The 300 Workout Plan: Your Step by Step Guide

You want to look like the guys from 300? Well you can, but it requires a tremendous amount of dedication. Not only do you have to physically punish your body over a prolonged period of time, but you need to step on top of your game when it comes to nutrition. You can't work out like an animal and then eat three Big Macs and expect to look like King Leonidas. It just doesn't work that way. Nutrition is probably more important than exercise when it comes to getting big.

It should be noted that Gerald Butler wanted to get EXTRA big for his role, so he worked out more than the rest of the cast. The entire cast would spend 2 hours per day doing their workouts and 2 hours per day working on fighting techniques. Butler went above and beyond, and hired a personal trainer for an additional two hours per day of training, making it a grand total of six hours of training per day. He figured that since he was the King, he should look the biggest.

People are amazed that the cast of 300 only trained for three months to look the way that they did. What is especially amazing is that a good number were in poor shape when they started; one actor was reportedly 40 pounds overweight and still ended up looking like he was chiseled out of stone. Ask Edward Norton about training for American History X or Tobey Maguire about training for Spiderman; both actors dramatically altered their bodies in a period of just 3-4 months. It is possible, but requires complete dedication.

So how did the cast of 300 start out? Working out in a hot gym with no air conditioning, doing nothing but cardio. Their trainers wanted to get everyone's metabolism up, and get those pounds coming off. Their daily meal plan was the standard bodybuilding fare throughout their entire regimen; plenty of chicken, protein shakes and vegetables. Just enough to fuel their bodies, but not too much, as the makers of the movie wanted the actors to have a real shredded look.

The trainers did their best to keep the actors' bodies guessing during the three months. One day they would be doing cardio until they thought their hearts were going to burst; the next day they would be lifting heavy weights until their arms were going to fall out; then the day after they would be doing an assortment of unorthodox exercises such as doing windsprints with a cable attached to their bodies for resistance or lifting a massive tire, tipping it over, jumping through the tire and then repeating. Keeping your body guessing is one of the best ways to ensure that you stay growing.

At the end, the actors were challenged to complete the "300." Only half of them even tried, with the best time going to Andrew Pleavin, who completed this in 18 minutes and 11 seconds. Note that there is no rest time at all between any of the exercises:

-25 pullups

-50 deadlifts (135 pounds)

-50 pushups

-50 24-inch box jumps

-50 floor wipers (basically benchpressing 135 pounds, but holding the weight in the air while you swing your legs up and down, while not touching the floor. The ultimate Ab workout.)

-50 single arm clean-and-press with 36 pound kettlebells

-25 pull-ups

If you can even complete this, you are an absolute machine. Just the fact that half of the actors, although in amazing shape, didn't even attempt this should tell you how hard it is. If you make it past the push-ups, then the 24-inch box jumps will take the rest of the strength out of you. If you happen to make it past the box jumps, have fun, because 50 floor wipers are waiting for you.

With absolute dedication, you can look like a Spartan warrior within three months. But just remember the words of Gerald Butler. "I thought I was going to die."

Filed under: Health + Fitness | Motivational