There Can Be Only One - The Highlander Workout

This workout is a tribute to the cult 80s classic Highlander. From the mist-covered Highlands to neon-lit New York, immortal warriors clash across centuries in a war that can only end one way. Choose the path of Connor MacLeod or the Kurgan, train for endurance or domination — and battle to the finish. In the end, there can be only one.

Click below to skip the introduction and go straight to the workouts!

Introduction

Released in 1986, Highlander became a cult classic for one brutally simple idea: Immortals walk among us, in secret, living ordinary lives—until they meet each other. And when they do, it ends in single combat.

The story begins in the Scottish Highlands (1536) during a war between rival clans. Conor MacLeod survives a wound that should have killed him… and is condemned for witchcraft, branded a curse by his own people, and cast out from the only life he’s ever known.

In the movie Highlander, Clansman Connor MacLeod receives a mortal wound in battle, yet miraculously survives his injuries. Accused of witchcraft, he is driven from his village.

Years later, MacLeod is found by Ramirez, a master swordsman who teaches him how to fight, and who reveals the truth: Conor is one of many Immortals, and they can only truly die when their head is taken. Their fate is to fight — not endlessly, but inevitably — until the final convergence known as The Gathering. But there is always one shadow following him through time: The Kurgan—another Immortal, and the near-perfect warrior who lives for the kill.

Through the Ages

MacLeod’s life becomes a long war fought across centuries. The film moves between the Highlands and modern-day New York, building toward The Gathering—the moment when the remaining Immortals are drawn together for the final battle.

They come because there is The Prize: power beyond imagination, granted to the last Immortal alive. There is no escape from it. No hiding forever. In the end, there can be only one.

In the movie Highlander, MacLeod learns he is one of a hidden race of Immortals who must battle each other across centuries until only one remains. Throughout his long life, he is relentlessly pursued by the Kurgan (Right), the most brutal of their kind, who seeks the Prize for himself.

A Kind of Magic - Legacy

Highlander became one of the defining cult films of the 1980s, spawning sequels, television, novels, and decades of influence across action-fantasy storytelling. At its core, Highlander is about endurance, loneliness, and the cost of outliving everything. It hits because immortality isn’t a gift — it’s a life of loss, adaptation, and brutal inevitability until The Gathering forces the final reckoning.

It also became iconic because of its cast — Christopher Lambert as MacLeod, Sean Connery as Ramírez, and Clancy Brown as The Kurgan — each delivering characters larger than the film itself. Its operatic tone, stylised sword fights, and the driving soundtrack by Queen gave Highlander a scale and swagger that turned a modest fantasy film into a lasting cult phenomenon.

“From the dawn of time we came… moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last”.
“No one has ever known we were among you… until now…”

— Ramirez (Sean Connery).

📋 💪 About the Workouts

The Highlander Workout draws directly from the film’s structure: survival through time, rising pressure, and the inevitability of The Gathering.

These are standalone circuits that you can slot in between your regular workouts to shake things up.

⚙️ 🔩 Breakdown

There are two distinct training formats:

Immortal (Solo Training).
The Gathering (Group Battle Format).

⚔️ Immortal – Solo Training

The Immortal version consists of two complete standalone workouts:

⚔️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Connor MacLeod.
🗡️💀 The Kurgan

Each Immortal track is a full training session composed of three circuits performed in sequence.

Circuit I – Foundational resistance and full-body strength.
Circuit II – Structural reinforcement and posterior chain emphasis.
Circuit III – Macebell training, designed to simulate blade work through rotational strength, flow, shoulder endurance, and controlled power.

The third circuit represents swordplay — continuous, rotational, deliberate.

If you do not have access to a macebell, a kettlebell alternative is provided. This replaces the third circuit — it is not an additional round.

Choose your path, Macleod or The Kurgan.

🔥 The Time of the Gathering – Group Format

The Gathering is a separate competitive workout designed for two or more athletes.
It is not performed alongside an Immortal session.
This format escalates through elimination rounds until only one competitor remains. Rising pressure, enforced standards, and head-to-head execution determine the outcome.
In the end, there can be only one.

⚔️ The Immortal Circuits

The Connor Macleod Circuit

Circuit I – The Highland Forge (Resistance – Full Body Flow)

Back Squats: 12 x reps.
Staggered Push-Ups (Tempo 3-1-1): 15 x reps.
Bent-Over Rows (Dumbbell or Kettlebell): 12 x reps.
Plank Shoulder Taps: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
SB Reverse Lunges with Rotation: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).

3 x rounds. Rest 45s between.

Circuit II – The Long War (Resistance – Core & Stability)

Romanian Deadlift (Dumbbell or Kettlebell): 12 x reps.
Pull-Ups or Inverted Rows: 6–10 x reps.
Bulgarian Split Squats: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
Leg Raises (Choose Hanging or Lying): 12 x reps.
Axe Swings (Sandbag or Dumbbell): 12 x reps.

3 x rounds. Rest 45s between.

Circuit III – The Way of the Blade (Macebell – Endurance Flow)

360 Swings: 10 x rotations each direction (20 rotations total).
Gravediggers: 8 x reps each leg (16 reps total).
Sit up with OHP: 20 x reps.
Lateral Lunge with Rotations: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
Over Shoulder Slams: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
Macebell Flow Finisher: (90s Continuous Movement). Flow: 360s x 2 – Spear Stab Lunges x 2 – Wood chops x 2. Repeat for time.

3 rounds. Focus on control and breathing under tension.

Circuit III – The Way of the Blade (Macebell – KB Alternative)

Cleans and Press (singles): 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
KB Floor Press: 12 x reps.
Renegade Rows: 8 x reps each side (16 x reps total).
KB Thrusters: 20 x reps.
Push up and drag: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
Windmills (Doubles): 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).

3 x rounds. Rest 45s between.

The Kurgan Circuits

Power of the Dark One

Circuit I – The Battlefield (Resistance – Power)

Barbell Deadlift: 6–8 x reps.
Weighted Dips or Push-Ups: 10 x reps.
Front Squat: 8 x reps.
Pull-Ups (Weighted if possible): 8 x reps.
Heavy Farmer’s Carry: 25 x metres (27 yds).

3 x rounds. 90s rest between rounds.

Circuit II – The Executioner (Resistance – Brutal Volume)

Dumbbell Clean & Press: 8 x reps (heavy).
Sandbag Bear Hug Carry: 2 x 25 metres (27yds).
Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 8–10 x reps (heavy).
Weighted Step-Ups: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
T-Bar Row (Heavy): 10 x reps.

3 x rounds. 90s rest between rounds.

Circuit III – The Iron Storm (Macebell – Power Flow)

360 Swings (Heavier Load): 8 x rotations each direction (16 x rotations total).
Barbarian Squats: 10 x reps.
Plank Drag Throughs: 8 x reps.
Triceps Swing Extensions: 10 x reps.
Instability Macebell Pushup: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
Macebell Combat Flow: (60–90s Continuous — explosive tempo).
Flow: 360 x 2 (1 x clockwise/counterclockwise) – Warrior Thrusts x 2 (1 x each side) – Macebell Slams x 2 (1 x each side).

3 x rounds. 90s rest between rounds.

Circuit III – The Way of the Blade (Macebell – KB Alternative)

Swings (Heavy): 10 x reps.
Halos: 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
Racked Front Squats (Doubles): 16 x reps.
Snatches (Doubles): 12 x reps.
Hang Cleans (Doubles): 10 x reps each side (20 x reps total).
TGU’s: (3 each side – 6 total).

3 x rounds. 90s rest between rounds.

🔥 The Time of the Gathering

In the world of Highlander, the Gathering is the point in time when the remaining Immortals are drawn together to fight until a single Immortal remains. As their numbers decrease, they feel an instinctive pull toward a final convergence..’the Gathering’. When the Gathering occurs, the surviving Immortals must confront each other in single combat, because ultimately there can be only one who claims the Prize.

This workout mirrors the Gathering. Competitors start together, endure the same pressure, and are gradually reduced by fatigue, output, and discipline until only two remain.

⚙️ 🔩 Breakdown

Minimum: 2 competitors.
Outcome: One survives. One claims The Prize.
The structure of The Gathering depends on how many competitors begin.

If three or more athletes start, Phase I is used to reduce the field to two. The final two then proceed to Phase II.
If only two athletes start, Phase I is skipped and they go straight into the Extended Final Duel.