How the extreme One Punch Man workout regime changed one man’s life
As we wait forOne Punch Man Season 3to finally land, check out this story of one fan who decided to stop laughing at Saitama’s ridiculous workout regime and actually try it. Not only did he smash it (pun intended) but the lifestyle switch has transformed his life.
The premise ofOne Punch Manis simple: Saitama is an independentsuperherowho grows bored after training to the point where he can defeat any opponent with a single punch.
He does this througha workout planso absurdly simple it’s become a meme: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run… every. single. day. No breaks. No excuses.
Plenty ofanimefans have tried it in the past, but perhaps none were quite so successful as Li Shuangyong, who completed 1,000 days and became a viral sensation.
Meet the real life One Punch Man
According to Jiupai News (viaMen’s Health), Shuangyong previously had a fish farming business that collapsed. He was in debt, his marriage was over, and his life had fallen to pieces.
His name is 李双永 (Li Shuangyong), online he’s known as “堂主lee.”In 2021, broke, 36, and stuck in a rut, he decided to train like Saitama from One Punch Man.No excuses. Just do the work. Every. Single. Day.pic.twitter.com/5SmvGt3s2d
But rather than spiralling, the Shandong province resident – known online as Tangzhu – decided to take matters into his own hands. “I had to save myself. I could not keep living like that. It could not get any worse,” he explained.
At that time, he came across the One Punch Man manga, which was adapted into ananime seriesin 2015, and he felt inspired by Saitama’s journey. From August 2021 to July 2024, he took part in the character’s training regime.
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While it transformed him physically, it was about the journey as much as the destination. With no money to start out with, Shuangyong initially used running shoes that cost less than 10 yuan ($1.40) and mostly just ate ramen and eggs.
Along the way, he met his new girlfriend who continues to encourage his journey. By the time the 1,000 days were up, Shuangyong was ripped, having run over 20,000 kilometers and carried out thousands of reps.
To mark the end of the challenge, he shaved his head just like Saitama. This even caught the attention of the manga’s creator One, who wrote on X/Twitter, “Your willpower is incredible! Congratulations.”
Now, he’s now got his sights set on landing a Guinness World Record by running a marathon every day for an entire year. Even Saitama would be shocked, but Shuangyong says he hopes his story is able to “amplify hope without limits”.
One Punch Man Season 3 is set to release in October 2025. While you wait, check out thebest anime to watch if you love One Punch Man, thebest shonen anime like One Piece, and themost anticipated 2025 anime.
