# Does Captain America have to work out? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383 "2015-02-23T02:19:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/21 "2015-02-23T16:41:13Z")
I’d imagine that his workout routine is part of his sense of military discipline. He might not need them in order to maintain his physique, but being a soldier is how he defines himself. He’d probably feel out of sorts if he didn’t have a daily exercise regimen. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/22 "2015-02-23T17:01:40Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I still can’t figure out what Hawkeye and Black Widow bring to the table. I mean you have a Hulk, a billionaire genius in a power-armor rocket suit, an alien with godlike abilities and a chemically enhanced super soldier. > > Then you have these two Shield agents, one who fights with a pair of pistols and the other who fights with a weapon that’s been obsolete in modern warfare for centuries. Fury wants a direct Shield presence on the team. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/23 "2015-02-23T17:09:46Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I’d imagine that his workout routine is part of his sense of military discipline. He might not need them in order to maintain his physique, but being a soldier is how he defines himself. He’d probably feel out of sorts if he didn’t have a daily exercise regimen. Also, as someone who grew up being defined by his physical limitations and constantly fighting against them, I suspect there’s still a big part of him that simply loves the idea of being able to run a three minute mile and not be winded. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/24 "2015-02-24T03:00:08Z")
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ2sPHpou98](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ2sPHpou98) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4C7IAmiUgs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4C7IAmiUgs) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilacIxq3T7g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilacIxq3T7g) > [@](#): > > Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are, not a perfect soldier, but a good man. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/25 "2015-02-24T03:02:36Z")
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**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/26 "2015-02-24T03:03:50Z")
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**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/27 "2015-02-24T03:16:19Z")
What about his diet? I would think that while it’s great to have the super soldier serum at the same time you would still need to fuel his body so what would his diet be if he was looking to help him stay at his peak shape? I’m really enjoying this thread!!! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/28 "2015-02-24T03:23:22Z")
Lots of protein to maintain that muscle mass. Fairly high calorie to sustain the energy output. Wasn’t there a comment in _Winter Soldier_ about the food being better than back in the WWII era? ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/29 "2015-02-24T03:47:20Z")
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**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/30 "2015-02-24T03:53:27Z")
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**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/31 "2015-02-24T04:14:10Z")
CaptainAmerica, if you don’t stop spamming links, you will be banned as a spammer. I’m taking out all of your links. ---
**Author:** ![Onyerbike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onyerbike/32/5402_2.png) [@Onyerbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onyerbike)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/32 "2015-02-24T04:25:32Z")
I figure he would need to work out to gain the most from the serum. Which you would want to do, since it must have cost umpty billion dollars to make. I admit that I know more about the other avengers than old mate rogers so this may sound foolish. Does the Captain-verse ever explain why the USA does not experiment more liberally with the serum? I thought it was incredibly wasteful for them to give it to just one guy in a huge war when some random 7.92mm bullet could knock his head off from half a mile away, never seen or lamented. Best to have Captain leading a whole bunch of other super soldiers in an elite platoon to really kick Red Skulls ass. And they could also not work out and eat pizza all day together, how fun. And best not to have him directly leading the other Avengers in the same battles as the Hulk and Thor either. Simply being near the big green man can get you killed, if I recall enough of the comics correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/33 "2015-02-24T04:43:58Z")
> [@Onyerbike](#): > > I figure he would need to work out to gain the most from the serum. Which you would want to do, since it must have cost umpty billion dollars to make. Nah, it was developed in the '40s. In 1940s dollars, it probably cost about a buck fifty to come up with it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/34 "2015-02-24T04:58:43Z")
> [@Onyerbike](#): > > Does the Captain-verse ever explain why the USA does not experiment more liberally with the serum? Because they don’t have it; I have never seen an explanation on whether the bad lab notes were a bug of the researchers of a feature, but the thing is, nobody has the exact formula. There have been many attempts at reproducing it, both from the government and from other organizations; the description of what exactly isn’t right can go from “doesn’t seem to have as much oomph as the original” to the completely gorey or to “makes the recipients crazy”. > [@](#): > > And best not to have him directly leading the other Avengers in the same battles as the Hulk and Thor either. Simply being near the big green man can get you killed, if I recall enough of the comics correctly. Only if you are too close to the point of impact when he lands, he’s not radioactive. In his smart incarnations he’s a capable leader himself, and in the dumb versions it’s a matter of giving him the right orders. Cap: Hulk? Hulk: Hrm? Cap: Smash. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/35 "2015-02-24T05:05:34Z")
If sports athletes use steroids, they still have to work out in order for the steroids to have much of a muscle-bulking effect, right? I’m guessing something similar may be at work here. ---
**Author:** ![Onyerbike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onyerbike/32/5402_2.png) [@Onyerbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onyerbike)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/36 "2015-02-24T05:56:15Z")
Thank you Nava for the insight… Comic book ignorance fought! Although my point about Hulk wasn’t that he was radioactive, it was somewhere between his incredible strength and his paucity of control. In some editions I believe hulk just walking around made craters and such in his footsteps etc and his direct punches were nuclear level detonations. But yes, I concur… a matter of the right orders. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/37 "2015-02-24T10:51:57Z")
> [@Onyerbike](#): > > I admit that I know more about the other avengers than old mate rogers so this may sound foolish. Does the Captain-verse ever explain why the USA does not experiment more liberally with the serum? I thought it was incredibly wasteful for them to give it to just one guy in a huge war when some random 7.92mm bullet could knock his head off from half a mile away, never seen or lamented. Best to have Captain leading a whole bunch of other super soldiers in an elite platoon to really kick Red Skulls ass. That was the plan. And then – in the comics, and the movie – the one scientist who knew the formula got shot by a Nazi saboteur moments after the experiment on Rogers proved successful. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/38 "2015-02-24T13:19:25Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > CaptainAmerica, if you don’t stop spamming links, you will be banned as a spammer. > > I’m taking out all of your links. That wasn’t needed I only posted those links to add to the conversation. If it had been links to something violent or pornagraphic that I would get but come on lighten up. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/39 "2015-02-24T15:46:16Z")
> [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](#): > > That wasn’t needed I only posted those links to add to the conversation. If it had been links to something violent or pornagraphic that I would get but come on lighten up. Don’t simply post links. Take a moment to add a line or two about the content of thise links and why you feel they “add to the conversation.” It has been nice knowing you, best of luck in your future endeavours. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383/40 "2015-02-24T16:07:13Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Don’t simply post links. Take a moment to add a line or two about the content of thise links and why you feel they “add to the conversation.” > > It has been nice knowing you, best of luck in your future endeavours. 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-captain-america-have-to-work-out/713383.md?page=3)