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Anna's Fitness Blog

The 300 Spartan Workout

Good morning fitness freaks! I apologize for my lack of blog post yesterday – I was out sick with a pretty bad flu…but today I’m back on the fitness wagon and doing a yoga class at lunch.

 

Speaking of workouts, has anyone had a gander at the Spartan workout (on uTube) that the actors did in preparation for their Spartan roles in the movie 300? This flick 300 is getting a lot of buzz lately – especially over the impressive rock hard physiques on the screen.

 

It just goes to show that a functional workout – including moves like tire flipping, plyometrics (jumping moves), squats, sprints with resistance band, kettlebell moves, medicine ball tosses, bear crawls and tucks on the gymnastics rings – make for an inspiring physique!

 

Published Tuesday, March 20, 2007 10:23 AM by Anna

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Eric Sparling said:

This workout looks solid. Form follows function - do the work, and the cosmetics will take care of themselves. This is one of the reasons why doing an intense sport is so rewarding: Instead of just exercising, you can get exercise through sports performance. Your physique ends up being just as good, but you also develop ability in a sport. It would be fun to see a (subjective) ranking of sports according to the physique you develop by doing them!
March 23, 2007 8:47 AM
 

Tim said:

I thought they worked out 4 hours a day for 6 weeks for those bodies?
Is this what you recommend men should look like? Because I don't really have time. Women complain about being judged on unrealistic expectations of their bodies...what about men?
March 23, 2007 7:42 PM
 

David Ross said:

Special Effects and make up go a long way.
It's dangerous to try to pattern ourselves after unrealistic body types.
March 25, 2007 3:12 PM
 

Anna said:

lol - thanks Tim...I just love it when words are thrust in my mouth for me!

Let me clarify, just so you're clear - I am definitely not recommending anyone work out 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. It's not healthy and you're asking for an injury if you do it. If you've read any of my posts on celebrities you know that I don't promote anything that "hollywood" is doing - because it's hardly ever healthy. I'm trying to break down that stereotype. All I was recommending in this post is the benefits of incorporating functional moves into your workouts. I do and trust me, you will never catch me doing a workout that exceeds an hour.  I am suggesting that instead of always using your home gym for resistance training, why not try some jump squats, sprinting, medicine ball tosses, etc., because these moves will actually benefit the body more because they translate into everyday activities - bending over and picking things up, jumping, reaching...etc. I do this, and many of my clients do this...so it is possible and it does help raise the metabolism and give you that lean toned look. I just thought posting the visual example video would be helpful rather than simply explaining in print. I hardly think that's unrealistic.

Do you disagree?  Next time I will try to be more clear.
March 26, 2007 12:37 PM
 

Anna said:

You're exactly right David - in fact to see the lengths that photo refinishing goes to check out my post here - http://www.fitnessgear101.com/blogs/fitness_stupid_fit_idea_of_the_week/archive/2007/01/08/102023.aspx

March 26, 2007 12:39 PM
 

Tim said:

But they didn't get the bodies on screen doing those things. They got them because of the amount of time they did and because of movie magic.  Why not post a more realistic video. Maybe you're capitalizing on the movie's popularity though too...more interest by using a popular movie as an example.
March 26, 2007 6:34 PM
 

Anna said:

Thanks for your follow up comments Tim.

Of course the bodies in the movie 300 are thanks to a great deal of special effects! However the workout I've linked to doesn't show King Leonidus doing incline push-ups - it shows real people doing the workout. I thought it was pretty realistic.

You totally called me on it when you say that I was trying to use a popular example (the movie 300) to create more interest in functional workouts - guilty as charged! It's hard when my clients come to me, pointing to Brad Pitt or Madonna in a magazine, and say "I wanna look like that!" I always tell them that the picture they're looking at is thanks to a lot of photo finishing, but it's hard to get through to people sometimes. That's why I used the movie as an example. Heck, I do a lot of this type of stuff in my own workouts - jump squats, box jumps, power push ups, skipping, burpees, bear crawls - and mind you while I don't look like Queen Gorgo or Leonidus, I still strongly believed that many of these moves gave me the definition I have today...and while it's not Spartan impressive; it's still pretty impressive in real life.

Again, thanks for your comments Tim, and thanks for keeping me in line :)

March 30, 2007 9:51 AM
 

Eleanor said:

What do you recomend for someone about... 159lbs like my sister...to do for a workout to get a great body? She's really self-concious, and she's tried different stuff. she's really getting depressed about it. What can I do to motivate her? I heard that dancing is good, but she won't dance with me. And she's not even what I consider "fat". She's not even close to it. But, she is unhealthy, and my family has lots of problems dealing with stuff linked to obesity, our dad used to be overweight and it was bad crap(lots of problems). I'm also really conserned for her with the little depresion she's developing. HELP!!!  

April 19, 2007 7:45 PM
 

Anna said:

I would suggest that your sister deal with her depression asap. As long as she is low on herself - no matter how much she does for her health - she will still be depressed.

A health and fitness lifecoach is a great resource for getting your sister's health and self-esteem on track. A life coach is deals with a person's specific goals (it can be career, self, health, etc.) and a health-specific life coach has an indepth knowledge of nutrition and exercise. Get your sister set up with a life coach for a consultation. This will go a long way in helping her get on track with her self-esteem, eating habits, personal goals and weight loss. This website http://www.lifecoach.com/ is a directory of life coaches worldwide. Just remember to search via your sister's specific needs.

The reason I suggest a life coach rather than a trainer is that I have seen people with depression and very low self-esteem be so affected that they won't start working out on their own initiative - or with the help of a trainer. Many times they need that bit of extra support and encouragement in the form of a mentor in order to get motivated. Once your sister gets her goals on track with a life coach, she will start to be more confident and persue her goals on her own readily.

I hope this helps Eleanor. Please keep us updated on your sister's progress.

April 24, 2007 9:34 AM
 

300 spartan workout said:

PingBack from http://lindsay.freemusicradioonline.info/300spartanworkout.html

May 17, 2008 6:14 PM

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About Anna

I'm a certified personal trainer and professional writer, as well as the editor of Fitness Gear 101. I'm what I like to call a self-proclaimed "fitness geek", who basically eats, dreams and lives fitness. After spending this much time and energy on fitness, I figure I have to know a few useful tricks ;) I hope you enjoy the site, and learn a useful thing or two about your body, nutrition and health. Cheers, Anna