The Men's Health Blog

I love the movie 300. Absolutely love it. It's a brilliantly different kind of movie experience, and intense beyond belief.

Truly a man's movie.

If you haven't seen it (WTF?), I highly recommend you do so. In fact, at the time of this post, 300 is probably my third favorite movie of all time -- behind Gladiator and The Departed (also movies you MUST see).

Any way, I found this great article on the now famous 300 workout that really peaked my curiosity. One of these months I'll dedicate some time to building up to and taking the 300 test.

The workout gets its name from the total number of repetitions. But those 300 reps weren't done daily, as some media accounts report, Twight says. Rather, the 300 workout was the finale of months of training, a kind of graduation test, after actors had weight lifted and trained with tools such as medicine balls and Kettlebells (cast iron weights with handles).

It's daunting, and includes these weight-training moves:

* 25 pull-ups
* 50 deadlifts at 135 pounds
* 50 push-ups
* 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
* 50 "floor wipers" (a core and shoulders exercise at 135 pounds)
* 50 "clean and press" at 36 pounds (a weight-lifting exercise)
* 25 more pull-ups -- for a total of 300 reps

There's no rest between movements and the score is based on total time, Twight says.

Behind-the-Scenes Work
But before that graduation test, Twight says, there were months of work, transforming the actors and stuntmen not just physically but mentally, he notes. "Zack [Snyder, the director,] wanted the Spartans to appear as though they had been fighting together since they were children," he says.

Continue reading...

That's motivating.

Anyone out there done the 300 Workout?

Oh, and no post about the movie 300 would be complete without a shot of the queen herself, Lena Headey.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Cheers.

UPDATE 12/17/2008: A buddy of mine at work sent me this video. Dude's almost 40 years old and did the 300 Workout in 24:50.



Just makes me want to do it more.

Late last week I accepted an offer to instruct a fitness boot camp at the local university. The university, a private Christian institution, offers active fitness classes such as pilates, martial arts, dance, etc., free of charge to students (well, nothing is free, I'm sure they're paying for it with tuition dollars).

Next semester, they want to add a fitness boot camp. I wish that sort of thing existed when I was in college.

Any way, a friend of mine instructs the pilates class there, and recommended me to the program coordinator. He contacted me last Thursday, and I accepted without hesitation.

Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.

While I have yet to take a fitness boot camp class personally, I suppose going through actual Marine Corps boot camp and knowing a little something about personal fitness are all the credentials I need to instruct one.

My university course will be 5-weeks in length, from February 2 through March 6, taking place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7-8AM. Ideally, I prefer the class to begin at 6AM. However, I have to remember that we're dealing with college students here. Heck, I'll be amazed if they just show up on a consistent basis.

I'll be spending a good chunk of time in January researching other programs, and building a 5-week course of my own. Of course a lot will depend on the students (i.e. fitness level, motivation, etc.), but I need to at least lay out the basics. I want to really challenge participants, as well as make it fun enough that they crave the next session. The premise of my course will be the same as others -- to keep students moving the entire time. But I'll try to lace the course with flare from my own background, without getting too militant, of course.

If you've ever taken a boot camp course, I'd be more than interested to hear about your experience -- specifically your most and least favorite exercises. Do you have any online resources I should take into consideration?

Even if you haven't taken a boot camp course, what exercises do you think I should incorporate?

Help me build a killer course!

Today I finished the weekday portion of the Daniel Craig Workout.

Power Circuit
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 3

- Clean and Press
- Weighted Knee Raise
- Weighted Stepups
- Pull-up
- Triceps Dips
- Incline Pushup

And what a way to finish. My workout buddy ended up pulling out of the circuit right before the incline pushups -- to puke. Now that's the sign of a good circuit.

We pushed hard through the exercises, and even I was feeling quite gassed -- yet somehow energized -- at the end. It's all about finishing strong, gents.

This weekend... just a little light cardio both Saturday and Sunday. And that about does it for the Daniel Craig Workout.

You'll be pulling Bond girls in no time.

Yesterday was day four of the Daniel Craig 007 Workout.

Shoulders and Arms
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 4

- Incline Biceps Curls
- Triceps Dips
- Lateral Raises
- Shoulder Press

Pretty simple day, if you're anything like me and work your arms and shoulders frequently. My legs, however, are definitely paying me back for day three.

I'll be honest, my legs are sore as hell. And doing my second pilates class that same night only exacerbated my painful recovery.

But it's all good. That's why I throw these random celebrity-type workouts into my routine. It's good to force yourself out of your zone every once and awhile. I'm more than reminded of how neglected my legs have been.

As for today... power circuit.

Alright. So today was the legs portion of the Daniel Craig 007 Workout.

Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 4

- Squat
- Straight-Leg Deadlift
- Hamstring Curl
- Weighted Lunge

As I mentioned on Day 1, I've been neglecting my legs and focusing on my chest, back, and arms for some time now. With that in mind, I was definitely at a lower weight than usual, but I really focused on full range of motion and squeezing out perfect, controlled form.

I'm going through this routine with a cohort of mine, who I have been training for a few weeks now. He struggled with the deadlifts, mainly because he had so much trouble with his form (i.e. keeping his back straight). But hey, the guy had never lifted before, and now has a gym membership and works out 5 days a week with me during our lunch hour. We worked through it. That sort of stuff motivates me.

You know that shakey feeling you get when you work a neglected muscle group thoroughly? Yeah. I got that.

Tomorrow... shoulders and arms.

Today was chest and back.

Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 4

- Incline Bench Press
- Pullup
- Incline Pushup
- Incline Pec Flys

If you struggled with 3 sets of 10 pull-ups yesterday, I'm sure you loved 4 sets of 10 pull-ups today. I almost failed after pull-up #8 on the last set.

I said almost. This quick workout is about gritting your teeth and grinding it out.

The only thing I switched from the original workout was the incline pushups. Instead of putting my feet on a bench (which were all taken), I used a ball and turned up the heat a bit on my core. Of course, my core was already fatigued from last night's pilates session -- so that felt great.

The rest of the routine was pretty standard. Again, make sure you keep up the pace to facilitate a cardio component.

Tomorrow... legs.

As I eluded to in my post outlining The Daniel Craig 007 Workout, I began the routine this afternoon with my office workout buddy.

Today was the power circuit.

Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 3

- Clean and Press
- Weighted Knee Raise
- Weighted Stepups
- Pull-up
- Incline Pushup
- Triceps Dips

I have to admit, I've neglected by legs for a few weeks now, so the clean presses kicked my @$$. But my shoulders are strong so the finish felt great. The rest of the exercises were pretty standard. The pull-ups will probably kick your @$$ if you haven't been doing them on a consistent basis. So be on the lookout for that. (Luckily, I do pull-ups often to maintain my high Marine Corps PFT score.)

My workout buddy and I kept a rapid pace, so the cardio element was definitely present. I recommend only resting as long as it takes your buddy to do the exercise -- or approximately 30 seconds if you're a loner. We completed the workout in about 30 minutes.

Not a bad little circuit.

Tomorrow... chest and back.

I decided to check out Quantum of Solace last night, and wasn't let down. Daniel Craig is a hands-down bad @ss.

We should all be so lucky to be as fit as Craig at the age of 40. And with that in mind, Men's Health Magazine posted the Daniel Craig Workout.

Here's the skinny (click each day for full details):

Monday's Workout
Power Circuit
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 3

- Clean and Press
- Weighted Knee Raise
- Weighted Stepups
- Pullup
- Incline Pushup
- Triceps Dips

---

Tuesday's Workout
Chest and Back
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 4

- Incline Bench Press
- Pullup
- Incline Pushup
- Incline Pec Flys

---

Wednesday's Workout
Legs
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 4

- Squat
- Straight-Leg Deadlift
- Hamstring Curl
- Weighted Lunge

---

Thursday's Workout
Shoulders and Arms
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 4

- Incline Biceps Curls
- Triceps Dips
- Lateral Raises
- Shoulder Press

---

Friday's Workout
Power Circuit
Reps: 10 of each exercise
Sets: 3

- Clean and Press
- Weighted Knee Raise
- Weighted Stepups
- Pullup
- Incline Pushup
- Triceps Dips

---

Saturday's Workout
Stay away from the weights, but do some stretching and easy cardio, such as a hike, a bike ride, or a mid-paced run.

---

Sunday's Workout
Work off a long night at Casino Royale, or something more intimate, with another dose of stretching and easy cardio.

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I'm in the middle of a workout routine right now, but I'm going to try the James Bond Workout the first week of December. Anyone want to join me? Let me know if/when you do the same.

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.