CEdgar2

Last updated 01:00, Thursday, 31 May 2007

AFTER watching the film 300 a couple of months ago I was amazed at the condition and psychological adaptation these actors had got themselves into. Not only did it make me look at my gut in embarrassment but it made me realise that if you truly want to work at something you can.

The actors in 300 showed this and without doubt got the results they wanted. I recently read an interview with the lead actor Gerard Butler, it was astonishing to read he would train in the morning which would comprise of lifting tractor tyres, performing high number of pull ups and having bands attached to his waist while he performed a sprint.

He would then finish that workout and train with a professional bodybuilder and on top of that he would complete the fighting scenes in 300. A huge achievement by a man who wasn’t in the greatest of condition but ended up with a physique most guys would want.

Unfortunately due to the dedication Butler put in he seriously overtrained which put huge strain on his body.

It sometimes makes me laugh when I hear the next best workout has been developed, usually they are far from the safest and place great pressure on the human body. They are normally devised by people who aren’t professionally qualified and are looking for that quick money earner.

I’m a strong believer in placing your body under great intensity, however I’m also a great believer in performing it at the right times. Films like 300 and Rocky make the men want to get to the gym as soon as they can, whereas the ladies out there look at a magazine and try and devise a plan to look like a celebrity. Whatever the focus it can become an unrealistic and wasted journey. Let’s face it why do so many people stop training? It’s the disappointment factor of spending so long in a gym and gaining no results.

So is it a good or bad thing to try and perform the exact workouts we read in magazines?

My answer is somewhat contradictive, it is good and bad. The person who trained the actors of 300 was a world champion at rock climbing and I think he was an ex marine as well. He has lived and breathed training for the majority of his life and even though not officially qualified had an abundance of knowledge to share. If you ever get the chance have a look on the internet for the video of ‘300 training’ then you will understand the intensity I talk of. His training was dedicated to one goal and that was to ensure the actors had the best physique ever. He trained them in intense workouts that would define and sculpt muscle along with lung busting cardio routines. He only had a short amount of time to train these actors so I’m sure the pressure of the film producers was immense. There was no beginner status it was just a matter of starting everyone off at the same hard level.

At the end of the training a challenge was set which is where the 300 workout was born. This challenge was performing a total of 300 reps without rest. This would cover six different exercises. Only one of the actors completed this workout and managed to do it in a time of 18 minutes. In America this has caught the imagination big time and the majority of gyms have this challenge set. Overall the workout is a good thing – with a health warning however.

The training involved should not be performed everyday, in fact once maybe twice a week at the most. The problem with this type of training is the intensity involved. In many respects it resembled strongman training where the aim was to build muscle. Flipping tractor tyres isn’t my idea of training, performing an alternative exercise is though. Kettlebells are the best alternative for this, perform kettlebell swings. The rest of the workout provided good exercises that hit every bodypart possible and if you can watch the video please take some of the exercises away with you and perform them as they will build and define your body.

The 300 challenge is a great challenge that only the advanced fitness fanatics should try. The reason it’s so good is the exercises involved, deadlifts, pull ups and press ups and all the best exercises you can do for maintain and building strength. The numbers of reps is scary but take your time and it should replace any workout you have now. It’s a challenge so treat it like one, if you are a beginner then it’s the perfect goal to work to. Give yourself six to eight months and you’ll be there.

The 300 workout is the best of what I’ve seen from the Hollywood treadmill, however along with the good comes the bad. It all seems to centre on the size Zero phenomena. It has became a worrying trend among the women out there to look like their favourite celebrities. This comes with a cost as well with some models dying from this craze. I haven’t seen a magazine yet that publishes its desire for women to become size Zero which is good, but I feel the biggest drawback at the moment is the term ‘diet’ that is still an overused headline in many publications.

Diets don’t work and never will. Forget dieting and consider minor changes to your diet. This will give you a gradual but healthy change to your body. It’s the minor amendments to your diet that will add up to a major change.