Archive for the ‘The 300 Workout’ Category

Kickboxing and The 300 Workout

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Yesterday I went to my thai kickboxing class where my lungs were served to me on a silver platter. After taking about a month off from kickboxing, I have lost most of my endurance. Not all that surprisingly, my lungs still don’t really seem to be working properly, as I am able to take only half breaths when my heart rate starts to rise. This is one of the reasons (aside from family and job issues) I started to slack at kickboxing for the last month. I attribute this to one of three things:

  1. My lungs really are damaged from the incorrectly diagnosed blood clots (pulmonary embolisms) I had about 4 years ago. Thanks so much RIT Student Health center for diagnosing me with pneumonia for weeks on end resulting in me almost dying in my apartment, even after you had me get X-rays and an MRI. I wish I could sue them.
  2. I have developed some sort of asthma perhaps?
  3. I am in such horrific physical condition that my lung capacity has regressed to less than 2/3 of what it used to be.

The 300 Workout

My original blog about the 300 workout I will be starting is here: The 300 Workout for Total Body Conditioning. I have not really started this yet, but I am preparing myself.

Pull ups on a treeThis is the tree on which I have been practicing my pull-ups. A couple weeks ago I was only able to get about 5 pull ups in a row, something that I used to be able to do with a 45 lb plate hanging from my waist. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Anyway, I can see in this picture my lack of width and girth, and the decrease in the circumference of my arms. It will be good to get swole again.

Step up benchThis is the bench on which I will be doing step ups and any other exercises that might require a bench. Just to get back into the swing of pressing, I will probably bust out some high rep 45 lb Powerblock presses using this bench like I would an Olympic bench.

The ParkThis is the park in which I will be doing any sort of running or carrying exercises. Any exercise that doesn’t involve a stationary tool of some sort will be done in the park.

PR of the Day

As of today, I am back up to 9 consecutive pull ups without cheating. My goal is to hit 20, something I’ve never done before, but if I practice this all summer and keep my weight down through conditioning drills, I should be able to attain this before next winter.

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The 300 Workout for Total Body Conditioning

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

By now everyone has heard of the movie 300, and most strength and conditioning athletes know about The 300 Workout. This is how all those ripped actors in the movie got into such great shape. The 300 Workout is well known as a pretty hardcore conditioning program. Not everyone can complete this workout, and those that do have seriously trained for it before attempting the final challenge.

300 Gerard ButlerMost of the actors trained 5 days per week for 8-10 total weeks, while Gerard Butler (the star, King Leonidas) trained for 12 weeks. This is something that anyone reading Project Swole can accomplish, and this is definitely something I can accomplish in 10 weeks. Let’s take a look at the original workout:

The 300 Workout Challenge

  • 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
  • 300 Total Reps

I have heard of versions of this program where you have to complete the desired number of reps by alternating exercises. For example, you might perform push ups as a superset to pull ups, performing 3 sets of 10 reps each to hit a goal of 30 before moving on to the next exercise. I will incorporate this strategy for my first two sets only.

Some 300 Workout routines consist of bodyweight only exercises, while others are apprised strictly of plyometrics. I have included some bodyweight exercise in my attack strategy, and hope to phase in some plyo movements as I get back into shape.

My 300 200 Workout Challenge

  • 15 Pull Ups on a tree branch
  • 25 Push Ups with push up handles
  • 25 DB Deadlifts with 45 lbs on Powerblocks
  • 25 1-arm clean and press 35 lbs on Powerblocks
  • 25 18-inch bench jumps (box jumps)
  • 25 Burpees
  • 25 1-arm clean and press 35 lbs on Powerblock
  • 20 Jumping jacks
  • 15 Neutral grip chin ups on the tree
  • 200 Total Reps

I have a stopwatch, which will be nice for measuring progress and setting goals. Some goals will be about adding a new exercise, some goals will be about completing more reps or more weight, while yet others will be about beating my previous time record. I also have to force myself to take pictures and measurements both before and after. All of which I suppose will be posted to this blog.

My weekly schedule will consist of The 300 Workout and Thai Kickboxing. The plan is to exercise 5 days a week. On the mornings when I do not have kickboxing the night before, I will complete a 300 Workout. Other mornings will be off. I must make up missed workouts on the weekends. Eventually I will be doing a true 300 rep workout. My 200 workout is just to help get back into shape again.

So, this is the plan and I am going to stick to it for 10 weeks. There is plenty of room for flexibility, so I should be able to get in at minimum, 4 workouts per week, but I will strive to hit 5. Before and after information will be posted. So who’s with me?

The 300 Workout

Caution

If you are not in shape, have a heart condition, or some other serious health ailment, please consult your physician before starting an intense exercise program. You should not attempt to complete the original 300 Challenge if you are not already somewhat in shape from conditioning and exercise.

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