When the movie "300" hit theaters in 2006, men all over the world wanted to attain the body of a Spartan warrior. The Spartans were an elite class of Greek warriors who prided themselves on physical fitness, endurance, fighting ability and all-around toughness. Spartan men began their training at the age of 7 and spent their entire lives perfecting hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat.
The "300" Workout
The actors who portrayed the Spartans in the movie "300" displayed a level of physical fitness that had never been seen on the big screen before. To get their bodies in shape, the actors underwent a 90 to 120-minute circuit training routine, five days a week, that challenged their bodies from head to toe. Rather than lifting weights and performing conventional bodybuilding exercises, the actors focused more on body-weight exercises with little rest between sets.
Each day, their trainers would adjust their routine to avoid plateaus and keep muscle confusion at a maximum. The routines typically consisted of old-fashioned calisthenics, such as jumping box-squats, pushups, pullups and kettlebell exercises. The actors only ate meals high in protein and complex carbohydrates, which primarily consisted of lean meat, green vegetables and fruits. Many health and fitness magazines have published workout and diet routines dubbed "The 300 Workout," but these routines are only similar to the routines the actors did.
Traditional Spartan Workout
The ancient Spartans did not have barbells or gym equipment to train. They had to rely on their natural resources and body weight for resistance in strength training. They would often run for several miles through the hills that surrounded their city, then jog in teams carrying huge logs over their heads. To train their upper bodies they would do pushups, lift heavy clay pots and bench press the body weight of their training partner.
Spartan Diet
The ancient Spartans were skilled agriculturalists. They tended to farms that they used to produce their own livestock, dairy, produce and grains. A Spartan warrior ate a diet that mainly consisted of whole grain barley, whole grain wheat, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, legumes, fish, quail eggs, chicken eggs, olive oil and meat. Sugar was unknown to the Greeks, so the Spartans never ate it.
Pankration
Spartan warriors were trained in the ancient martial art of pankration. Pankration is a form a hand-to-hand combat that was introduced in 648 B.C. It is the oldest martial arts on record. and has moves similar to those in judo, sambo, jujitsu and Greco-Roman wrestling. Pankration was used both as a method of training unarmed soldiers to defend themselves and as a sport. In a pankartion match, punching, kicking and grappling are all allowed. The aerobic and anaerobic benefits of pankration are similar to boxing and wrestling.
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