A lot has been discussed and written about the 300 workout. And that’s not a surprise. The men (and the few women) in the movie 300 were AMAZINGLY fit, they were in remarkable shape. Their abs were ripped, their legs were muscled, and their backs were like iron.

Their physiques were what most strive for, and most don’t ever reach.

It wasn’t Hollywood hype. It wasn’t trick photography. And it wasn’t that they were on “roids”.

If there was any secret to their success, it was … wait for it … hard work and consistency. They put in the work. Everyday, they went in and trained like animals. Everyday, they were meticulous about their diets. Everyday, they moved forward.

They are living proof of how much you can change your body in a short period of time. If you are willing to put in the work and be disciplined, the sky is the limit.

In the end Vincent Regan shed 40 pounds in eight weeks, and took his deadlift from less than bodyweight (205) to more than double-bodyweight (355). He could pull 85% of 1RM blindfolded and recite Shakespeare in the midst of the toughest training session.

Besides, its fun to pretend to be a spartan!

But, what exactly IS the Spartan Workout? And how does one use it to maximum effect?

Well, there in lies a misconception. Hear this, from the guy who actually trained these warriors:

The second misconception surrounds the idea of the Spartan workout, aka “300”, how frequently it was done or who actually finished it. “300” is a one-time test, an invitation-only challenge undertaken by those deemed ready for it. 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. Like many workouts “300” is not hard once you’ve done it but the apprehension built up 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.

“300”
25x Pull-up +
50x Deadlift @ 135# +
50x Push-up +
50x Box Jump @ 24” box +
50x Floor Wiper @ 135# (one-count) +
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36# (KB must touch floor between reps) +
25x Pull-up
300 reps total

In other words, the 300 workout is the benchmark. It is up to you to put in the work so that you can meet it.