Becoming a 300: The 18-Minute Warrior Workout

Posted February 16, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Donnell Peavy

Section: His Fitness, Cardio Training, His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health

By now, you have surely seen the movie, and most likely you remember reading about the Spartans in history classes in both high school and in college. Their reputation as unparalleled warriors is well known the world over. In an attempt to recreate these warriors for the movie 300, a training routine was created with the intention of getting the actors into Spartan-like shape, enhancing their strength and both cardiovascular and muscular endurance.

The workout consisted of several exercises, both weight bearing and non, performed in a circuit fashion with little or no rest. The goal was to finish the routine as quickly as possible. The fastest Spartan completed the workout in about 18 minutes. The routine they performed was as follows:

25 Pull-ups 50 Deadlifts x 135lbs 50 Push-ups 50 Box Jumps – 24in box 50 Floor Wipers x 135lbs 50 Kettlebell Clean and Press x 36lbs 25 Pull-ups 300 reps total

Seems simple enough, right? Being the fitness monster that I am, I figured that I would attempt to tackle the workout.

Ideally, you want as little rest as possible during the set. However, if necessary, you can stop – just as long as you crank out every rep in the circuit. Don’t move on to the next exercise without completing every rep of the exercise you are currently performing.

I got to the gym excited about doing this routine and finishing in 18 minutes or less. I changed clothes, grabbed a towel and hurried to the pull-up bar. I knocked out the first 25, and then went to grab a barbell loaded with 135lbs for some deads.

I made it through about 35 of them before my hands started to feel it – the rest of my body was fine – and I set the barbell down for a few seconds to recover. I hit 50 and moved on to the next exercise. The pushups were a breeze…the box jumps were more like a long wind. Eventually, though, I finished them.

Until that day, I had never done floor wipers before. They felt REALLY awkward, but I pressed on and made it through them. The gym doesn’t have kettlebells, so I settled for a 35lb dumbbell. Fifty reps on each arm?? Yeah, as you probably guessed, that sucked. It seemed like forever. My shoulders felt like Jell-o and I still had twenty-five more pull-ups to do. Somehow, I managed to finish them. I looked at the clock…twenty-four minutes. At least I finished it, though, and now I know exactly how tough it is. I made it a goal to finish it in 18 minutes or less next time. Are there any other warriors out there who can do this?

Research sources and for more information: The 300 Spartan Fitness Routine from Gym Jones; [picture]