The Chicago Daily Herald has a feature on the workout the actors used in 300 to prove they were in Spartan shape, which is becoming somewhat of an exercise trend for non-movie stars:
As originally composed, the 300 workout consists of 300 grueling repetitions of tried-and-true exercises, with no rest in between:
• 25 pull-ups
• 50 dead-lifts with 135 pounds of weights
• 50 push-ups
• 50 jumps on and off a 24-inch-tall box
• 50 floor wipers (lying on your back gripping a stationary bar and lifting your feet over each hand alternately)
• 50 single-arm “clean and press” lifts with a 36-pound kettlebell, which looks like a cannonball with a handle
• 25 pull-ups
The only catch: the actors didn’t actually use this workout to train for the movie.
Actually, they used a variety of all-body conditioning for up to a couple of hours a day five days a week for two months. Then they used the 300 as a final, one-time graduation test to see what shape they were in.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:38 am
I have no idea what a dead-lift is.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Dead-lifting is lifting weight, usually on a bar, from a crouched, then a standing position straight up with your arms fully extended above you. You know those gigantic guys you see in the Olympics who lift what looks like a Buick above their heads, then just drop the weight bar on the exercise mat when they’re done, sending powder flying in every direction and making your back hurt just watching it? That’s dead lifting. It’s, um, hard to do with a lot of weight.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I remember seeing the documentary or whatnot on Spike TV and hearing Gerard Butler and Zack Snyder going on and on about all the different fighting styles that were learned and used during the course of the film. Of course when I saw the movie I only saw grown men flailing swords wildly and jumping around really REALLY slow.