off day, and also keep your metabolic rate up!

Whew that’s a serious workout regimen. Please remember to take things slow, and start on level 1, people. If you need an extra day of rest, that’s fine, take it. It’s better to take a day or two off because of fatigue, than to take a month or five off because of injury.

That’s all for today. Tomorrow we move on to The Skills of Connor Kenway. Please don’t forget to like the blog on Facebook, and follow on Twitter and Tumblr. While you’re at it, if you enjoyed this post, please share/retweet it to your friends! We’ll see you on Sunday!. Until then, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome.

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace