300 Workout

After watching 300 again this weekend, I decided to do some research into exactly how they got into shape for the movie. When you think about it, the results are quite impressive: a couple hundred guys, all with basically the exact same awe-inspiring physiques. How exactly did they get into this kind of shape?

After viewing several Youtube movies on the making of "300", it seems as though the trainers relied on classic, compact exercises to whip the actors into shape. They relied on old-school exercises such as deadlifts, pull-ups, chin-ups.

A particular brutal circuit that the actors tried to perform during their training (apparently, only half could finish):

"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."

I don't think that I could do 10% of this workout without having a heart attack. In case you are wondering what a floor wiper is, this is when you are lying flat on the ground with a barbell pressed over your head, just like you were doing a bench press and you are now in full extension. At the same time, you have your feet raised off the floor, and you move your legs back and forth, just like an extended stomach crunch. This exercise not only works your chest, but also shreds your stomach at the same time.

Deadlifts can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, so I would recommend having someone teach you the proper form before trying them. Compact exercises are the key to developing a solid muscle foundation (also includes stuff like squats, bench press, etc.)

I wondered after viewing these videos, how fast these gains would disappear if the actors stopped working out?