Frank Miller movie 300 actor training - The 300 Workout

Not your average workout: Tire flipping, jumping, sprints with a jumpstretch band, runs with kettlebells, turkish get ups with kettlebells, medicine ball throwing, kipping pullups, bear crawls, tuck sits on gymnastics rings, barbell thrusters.  Real, oldschool, brutal - full body movements.

You'll notice they aren't doing any curls or tricep extensions, no machines, no pussy bodybuilding "watch yourself in the mirror exercises" crap.  It takes real world strength to flip tires and do pullups and squats and sprints.  Essentially, the actors were training for performance - and the look came with it. 

The average celebrity trainer would have trained the actors to look like Spartan Warriors - Mark Twight put the actors in 300 through workouts that would create the kind of strength and power they would need to be Spartan Warriors.

If you're not up on Mark Twight's gym, Gym Jones, you should check it out.  It's a trip.  Mark is a world class extreme alpinist.  He climbs mountains that no one else in the world has ever climbed before.  Ok, I'll do my best to sum up Mark's workout philisophy, as I understand it:  Mark believes that there is something that happens on a mountain - when you are totally exhausted and when your life is on the line - that strips away all of the pretense of our modern existance and all that is left is your humanity.  That only through pushing yourself to the absolute limit do you truly find out who you are.  He strives to create workouts that have that same kind of impact.  Hence the Gym Jones tagline: "Power, Speed, Endurance, Suffering and Salvation".

The now legendary "300 Reps Workout", a.k.a. "Spartans, tonight we dine in hell!"

25 pullups, 50 deadlifts with 135 pounds, 50 pushups, 50 jumps on a 24-inch box, 50 floor wipers, 50 single-arm clean-and-presses using a 36-pound kettlebell, and 25 more pullups.

A common misconception is that they did this workout over and over again.  Mark Twight isn't in to repeating workouts often with his athletes.  In fact, most of the workouts were probably randomzied.  They very rarely, if ever, would they do the same workout twice. 

The idea is to do this workout for time - and if you did ever go through the hell of repeating a workout, to try and beat your time from before.  Like a race.  Speed, power and intensity are the keys here. Ideally you'd complete the circuits in around 20 minutes.

"The 300 Reps Workout" should give you a little bit of a flavor of the workouts the actors from 300 did at Gym Jones.

"You know that every bead of sweat falling off your head, every weight you've pumped -- the history of that is all in your eyes," says Gerard Butler, who played King Leonidas. "That was a great thing, to put on that cape and put on that helmet, and not have to think, Shit, I should have trained more. Instead, I was standing there feeling like a lion."

How To Get Started Training Like One of the 300

Ok, so lets say you want that "spartan warrior" kind of strength - If you are new to full body lifts, you may be wondering where to start.  Kettlebells?  Bodyweight?  Sandbags?  Tires?  Gymnastics rings?  Hey I'd grab on to any one of them that you can get good instruction on.

Without a doubt, the best way (if you've got the nuts) would be to go to Gym Jones and stand on the porch - just like Fight Club.

If you're too far from Salt Lake to train at Gym Jones, then here is where to start:  Start off with 50 or 100 reps of the 300 workout.  Done at speed, 100 reps is easily enough to crush the average gym goer - so take it easy the first time.  You can push the pace and increase the reps after a couple months.  And I wouldn't do this exact workout more than once a week.  My preference would be to do it even less often than that - to use it as a test once a month.

You're probably pretty familiar with pullups, box jumps, and pushups - so lets get you some solid instruction on the hardcore full body lifts you may not be good at - the kettlebell clean and press and the deadlift.  Both exercises that you need to learn how to do correctly. 

If you aren't familiar with solid full body lifting, you have a few choices: 1.) Fly out to Gym Jones.  2.) Get some personal coaching from a Powerlifter, Olympic Weightlifter, Strongman, or Highland Games Athlete, 3.) Get some solid instructional material. You absolulely need to learn to do full body lifting if you want to take on workouts like "300".

Enter the kettlebell is literally an entire book on the kettlebell clean and press.
-  In The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove, they talk about that the only study that Lou has ever seen where athletes lost fat and gained muscle at the same time the athletes used only snatches and clean and jerks and their variations.  Enter the Kettlebell teaches the kettlebell clean, press and snatch - essential full body lifts.

Power to the People is literally the best video there is on deadlifting:
-deadlifts are absolutely essential to the 300 reps workout.  Deadlifts are one of the best exercises there is if you want that Spartan Warrior look - and if you want to really be as strong as you look.  Deadlift correctly = get the body.  Deadlift incorrectly = jack your back up in a bad way.  You need to learn how to do it right.

Check out: The 300 Workout: Part 2

 

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
I'm a specialist in getting my clients lean, fast.  I usually work the hardest clients to lean out - girls who are already in good shape.  I like the challenge.  It's actually easier to lean out guys because guys naturally carry more muscle.  My book is about how anyone can get that that lean, rockstar body.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

 

Comments

[Ales]

the HBO "making of" (30 min) shows them doing bicep curls with dumbbells in between takes....

[ArnoldLook]

The "Arnold Look" is harder to get than you think. You're not going to accidentally get that big, as a lot of it is due to genetics and supplementation.

[fuzz]

People think that getting "big" like Arnold can magically happen in about 3-4 years. I say that you all are dumb for thinking such a thing. The easiest physique one can possibly achieve is the Brad Pitt Fight Club physique, just do chest, abs and some arms. Did i read some where the bodybuilding is for pussys? Why dont you say that to Ronnie Colemans face and ask him how much he Squats and how many Pull-Ups he does. I love the assumption that body builders dont do any of what was mention, in fact we do A LOT of it. Also, probably about 90% of the actors that went through this intensive training messed up their bodies because of the rapid growth that occured. Good Job looking good, but bad job on messing up your body at the same time. Go do some more research on body building before you make an assumption that all it is is bicep curls and bench presses.

PS. Good movie

[Captain Filthy Skumbag]

Yo, I changed my workout and it more reps and cardio with more focus on legs and it the hardest shit ive ever done. before that i was doing heavy weights and while it wasnt easy, this new workout is much harder.
--filthy skumbag

[Bianca]

Wow,I loved that movie,SEXY AND HOT (:p).... however thoses work outs seem a little bit impossible for a girl to do.
What can a girl do to get pumped like that?
I would really like to get in that shape!!!

[ichingman]

The people at UNICUS Fitness (www.unicusfitness.com) have been putting together workouts like "300" for years and putting them into systems designed for specific results. Check out their Beach Body Emergency and Wedding Boot Camp if you are a woman who wants to kick ass and take names or Ultimate GUTS and RIPT for Men workouts if you are a guy and want to find something that will put you on par with the "300" movie actors. This is the best kept secret in the fitness industry for years. But more and more people are finding it out.

[Jimmy]

Okay, this is another place that has this listed as what they did everyday. Perhaps what they actaully did was close to this, but the "300" rep "workout" was a contest between members of the cast that they did ONE TIME!!! this is incredibly unhealthy to do everyday, especially with the amount they ate. DO NOT TRY AT HOME.

[je5333]

In these kinds of workouts form equals function. Spartans certainly did not look like arnold. Bodybuilding is great for what it is but it is by no means a "fighting physique". Coleman can move some impressive weights but these guys do not perfom well in austere conditions, marching long distance, carrying weapons and armor over those distances and then having to fight. That is on top of having subpar food available, sorry no creatine available.

[curious-spartan]

so the acote sin the film didn't have any visual of computer effects on thier bodies? this was real muscle. because it looks like they have been doing thier workout for many months to get to thier size. is that thier real bodies?

[curious-spartan]

so the actors in the film didn't have any visual of computer effects on their bodies? this was real muscle. because it looks like they have been doing their workout for many months to get to their size. is that their real bodies?**

[drseuss]

The actors only did the famous "300" workout one time, If they did it at all. It was a kind of right of passage they were only allowed to try when deemed fit. Only like 50% ever finished it. Their workouts actually changed everyday. check out this link its written by the guy who invented the workout and trained the actors.
http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35

[drseuss]

The actors only did the famous "300" workout one time, If they did it at all. It was a kind of right of passage they were only allowed to try when deemed fit. Only like 50% ever finished it. Their workouts actually changed everyday. check out this link its written by the guy who invented the workout and trained the actors.
http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35

[harrison chapple]

hi. i was wondering from the moment on that i saw the "awsom", 300 hundred movie trailer if the actors and stunt men in it were actually the size they looked or if it was all cg. from the training video i could tell, evidently they are. My question is were they built well before the started the 300 training program? as well as, how often did they do this 300 rep program a week?

[SSG Leal]

I would like to actually go threw your work there at your gym. The Army is not about to give me the time to do it especially with a deployment around the corner. What I am writing for is a work out to get into better shape for the 2007 deployment to Iraq.

[pukie]

Gym Jones ripped off Crossfit

check out crossfit.com, the original... all the free info you need

[Joshua Hillis]

One thing to clarify -

by "pussy bodybuilding movements" I meant like cybex machine curls. In other words, I meant the way average dudes in commercial gyms "bodybuild", or more accurately, do what they think is bodybuilding.

So in other words, that would be the opposite of Ronnie Coleman squatting or deadlifting 800lbs. Everyone has to respect that.

Ronnie Coleman is just more proof that you'll get better body composition results if you base your workouts around big, full body movements likes squats and deadlifts.

[RippedBull]

ArnoldLook why dnt YOU do some research? By the way u talk ur definitely no bodybuilder. COLEMAN?? how can u bring ronnie coleman into this?thats totally ridiculous.. he can move impressive weights true.. but genetics and supplements?anyone that knows a little about bodybuilding know 100% of the pros use steroids.. so stop that sh*t talk as if ronnie was some gr8 hero. yeah he can move the biggest loads of weight for a few 8-rep sets with a 1-minute rest in between each of them, but put an armor on him and make him run on a battlefield- u wouldnt even need to give him an enemy to defeat him, he would fall dead in a few minutes. these guys have no endurance or physical stamina, its just explosive strenght- they aint athletes. they just pump n pose. n i would say that to ronnie on his face.. what do u think just coz hes the biggest bodybuilder hes gonna kill me?im a boxer u know.get informed, bodybuilders are horrible fighters. if not they would be the top fighters wouldnt they? why not? coz no flexibility, no endurance, no technique, just explosive strength my friend. if ronnies ur idol i dont see a very bright future for you

[coach dave]

There has been a few folks call or come by CrossFit Atlanta who have somehow discovered a connection between CrossFit and the training of the 300 cast by Mark Twight of Gym Jones in Salt Lake City, Utah. Like everyone exposed to it, Mark Twight has put his own special spin on CrossFit, but the main ideas and the essence of his current training method remain CrossFit.
Mark Twight is an extremely accomplished endurance alpinist, and author of several books on training for mountaineering events. He was an advocate of long, slow endurance training and high carb, low fat diets until he discovered CrossFit, attended a few CrossFit seminars, and become (temporarily) a CrossFit affiliate. CrossFit turned his world upside down, and he became an advocate of short duration, higher intensity workouts, and low carb, higher fat diets.

Here’s what Twight has said about CrossFit in issue 19 of the CrossFit Journal, “What Is CrossFit?” (Free Download)

“You can talk all you want about being in good shape until you do a few CrossFit workouts. And then you
will realize — like I did — that what you have been doing is likely training strong points, rarely working on weak points, and training efficiency to such a degree that the workouts you do are less effective than they might be if you mixed energy modes, duration, and types of work.
You probably know something about climbing-specific training because of books like Ex Alp, Clyde’s book, Dale’s book, and maybe Will’s. But none of this will prepare you for what is to come if you make even the slightest effort to follow CrossFit. Coach invited me to CrossFit HQ for an instructor seminar. I was the weakest guy in attendance, by at least 50% during every workout we did over the three days. Those days changed my life. I could “what if?” my old training program and all the years I missed when I thought I was fit but I was nowhere near my potential but the key is to move on when you know that something better is out there, without second-guessing. I don’t believe I will find anything better than CrossFit for developing power, endurance, lactate tolerance, stamina (local area endurance), balanced muscle groups, efficient neurological pathways (in the context of movement), etc. The bottom line: I started toying with the CF protocol last April without truly understanding it. I improved in some diverse areas of fitness but had not seen the light or my own potential yet. I went to CFHQ 1 December. Since then I have lost 12lbs, leaned out, and I am approximately 25% stronger across the board without significant negative effect on endurance despite the short duration of our workouts (nothing longer than 25 minutes, with the norm being half that or less).”

Here’s what Twight has said about CrossFit on his own website:
“In December of 2003 I attended an Instructor Certification course at CrossFit headquarters to learn more about what I had been dabbling with during the previous six months. I went there fit, secretly confident but I was destroyed by each and every fitness challenge presented. Humbled, ego thought we should have a “soloing on loose rock” contest but pragmatism held sway and I poured ego from my cup, which meant it could be filled with the knowledge and experience that hid in every nook and cranny of that small gym in Santa Cruz.”

[Wes]

For some reason it seems that a few folks here think the guys in 300 are huge. Ummm... watch it again! They are huge, they are just destroyed cut up! Some of their chests look huge because their abs and waist are so slim. Their abs bulge because of their full body workouts. Power cleans or full body presses... whatever you want to call them, will make your abs bulge overtime because you use your abs to steady they weight you are throwing up.

Also, who needs to do curls when you are flipping tractor tires! haha

Note, these guys didn't get this athletically trimmed in a couple months. 6 months minimum with diet.

Think about the way your body moves and the muscles used just in simple body movements. Add some weight and overtime, you'll be runnin around in a cloth diaper and cape with a sled on your arm and a 10 foot pole being the spectacle of the neighborhood in no time! At least that is my plan!

[skate4life]

sounds like a good workout to me. someone posted abt the actors doing curls with dumbells in between takes and i think that was probably to make them look like they were just fighting (veins popping out etc.)

[Connor Martin]

Josh, I'm 15 years old and I already know that you've dug a hole that you can't get out of. You seem to have ripped off the crossfit methodalogy. This is a sad fact knowing that Coach is such a giving person he flat out says do what ever you want add in what you like. To take a advantage of someone to this extent shows immaturity and a low sense of moral, where is your honor, respect and most of all do you have any sense of dignity. I'm deeply disturbed by your inflamatory remaks about coach and Crossfit.GROW UP

[joe sombody]

Ripped bull, you are a complete idiot if you think steroids are the only reason ronnie coleman or any other professional bodybuilder for that matter looks the way they do. You need to look deeper into bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is a lifestyle for those guys. They eat, sleep and lift. Most of them are in the gym twice a day both off-season and pre-contest. Go buy one of ronnie colemans dvds "cost of redemption or jay cutlers "new, improved and beyond" so you can see how these guys live. Dont get me wrong the training that was incorperated into the 300 workout is difficult but you cant compare doing "box jumps" to "Hack Squats till failure" they are simply impossible to compare. So next time you decide to bad mouth a body builder shut your face and go try to leg press 50 - 45 pound plates.

[stu mac]

this is some pussy ass work bruv, i do the 650 work out and im only thirteen
low it

[stu mac]

body builders are fucking gay

[kate]

on a related note, there's a men's health article about the 300 workout, too:

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=de42ad5c08450110VgnVCM10000013281eac____