29/5/2016 The Assassin's Creed Workout Routine | Muscle & Fitness

WORKOUT ROUTINES

KILLER BODY: THE ASSASSIN'S CREED WORKOUT

We talked to the video game creators at Ubisoft about the training it takes to join the Brotherhood, and crafted
this workout routine around it.

DURATION EXERCISES EQUIPMENT

6 DAYS 17
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Assassin's Creed Games Intense Workout Routines
Assassin's Creed is an insanely popular video game series, due mostly to its reputation for breaking new
ground on combat mechanics and movement through an open world. For the launch of Assassin's Creed
Unity, M&F traveled to the Ubisoft offices in Montreal for an in-depth look at the character creation,
world-building and motion-capture processes that bring together the player experience. We learned what
type of physicality the creative team pinpointed to build the perfect Assassin, from the natural and
trained abilities of the character, to balancing the look of the player, and even recruiting the right athletes
and actors to capture the motion that translates to the screen. From there, we built a tailored workout
that, in an alternate universe of pixels and spring-loaded wrist knives, could be used to train an ideal
member of the Brotherhood. Rooted in parkour training and climbing strength, this six-day routine is built
as a love letter to the Assassin's Creed series, but also helps fuel that secret desire to don the cowl.

BUILDING AN ASSASSIN

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First we spoke to the game's art director, Mohamed Gambouz, who leads the team that not only defines
the vision of the game, but also people who inhabit its world. Gambouz has worked on previous AC
games in addition to games in the Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia and Rayman series.

"The physicality is key to our main character, and he’s key to the gameplay," Gambouz says. "He needs
to be athletic, he needs to look athletic. Any costume we give him needs to showcase that athletic
aspect, and fits better with what people expect from a guy who does free running and moves on the
architecture on the environments. From there we add what’s iconic about an Assassin: the hood, the red
belt, the white costume; so it’s a combination between different layers that helps us to convey all these
aspects of the character."

As for that physicality, they look to the real world for inspiration.

"We take a lot of references from parkour athletes," Gambouz explains. "It makes [the characters] more
believable and we try to follow that same kind of silhouette and build for the models."

Assassins don’t skip leg day. They need upper body

strength, but the biggest thing—because they’re always
jumping, they need the grip and the legs.

REAL-WORLD INSPIRATION
From the art process, the animation team takes over and builds the movements, dimensions and physics
of the character. The standard Assassin stands at about 5'11" weighing in at an agile but strong 175
pounds. To capture the movements, the animation team hires motion capture stunt actors that perform
the moves you see in the game.

Mike Mennillo is the animation director for AC Unity, who underscores the importance of parkour training.

"In the beginning of the series, the parkour was very basic and over the years we've tried to increase
what we can do without jumping the shark. We don’t want him to do a triple axle, flip, then land on his
toes. We don’t want to do that. We still want to keep it realistic."

As for the strength of the character, one question was what an Assassin would target in a modern world.

"Probably upper-body strength, because he can leap nine meters in front of him and 12 meters down,
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and catch onto a rock with one hand and not break his entire body," Mennillo says.

And of course, legs.

"Assassins don’t skip leg day," Mennillo jokes. "They do a lot of leg training; we have a lot of stuff with
the whole wall climbing system, the whole leaping and grabbing objects to swing. It’s very intensive so
they need upper body strength, but the biggest thing—because they’re always jumping, they need the
grip and the legs.

With that in mind, this workout is custom-tailored to any aspiring Assassin. Try it for a week and see if
you're ready to join the Brotherhood.

WARMUP TIPS
Day 1: 6 minutes of quadrupedal movement, such as bearcrawling.
As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 10 minutes.

Day 2: 6 minutes of jumping jacks (3 min.) and high knees running (3 min.) Perform circuit-style, moving
from exercise to exercise without rest. Rest 1-2 minutes between circuits.

Day 3: Between exercises, perform 12 strict pull-ups. If you can do more than 12, use a weight vest to
increase resistance.

Day 4: 6 minutes of split jumping jacks (2 min.), hip circles (2 min.) and shoulder circles (2 min.).
Complete all reps in this order

Day 5: 8 minutes of jogging, working on braided steps and backward running. Perform circuit-style, four
times through, in as little time as possible.

Day 6: Between exercises, perform 12 dips. If you can do more than 12, use a weight vest to increase
resistance.

DAY 1
Recruitment

EXERCISE 1 4
SETS

GENERAL PUSHUP
10
You'll need: No Equipment REPS

How to
90 sec
PLAY REST

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EXERCISE 2 4
SETS

BROAD JUMP
6
REPS

90 sec
REST

EXERCISE 3 4
SETS

TOES-TO-BAR
8
REPS

90 sec
REST

DAY 2
Climbing High

EXERCISE 1 4
SETS

DUMBBELL STEP-UP
10 each
You'll need: Bench, Dumbbells, Box REPS

How to
90 sec
PLAY REST

EXERCISE 2 4
SETS

BODYWEIGHT DIP
8
You'll need: Dip Station REPS

How to
90 sec
PLAY REST

EXERCISE 3 4
SETS

GENERAL PULLUP
6
You'll need: Pullup Bar REPS

How to
--
PLAY REST

DAY 3
Powering Up

EXERCISE 1 5
SETS

BACK SQUAT
5
You'll need: Barbell, Squat Rack REPS

How to
90 sec
PLAY REST

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EXERCISE 2 5
SETS

OVERHEAD BARBELL PRESS

5
You'll need: Barbell REPS

How to
90 sec
PLAY REST

DAY 4
Falling with Style

EXERCISE 1 --
SETS

GENERAL PUSHUP
30
You'll need: No Equipment REPS

How to
--
PLAY REST

EXERCISE 2 1
SETS

BODYWEIGHT JUMP SQUAT

40
You'll need: No Equipment REPS

How to
3 min
PLAY REST

EXERCISE 3 1
SETS

INVERTED ROW
60
You'll need: Barbell, Squat Rack REPS

How to
3 min
PLAY REST

DAY 5
Escape Plan

EXERCISE 1 3
SETS

SPRINT
25 meters
REPS

--
REST

EXERCISE 2 3
SETS

COMMANDO CRAWL
10 meters
REPS

--
REST

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EXERCISE 3 3
SETS

HIGH BOX JUMP

10
You'll need: Box REPS

How to
90 sec
PLAY REST

EXERCISE 4 3
SETS

BURPEE
6
How to REPS

90 sec
REST

DAY 6
Synchronization

EXERCISE 1 5
SETS

BARBELL DEADLIFT
5
You'll need: Barbell REPS

How to
60 sec
PLAY REST

EXERCISE 2 5
SETS

DUMBBELL LUNGE
5 each
You'll need: Dumbbells REPS

How to
60 sec
PLAY REST

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