\u201cI don\u2019t train for just one moment,\u201d explains Castagnoli. Indeed, as a pro wrestler, he doesn\u2019t have an off-season, and is placed in front of television camera\u2019s all year round. His constantly ripped physique takes serious commitment, but the elite superstar feels that his dedication might inspire others too. \u201cIf someone see\u2019s me on television and I\u2019m out of shape, and they say \u2018look at Claudio, he has let himself go,\u2019 then that might let them down, and they might lose their motivation too,\u201d he explains. \u201cA lot of athletes don\u2019t want the responsibility of having fans that look up to them, but I take it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the ways that Claudio Castagnoli takes his craft seriously is through his gym routines. Having travelled to London, England, to promote AEW\u2019s \u201cAll In\u201d 2024, at Wembley Stadium, the \u201cKing of Swing\u201d headed straight into a long day of media duties, telling reporters of his excitement to return to Wember after \u201cAll In\u201d 2023 had broken records and sold upwards of 80,000 tickets. Then, instead of calling it a day and unwinding in his hotel, Castagnoli jumped at the chance to get in the gym and get his sweat on with M&F. It\u2019s par for the course when you are a travelling athlete. You get your workouts in wherever you can<\/a>.<\/p>\n Claudio Castagnoli shares that he gets his workout routines from Deadboys Fitness<\/a>, a functional fitness program created by Colby \u201cSeth Rollins\u201d Lopez and Josh Gallegos<\/a>. When he\u2019s on the road, Castagnoli can fire-up his app and get going with the workout of the day. No matter how crazy his schedule is, Castagnoli trains around four days each week. \u201cIt\u2019s lower body, lower body, upper body, upper body,\u201d says the grappler while lacing up his Reebok Nano X2\u2019s<\/a>, explaining that he prefers to do his four days of working out all-together, followed by three days for recovery where possible. This session happened to be lower body, so here is the workout, followed by a breakdown of this epic routine.<\/p>\n Another approach to the gym that keeps his sessions efficient is Castagnoli\u2019s willingness to swap and change his exercises if a machine or rack is unavailable. \u201cJust keep it moving,\u201d says the master of the Skyward-Uppercut. \u201cDon\u2019t waste time waiting for a machine<\/a> when you could be doing something else.\u201d As a perfect example, we found that the squat racks were too busy on this occasion, so the former two-time Ring of Honor world champion found Bulgarian lifting bag instead, and we swapped squats for Bulgarian bag weighed \u2018good mornings\u2019. In terms of making swaps, Castagnoli believes that this is the key to getting into better shape with nutrition too. \u201cEven if you just swap sugar for a sugar substitute, those small changes add up,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Concluding our lower body workout with the step machine, I feel inspired and energized to follow the teachings of my much-valued mentor for the day. And it\u2019s not just me that appreciates the skills of Caludio Castagnoli. During this session, fans would stop by to talk to their hero and he would make the time to show his gratitude. Castagnoli tells me that he has a lot of time for his fans, and as long as he is between sets he enjoys conversing with them. But be warned, if you ever try to interrupt the main man while he is cranking out a rep, you may find yourself on the wrong end of Caludio\u2019s Gian Swing! AEW have already sold more than 30,000 tickets for AEW \u201cAll In\u201d 2024 at Wembley Stadium.<\/p>\n Claudio Castagnoli is seriously strong and a fan of lifting heavy. In WWE, he worked out with the likes of John Cena and held his own when he was seen to deadlift 500 pounds (227 kilograms) and squat 495 pounds (224.5 kilograms). Now hanging with the gifted athletes of All Elite Wrestling, Castagnoli is making new fans on shows like\u00a0AEW Dynamite<\/em>\u00a0(Live on Wednesday\u2019s),\u00a0Rampage\u00a0<\/em>(Fridays) and\u00a0Collision<\/em>\u00a0(Saturdays) and while he still loves lifting heavy, he is also taking care to maintain his longevity through sacrificing weight for volume where necessary, in order to be fit and functional. During the workout, we did barbell squats with no added weight. While executing the reps, Castagnoli had us putting in a little bunny hop with both feet once we got to the bottom of each squat. This takes a traditional compound strength exercise and adds a plyometric element to increase our explosive power output.<\/p>\n As we undertook the elevated single leg dumbbell squats, Castagnoli opted for us to place our front foot on a mat rather than a weight plate. The moving texture of the mat made it more challenging than the relative steadiness of a plate, activating the ankle and stabilizing muscles even further. During the leg press, Castagnoli lived up his \u201cCyborg\u201d nickname when he maxed-out the weights and completed reps of 385 pounds (174.6 kilograms). As I swapped places with the iconic pro wrestler, I couldn\u2019t shift the press an inch at that weight. Still, Castagnoli proved that he\u2019s not just a great wrestler, but an awesome workout partner to boot. \u201cWe are all different,\u201d he says. \u201cYou might do something I can\u2019t do, and I might do something that you can\u2019t do, so there\u2019s no point comparing yourself to anyone else,\u201d he continues wisely. \u201cThat\u2019s why, when people ask me about what numbers I lift, it doesn\u2019t really interest me, we are not competing with each other,\u201d he says. For me, it\u2019s fortunate that I\u2019m not competing with this super-strong 6\u2019 5\u201d Swiss man. I\u2019m just happy and inspired to be in his orbit!<\/p>\n![\"AEW\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AEWs-Claudio-Castagnoli-carrying-a-bulgarian-bag-for-his-workout.jpg?w=200&quality=86&strip=all\")
Caludio Castagnoli Keeps Things Moving in the Gym<\/h3>\n
![\"AEW\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AEWs-Claudio-Castagnoli-working-out-with-a-stretch.jpg?w=200&quality=86&strip=all\")
Claudio Castagnoli \u2018s Workout Breakdown<\/h3>\n
![\"AEW\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AEWs-Claudio-Castagnoli-working-out-with-a-leg-press.jpg?w=200&quality=86&strip=all\")
Claudio Castagnoli\u2019s Elite Lower Body Workout<\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n \nWarmup<\/span><\/th>\n Sets\/Reps<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Rowing Machine<\/td>\n 4 Minutes at a Moderate Pace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Barbell Squats with Bunny Hops<\/td>\n 8 X (no added weight)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n Workout<\/span><\/th>\n Sets\/Reps<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n Elevated Single Leg Dumbbell Squats:<\/td>\n 4 Sets x 8 Reps<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Leg Press:<\/td>\n 4 Sets x 5, 5, 3, 3 Reps<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Power Seated Leg Curl:<\/td>\n 3 Sets x 8 Reps<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Good Mornings (with Bulgarian Lifting Bag)<\/td>\n 3 Sets x 12 Reps<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Medicine Ball V-Twist\u2019s:<\/td>\n 3 Sets x 10 Reps each side<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n Finisher<\/span><\/th>\n Sets\/Reps<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n Step Machine:<\/td>\n 10 Minutes<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n