A World Cup winner's routine is five exercises and nine hours of sleep
In short
Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal in the 106th minute of the 2026 World Cup final, trains a five-exercise full-body routine: pullups 3×8–10, pushups 3×15–20, squats 3×10–12, running, and crunches for max reps. He adds a dedicated leg session once or twice a week and prioritises recovery with eight to nine hours of sleep plus sauna time. The structure is short, hard, repeated sessions and protected sleep — not a longer exercise list.
The 2026 World Cup final went to extra time, and in the 106th minute Spain's Ferran Torres scored the goal that decided it. The full-body routine he shared is this short:
- Pullup — 3 sets of 8–10
- Pushup — 3 sets of 15–20
- Squat — 3 sets of 10–12
- Running — his cardio
- Crunch — 3 sets to max reps
On top of that he carves out a dedicated leg day once or twice a week, and in season keeps workouts short and intense, touching a bit of everything. Recovery gets equal billing: eight to nine hours of sleep and time in the sauna.
Why five exercises is the interesting part
The common cause of stalling in a gym is not too few exercises but too many. Twelve shallow movements fill an hour without stimulating anything enough. A professional footballer's gym work stops at five because his real training is on the pitch — but the structure is worth borrowing: one exercise per pattern — pull, push, squat, run, trunk.
What happens if you copy it directly?
It works for a beginner. The problem comes after. Everything here is bodyweight, so the only way to add load is to add reps. Once pushups pass 30, you are training muscular endurance rather than strength, and the same goes for the squat. There is also no hinge pattern — no deadlift or RDL. What bodyweight selections tend to leave out is covered in movements the Big 3 misses.
If strength is the goal, do not scrap the routine — extend it by adding load. Put a barbell on the squat, swap the pushup slot for a bench press, and fill the missing hinge with a deadlift. The exercise count stays at five and the Big 3 are now in it. The order to do that in is laid out in how to start barbell training.
The genuinely copyable part is the sleep
The most reproducible item here is not the exercise list, it is the eight to nine hours. Unlike training intensity, that part requires no talent. Given the meta-analytic estimate that performance falls about 0.4% for every hour awake before training, eight hours of sleep and five exercises beats four hours of sleep and eight exercises (see sleep loss and lifting performance).
A published celebrity routine is a slice of that person's total training. Torres's real workload is club training and matches; these five exercises sit on top of it. Borrow the structure rather than copying the list.
Can five exercises raise a strength score?
Yes, but not these five. A relative strength score is calculated from squat, bench press and deadlift one-rep maxes, and bodyweight pushups and crunches do not enter it. Put differently: five exercises per session is still plenty. The Big 3 plus one pull and one trunk movement is exactly five. To see where you currently sit, run your maxes through the calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ferran Torres's workout routine?
A five-exercise full-body session: pullups 3×8–10, pushups 3×15–20, squats 3×10–12, running for cardio, and crunches to max reps. He adds a dedicated leg day once or twice a week and prioritises eight to nine hours of sleep plus sauna for recovery.
How many exercises should one session have?
Around five covers most goals. One movement per pattern — pull, push, squat, hinge, trunk — produces a clearer stimulus than rotating through ten exercises shallowly.
Can bodyweight training keep building strength?
Not for long. Bodyweight work can only add load by adding reps, so once pushups pass about 30 the session trains endurance more than strength. Continued strength gains need external load and lower reps.
How much does eight to nine hours of sleep matter?
Meta-analysis puts performance loss at roughly 0.4% per hour awake before training. Protecting sleep buys more performance per hour invested than adding exercises to the session.
Source: Men's Health Fitness