The 300 workout from the iconic 2007 movie has been circulating on message boards – and more recently, on social feeds – for years. It reached its virality not only due to its simplicity, but also the impressive results flaunted by the actors of the film. But, that wasn’t the only the workout the celebs were taking part in. We have access to some of the sessions that the likes of Gerard Butler used to get in incredible shape.
Written by esteemed trainer Mark Twight, the workouts are brutal, with names such as ‘Those burpees suck’ and ‘Squat, crawl, carry’. Although it was rumoured that the workouts followed bodybuilding splits, they wouldn’t look out of place on a board at your local CrossFit box (although they are likely even more gruelling).
Commenting on the training in the run up to the movie release, Twight said interviewers wanted to know about the magic workout the cast did to make them look so good: ‘Some were disappointed to learn that hard work is magic, while others marvelled – as did we some days – that the actors would work so hard.’
First, let’s take a closer look at the original viral workout.
‘300 is a one-time test, an invitation-only challenge undertaken by those deemed ready for it,’ says Twight. ‘By the end of our four-month project 17 people had done the workout (Logan and I were two of them). This constitutes about 50% of the cast and stunt crew. We supervised every test, evaluated each rep for quality and only counted those that achieved our standards for form and range of motion.’
He continued, ‘Like many workouts, 300 is not hard once you’ve done it, but the apprehension ahead of it – something we encouraged – was enough to make some guys fear it to the degree that performance was compromised. This workout was a crucible that some passed through and others still have hanging over them.’
The Viral 300 Workout
300 total reps
1. Pull-up x 25
2. Deadlift x 50 (with 60 kg bar)
3. Push-up x 50
4. Box Jump x 50 (onto a 24″ box)
5. Floor Wiper x 50 (with 60 kg bar)
6. Kettlebell Clean and Press x 50 (with 16 kg)
7. Pull-up x 25
How to Do the Movements
Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip over shoulder-width apart. Lift your feet from the floor, hanging freely with straight arms. Pull yourself up by flexing the elbows while pinching your shoulder blades together. When your chin passes the bar, pause before lowering to the starting position.
Walk your shins to the bar with your feet underneath your hips. Send the hips behind the heels and reach your hands towards the bar. Your shoulders should be over the bar and middle feet underneath. Keeping your back and head in line, retract your shoulder blades while holding your torso rigid to create tension between you and the bar. Push the floor away from you while keeping the bar close. Lock out your hips without sending the weight back and reverse the movement.
Hit a strong plank position, with your core tight and hands under your shoulders. Bend your elbows to bring your chest to the floor. Keep your elbows close to your body as you push back up explosively.
Box Jump
Stand in front of a box, with your feet hip-width apart. Jump on top, landing with both feet as softly as possible and bending your knees slightly to absorb the impact. Step backwards off the box, ready to repeat.
Floor Wiper
Lie on your back holding a barbell pressed above your chest. Raise your legs and move them side to side in a controlled motion, touching your feet toward each end of the barbell like windshield wipers, keeping your core engaged throughout.
Kettlebell Clean and Press
Start with feet shoulder-width apart and the kettlebell between your legs. Hinge at the hips, grab the kettlebell, and swing it back. Snap your hips forward, sending the bell to the rack position with the weight resting on your forearm. From there, press it overhead until your arm is fully extended. Lower with control and repeat.
Pull-up
As above.
5 Other Workouts Used to Train the Cast of 300
As for the meat of the programming, apparently few workouts were the same. ‘There were no consistent, structured workouts,’ explains Twight. ‘In fact, very few ever repeated a workout during the four-month voyage. The point was to improve fitness and facility across a variety of movements and through the three-dimensional range-of-motion required by the fighting. We did this by constantly changing the challenges, and focusing on athleticism to build a balanced foundation of general physical capacity.’
According to Twight, one of the actors, Vincent Regan lost 18 kg in eight weeks, and took his deadlift from less than bodyweight (93 kg) to double bodyweight (156 kg), ‘He could pull 90% of 1RM [one-rep max] blindfolded and recite Shakespeare in the midst of the toughest training session,’ says Twight.
There are many workouts that the cast and crew took part in during the project, but here are a select few.
Workout 1: ‘Those burpees suck’
Workout 2: Bench Press and Burpee Inverted Reps
- Bench Press and Burpee x 10/1, 9/2, 8/3, 7/4, 6/5, 5/6, 4/7, 3/8, 2/9, 1/10
Workout 3: ‘TGIF’
- Row x 500 m
- Ball Slam x 20 (with 4 kg or 8 kg)
- Ball Toss x 20 (with 4 kg or 8 kg)
- Box Jump x 20 (onto an 18″ or 20″ box)
- Back Extension x 20
- Reverse Crunch x 20
- Push-up (ring, ground, or knee) x 20
- Knees to Elbows x 20
- Dumbbell Press x 20 (with 4-14 kg)
- Wall Ball x 20 (with 2-9 kg)
- Burpee x 20
- Pull-up x 20
Workout 4: ‘Squat, Crawl, Carry’
Repeat for 5 rounds
- Squat x 12 reps (with 16 kg chains)
- Bear Crawl x 40 m
- Rock Carry x 40 m (with 18 kg)
Workout 5: ‘Tabata Hell’
Each Tabata exercise lasts 4 minutes (8 rounds of 20 seconds hard work and 10 seconds rest), with 1 minute of rest between exercises.
- Tabata Squat with Bottom Hold
1 min rest - Tabata Push-up with Top Hold
1 min rest - Tabata Ball Slam with Overhead Hold
1 min rest - Tabata Sit-up with Straight-leg Hold
1 min rest - Tabata Kettlebell Swing
Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.