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Why Batman
You may have noticed that there is a fair amount of Batman content on the Bioneer website and YouTube channel. I have yearly Batman workout routines, I talk about training for skills like Batman, I’ve discussed thinking like Batman, and injury prevention. I’ve even discussed meditating in captivity, like Bane, and boosting mental processing speed like Deathstroke. Then there’s the Nightwing series…
So, why Batman?
It’s not just because he’s awesome.
Believe it or not, Batman wasn’t always one of my favourite heroes. I’m a Marvel guy, and I’d probably say that Iron Man was traditionally my most-read comic hero. Since then, I’ve kind of adopted the Batman thing into my personal branding and gained a new appreciation of the character.
The reason this all started is simple: Batman is the most widely-known cultural touchstone that represents what I’m trying to achieve.
The Bioneer is about functional training. It’s more than that, though. It’s about “human performance” which also applies to cognitive function/mindset/health/optimization… even productivity.
Batman is the most widely-known cultural touchstone that represents what I’m trying to achieve.
But for the moment, to keep it simple, let’s say it’s functional training: training to be stronger, faster, more mobile, and more athletic.
The problem? That isn’t really the dominant goal in fitness.
This is why a lot of people turn their noses up at functional training and ask “what’s the point?”
Functional training exists for athletes. Functional training means “to be more functional.” Therefore, precisely what it looks like, will depend on the function of the individual. Functional training for a javelin thrower looks very different from functional training for a sprinter.
Sprinters do things like bounding and truck pushes and running drills because those are the things that improve their game.
So, what is functional training for a non-athlete?
Realistically, it’s stuff like plank and walking. This is as much strength, mobility, and stability as the majority of us will need to get through our day-to-day.
You can’t just lift the workout of a football player and apply it to ANYONE else, then call it functional. Apart from anything else, most athletic programs neglect anything that isn’t directly applicable to the sport.
Thus, people interested in pursuing fitness as a hobby will usually choose strength training or running. These training modalities will improve some aspects of their general performance. It won’t necessarily translate to their day-to-day lives directly, though they’ll certainly gain some benefits.
This is what “fitness” as a hobby means to most people.
Go up to that functional coach and ask them how they would train Batman.
That’s not what I’m interested in doing, but it’s hard to communicate the difference.
See also: What is Functional Training? Training for Athletes and For Life
So, here’s a simple way to get an answer: go up to that functional coach and ask them how they would train Batman.
To train Batman, they’d have to focus on his speed, endurance, strength, mobility, agility, mental toughness, proprioception, and more. And then we’d want to add specific brain training, skills training…
They’d be aiming to take someone to the very peak of their physical abilities in as many directions at once, with no “framework” offered by sport. This, of course, is challenging. And this is why I use the term “SuperFunctional,” rather than “functional.”
“Train like Batman” therefore becomes a mission statement that is immediately understandable. That anyone can relate to.
And that’s why I’ve grown to find Batman so inspiring. Here’s a guy who can have his mind wiped and then get buried and still win the day because he’s stored a “back up” identity in his own psyche and can slow his heart rate to stop his breathing.
Batman has thought of everything. Trained everything.
The reason I train is so that, if I ever met Batman, we’d have stuff to talk about.
The reason I train is so that, if I ever met Batman, we’d have stuff to talk about.
And now you might be wondering why you would ever want to train like Batman. Why do you need to be better at everything all at once?
You probably aren’t on a mission to clean up Gotham. You probably don’t jump around on roof tops or beat up bad guys.
I have a hundred more answers to this. Because fitness is multi-faceted and so should you be. Because improving yourself creates new possibilities and greater freedom. Because greater performance prepares you for the unexpected.
But ultimately, it comes down to a simple fact: I enjoy it. I love action and I enjoy working out in a way that makes me feel like I’m in a montage. Throwing medicine balls, training my brain in VR, climbing ropes, carrying weights across rough terrain, learning new programming languages… it just beats standing in one place curling weights or doing lots of squats in a bid to add another 5kg and slightly improve my form. It gives me a break from the mundanity of everyday life.
Batman comics are a call to make life more exciting and to push the limits.
For me, anyway.
So yeah, admittedly… it is, at least a little bit, also because Batman is awesome.
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Thank you for explaining why Batman is such a good role model for everyone. I really like how you include mental training in your Batman workouts.
In the end your fitness journey is your own and you can choose what you want to do, that being said, why would you settle to be good on one thing and useless in another, why not try to be the best you can be in everything and anyhing. That’s why I didn’t like football I thought it wasn’t complete because you didn’t use your arms. PS Adam, please check your email for a mail of mine, f course if you want and have time
Why Batman? Well, obviously. Because it’s Batman.
Training with VR? What and how specifically?
Check might post on “REAKT: Performance Trainer.” Hit the “Cognitive Training” tab and it should be on the first or second page, still 🙂
Hey men, I´m from Brazil. From a place near Amazônia. At this moment i´m near to finish my biology college. All your´s contents are exactly what I was searching in years. Always move forward my friend.
Functional training is general (an under-rated word). Generalists outlast specialists.