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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Dylan James

Sam Warburton goes toe-to-toe with new Wales giant five years after quitting

Sam Warburton and Wales star Christ Tshiunza went head-to-head at the gym in an impressive display of strength and power.

Exeter Chiefs back-row Tshiunza is an ambassador for Warburton's fitness programme, SW7 fitness, and the former British and Irish Lion held his own against the young giant.

The video was titled: "Young buck Christ taking the old vet for an upper body pump" and the workout followed this structure:

  • 1A - Weighted Chins - 4 x 5 @ 25kg
  • 1B - Single Arm Landmine Press - 4 x 5 @ 35kg
  • 1C - Medicine Ball Chest Pass - 3 x 3
  • 2A - Prone Row - 4 x 8-10 @ 100kg
  • 2B - Banded Press Ups - 4 x 12-15
  • 3A - Dumbbell Skull Crushers - 3 x 15 @ 15kg
  • 3B - DB Curls - 3 x 15 @ 15kg

You can watch the workout below.

Warburton is still remarkably dedicated to his training five years on from his retirement and lifts a pretty similar amount to what he did when he was playing.

Once the workout was complete, Tshiunza was "playing around with the chin ups", and managed to do 50kg weighted chin up for one repetition. The 21-year-old Cardiff boy weighs in at 116kg, so the chin up was weighed in at a whopping 166kg.

Warburton's personal best is also 50kg but he weighs just 102kg in comparison.

SW7 were full of praise for the five-cap forward: "Christ is our ambassador because he’s a supreme athlete and fantastic to endorse the strength and power qualities required to make it as a top athlete, along with his diligence and professional mindset and work ethic."

The Academy has recently seen cameos from other Wales international stars such as Rhys Webb and Hannah Jones.

Warburton previously said: "I still train like crazy. From the age of 14 or 15 you are trying to chase perfection and athletic development and then you suddenly finish. I still want to train and be strong. If I just wilt away I feel like I'm just giving up. I want to be able to live a long, healthy life."

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