What is the 300 Workout?

The 300 Workout is an exercise regime based on the 2006 movie 300, which tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae. In 480 B.C., Spartan King Leonidas led his army of 300 men against a Persian army alleged to have been over one million men. The actors who played the Spartan army followed an intense training routine to replicate the muscular physiques that real Spartans would have had during that time period. The 300 Workout uses a total of 300 repetitions of strength exercises in order to build hefty muscles while limiting body fat to appear as lean as possible. The regime is generally recommended for advanced exercisers already because it could be too intense for beginning to moderate exercisers to perform safely.

The first part of the 300 Workout is a series of pull-ups. Pull-ups are performed by positioning the hands on a tall horizontal bar with the palms facing away from the body. The exerciser then pulls his or her lower body up off the floor using just the strength of his or her upper body, particularly the back muscles. Twenty-five pull-ups are repeated in succession with no breaks before immediately moving on to the next exercise in the routine.

After the pull-ups are completed, they are followed by 50 repetitions of deadlifts, strength exercises in which an exerciser bends slightly at the knees and hips and grabs a barbell positioned on the ground. He or she then quickly lifts the barbell by pushing off his or her heels and gently moving his or her hips forward to prevent straining the lower back. For the 300 Workout, deadlifts are performed using a 135 lb. (61.23 kg) barbell. Immediately after the deadlifts are completed, the exerciser is to follow it with 50 push-ups, in which he or she lies flat on his or her front with the palms on the ground, then pushes the body into an upright position parallel to the ground.

The routine then continues with an exercise known as a box jump. The exerciser positions a large, stable box on the ground, then quickly jumps and lands firmly on the top of the box before immediately jumping back down onto the ground. The box jumps are repeated 50 times to increase flexibility and agility, as well as to work the muscles of the lower body.

An exercise known as floor wipers follow the box jumps. Floor wipers are performed by the exerciser laying flat on his or her back with his or her legs extended straight out. The exerciser lifts a 135 lb. (61.23 kg) barbell straight over the body and holds it parallel to his or her upper body. He or she then lifts his or her legs up to meet the right hand, then brings them back down to the ground and repeats the process but meets at the left hand. Each right and left motion counts as one repetition and the floor wiper exercise is repeated 50 times.

The 300 Workout begins its conclusion with an upper body strength exercise, the clean and press. It is performed similar to the deadlifts, but instead of stopping at the hips, the weight is lifted over the head. The clean and press motion is done using a 36 lb. (16.33 kg) medicine ball and repeated 50 times. The workout then ends with another 25 pull-ups.