Flip open a comic book, and it’s rife with bodybuilding motivation. After all, when we look in the mirror, the body of a superhero is what we hope to see: a giant torso that tapers down to a narrow waist; abs so deep and defined that you can see them popping through your spandex; a thick chest that can stop bullets; lats wide enough to block out the sun. And if you think that looking like Superman is a stretch, don’t tell that to fitness inspiration Simeon Panda, who is a living embodiment of the classic superhero physique. The British national, who now calls Los Angeles home, is no stranger to taking inspiration from the two-dimensional.
“You probably hear it a lot from people of my generation, but we grew up watching DragonBall-Z,” says the 33-year old. “Goku is a character we all loved. The crazy physique, the shoulders, the waist on some of these superheroes. You think of Goku. You think of Kenshiro from First of the Northstar. I think of Guile from Street Fighter, with those delts and shoulders.”
Panda has always trained as if he lived on Krypton or in Gotham. When teenage Panda first picked up a weight, his only thought was about getting stronger. And just as with Batman, the giant traps, the barn door shoulders, and the shredded abs have all been a product of his quest for strength. Don’t believe it? Check out Simeon Panda’s Instagram (@simeonpanda) and watch him perform ass-to-grass squats with 525 pounds on his back.
“It sounds silly, but it was never about the physique,” he says. “The physique was not part of the plan. I started at 14 or 15, and I loved how it felt. To this day the strength training is what I love the most. Building a certain physique comes with it, and I love that, but it’s the training that actually gets me to go to the gym.”
Super Volume Serum
Whether it’s gamma radiation or the bite of a radioactive spider, all superheroes have that special X-factor that instigated the birth of their powers. Panda’s origin story centers on training volume. If you look at any of his online workouts, they’re filled with exercises done for eight sets, sometimes more. He’ll often slide in a one-rep max or three-rep strength set, but then he’s back to racking up insane rep counts.
“I love volume. If someone hasn’t used high-volume training, I can guarantee they’ll increase their muscle mass from doing it,” he says. “For me, it’s something I’ve always done. It’s contributed to my strength and my size. I get the best of both worlds.”
Panda typically begins a workout with several high-rep sets of a compound exercise. Since he trains a single muscle group every day, he knows he has several days to recover before those same fibers go through his brand of high-rep hell. Even as he transitions into isolation exercises, he still saturates the muscles with set after set. If Panda had a costume, he’d most likely have a pyramid icon on his chest (probably in gold, over black Kevlar). He likes to take three sets to slowly build up to his heaviest weight. He’ll spend three to four sets pushing very heavy loads and then finish with a warm-down set or two. These submaximal sets help him add the thick cross-section of muscle fibers that are a requisite for developing super strength.
Simeon’s Superhero Workout
The superhero body is all about creating that dramatic X-frame: a strong torso that contracts to a narrow waist, then flares out into powerful legs. When it comes to building that body type, everyone knows which muscle group should be your top priority.
“The first thing is the shoulders,” he says. “You have to have big delts. You need arms, too, but it really is the shoulders.”
Panda’s shoulder workout begins with a huge dose of stimuli in the form of German Volume Training (GVT). From there, it systematically hits each head of the deltoids. On the following pages, Panda breaks down his five-move shoulder workout for delts that are just super.
Panda has his own tweak to this classic exercise. Instead of lowering the dumbbells to his sides, he brings the weights behind his back for an extended range of motion. “I feel like I hit the delts better with that motion. It might not be technically correct if someone analyzed it, but that’s how it feels to me,” he says.
2 of 5
Per Bernal
GVT Military Press
10 sets of 10 reps
A classic, albeit painful, technique for accelerated growth, German Volume Training (GVT) consists of 10 sets of 10 reps of a compound exercise. Use approximately 60% of your one-rep max for the exercise, and rest no more than 90 seconds between sets.
Panda uses it somewhat sparingly, once or twice a month. Always perform GVT at the start of the workout, while you’re still fresh.
3 of 5
Per Bernal
Dumbbell Front Raise
2 dropsets of 20, 15, 10, 6 reps
Grab a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral hammer-style grip. Panda prefers to perform this exercise in an alternating fashion, with a fairly brisk tempo. Why dropsets? “I always say, ‘When you finish, finish strong.’ Go for something that will burn you out.”
4 of 5
Per Bernal
Barbell Shrug
3 sets of 12 reps
One of the most prominent features of Panda’s physique are his traps, so he must know something about building them up. He loves a fast tempo with barbell shrugs and is convinced they’re the secret of his growth. “I use heavy weight and rep it out,” he says. “I always go high reps with shrugs, at least 10 or 12 reps.”
5 of 5
Per Bernal
Face-pull
3 sets of 10 reps
Clip a rope attachment to a high pulley. Grasp one end of the rope in each hand with an overhand grip and take a few steps away from the pulley. Stand with your arms extended in front of you and your feet shoulder-width apart. Pull your hands toward your forehead, splitting your hands apart as they come closer to your face. The end of the movement should look like a front double biceps pose.
“You need to hit all the angles of a muscle,” Panda says. “We have the volume with the GVT, then you want to hit each head of the delt. That’s what I owe my physique to: Every part of every muscle gets hit.”
