Gerard Butler 300 Workout & Diet: How He Got A Spartan Physique

1. Great article, it was hard to find everything that took place for the preparation of the actors in the movie, and it’s pretty much all summed up here.

   • Thanks, glad you liked it. The 300 workout is an intense training regimen.

2. Do you take a rest in between kettle-bell and goblin squat ladder sets, or do you just move straight on to the next weight, thanks

   • Yes, you want to take a rest where you need it. You’re likely going to need a breather after all those kettlebell swings. But, the key to the Gerard Butler workout is intensity. When you do each exercise, make sure to do it with intensity.

3. Also could you explain the 1st Saturday workout a bit more in depth please.

   • The Ladder Pull Ups means you do 1 rep, then 2 reps, then 3 reps, then 4 reps, then 5 reps. Then you do 4,3,2,1 back down. If sounds easy at first, but your likely to hit failure toward the end.

     The 2nd workout is a circuit. So, you go from one exercise to the next. 60sec at each of the stations with 30sec rest to switch between each one. I understand in a crowed gym it will be hard to run around doing each. Do what you can: circuit or break it up so that you’re doing 3 sets. Unless otherwise stated, you do 60 secs of work at each station.

4. Appreciate your help

5. On Monday, I’m taking it that you meant 2 cleans then you squat it 5 times for five mins? And what did you mean by the combo part?

   • Yes, you are correct. You do the 2 cleans then 5 squats back-to-back. That’s what I mean by “combo.” Another terminology you may be familiar with is superset. You superset the 2 exercises. You should be able to get a superset done in about 30 seconds (focus on form not time).

     Then, repeat the superset every 30 seconds for 5 minutes. Starting out, I found I had to take a bit of a breather in between. So feel free to condition yourself as you work your way through the 300 workout.

6. what do you mean when it says 3×5 for exercises such as goblet squat and wall squat, aren’t those exercises just holding the position? i’m confused about how you can count reps on those exercises

   • 3×5 means 3 sets x 5 reps. I agree that’s confusing when it comes to wall squats. For wall squats, this is a warm up for the leg routine. So, go for around 30 seconds to be counted as a rep. Time will vary based on your fitness level. The key is just to get your legs warm.

     For goblet squats, count a rep the same way you would for a normal squat. The difference is just that you’re holding a weight out in front of you instead of it resting on your shoulders. So, for goblet squats if it says 3×5: that’s 3 sets of 5 reps.

     • I think you are confusing ‘Wall Squats’ with ‘Wall Sits.’ The Wall Squat is an actual squat done against a wall. You can see of Mark Twight explaining it at around 0:47 of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SJD5zkQ6M0

       He also explains it in his free ‘Soldier of Steel’ training plan. “Take a wide stance in front of a flat wall with toes touching the wall and feet perpendicular to the wall. Drop into a squat position until your knees touch the wall. Once they touch the wall, they no longer move. From this position, use
       your hands to balance against the wall as you continue to drop into a full squat.
       Then slowly stand back up.”

       http://geauxguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Soldier_of_Steel_Training_Plan.pdf

       • Thanks Alexander. I used the best video I could find at the time. Will update with the video you mentioned.

7. also there’s a lot of exercises where it doesn’t say how many sets, does that mean just do everything 1 set?

   • Some of the instructions might be confusing. Let me know if there is a specific workout in question. Usually, the culprit is that the instructions are listed 3-4 lines higher. For example:

     “Jonestown Sprint:” 45 secs of each exercise. 2 sets.
     Plank Push Ups (The 300 crew used rings instead)
     Whip Smash
     DB OH Hold
     KB Swings
     Dead Hang Pull Ups
     Ball Slam
     Wall Sits

     For the Jonestown sprint, you do 45 secs of each exercise, then immediately move to the next. Once you’re done with each exercise, Gerard Butler and the 300 crew would move to the next exercise. They would do 2 entire sets. Another example is the Saturday 2nd workout.

     Here, you would have to see that the first line says to do 3 total rounds:

     2nd workout: Do three total rounds:

     10 Shoulder Dislocate
     (1-5) Pull-Ups Ladder (The 300 crew used rings instead of a normal Pull Up bar. Ladder means you start with 1 set of 1 rep, then 1 set of 2 reps…etc. up to 5)
     60sec at each of the following stations with 30sec rest to switch between each:
     Bench Press @ 135 +
     Resisted Rope Pull +
     Slosh Pipe Hold OH +
     Resisted Rope Pull +
     Arnold Press @ 2 x 25 DB +
     Barbell Corner Row @ BB & 35 +
     Parallette Push-up (The 300 crew used rings)
     Sit-ups

     I will try to bold a couple things to make it easier to read. Again, let me know if you need any more clarification on any part of the 300 workout routine.

8. I am confused about the first Friday workout where it says “Do 45 secs of each exercise. 2 sets through”, how do you only do 45 seconds of the following exercises?

   • I’ve cleaned up the Friday 300 workout Part 1. Hopefully, I’ve made it more clear. The 45 secs only applies to the biceps/cardio circuit. The rest already had the reps/sets detailed. So, the 45 sec circuit Gerard Butler used for shoulders/biceps/cardio looked like this:

     Do 45 secs of each exercise. 2 sets through:

     Arnold Press @ 2 x 25lb./11kg dumbbells for 45 secs
     Hammer Curls @ 2 x 25lb./11kg. dumbbells for 45 secs
     45 sec rowing machine at a fast pace, heavy resistance
     (Rest 1 minute then repeat.)

     Use a weight that challenges you. Start with a 25 in each hand (that’s what @ 2 x 25 lb. means). If that weight doesn’t challenge you for 45 secs, then jump up in weight. If that is too challenging, jump down to 20 lbs.

9. 5x Heavy Front Squat (70-75% of max)
   6x Heavy Box Step-up (“Heavy” means use dumbbells if you can.)

   These are from the first Monday workout. Are they one set each?

   • I am going to put these workouts in table format, to make them more clear. Use the “One combo every 30 seconds for 5 minutes” for both of these. The 5x means 5 reps every 30 seconds. The 6x means 6 reps per leg.

     The risk/reward mentality of the Gym Jones workouts is that if you get it done fast, you get more rest time. If you go slow, you start to huff and puff even more, will less rest time. But, make sure that going faster doesn’t mean you compromise form.

10. Was this just a sample week of how they trained or did the actors constantly repeat these workouts?

    • The 300 actors constantly changed their workout. This is a sample week. But, the good thing is that you can easily build from it. These are the exercises their trainer said they used. To truly empower yourself with this workout, just change it up so that you’re doing something a bit different each week.

11. Thanks for the article! Could you please explain the Dumbbelll speed circuit mentioned in wednesday’s 1st workout?

    • Sure thing! I’ve updated the article to make the Speed Circuit more clear. For most of the exercises, you can use barbells or dumbbells. Just, in a crowded gym, dumbbells are easier to get your hands on. The idea is to do a 2 min circuit of 6 reps of each exercise.

      Do as many reps of 6 as you can with
      Good Form!
      So, 3 sets where you set the timer for 2 mins.
      Do each exercise 6 reps, then move to the next exercise.

      The 300 crew would try to race each other, to see who could pump out the most reps. But, remember this is about safety and performance, not how many unsafe reps you can do.

12. could you please fix the ‘table not found’ problem?

    • Fixed. We’re in the process of updating the theme. Thanks for your patience!

13. This is my first time visiting this website, and I really want to do this workout, but I still find the way the tables are set up to be a little challenging to read. Why does it seem like there are two slightly different tables for each workout?

    • The first set of tables (yellow) were added to make the workouts more clear. (Also, added so they could be easily printed out or seen on a smartphone). They should be accurate, but less detailed. The table below should be more detailed, but some find them harder to read. If you see a discrepancy, let me know and I’ll investigate.

      However, there might be differences because I added a “notes” section. (If you can’t view on your smartphone, tilt to Landscape). For example, from the 1st Monday workout:
      Clean 10 2 per set 0 secs One Superset combo Superset #1
      Squat 10 5 per set 1 min every 30 secs for 5 mins Superset #1

      May look different from:
      2x Clean + 5x Squat @ 70% body weight (One combo every 30 seconds for 5 minutes)

      But, it’s actually the same workout. Again, if you see something that looks like a discrepancy, I’m happy to investigate/articulate.

      Also, there’s 2 workouts per day. So you will see 2 sets of 2 tables.

      Have Fun! (And let me know if anything can be made more clear)

      • I’m still confused on how to do the clean and squat superset. Would it be like this: 1 clean followed by 5 squats and after 30 seconds do another clean with 5 squats? That’ll be 2 sets in 1 minute or no?

        • The key is in the explanation below the chart: 2x Clean + 5x Squat @ 70% body weight (One combo every 30 seconds for 5 minutes).

          So, you do 2 cleans followed by 5 squats. You need to get that done once every 30 secs, or twice a minute. There’s very little rest during a Mark Twight workout. The 30 sec timer is how long you have to get all that done (2 cleans and 5 squats).

14. Thanks for this article. Although I cannot make two workouts a day this is kinda split into a two week plan for me. Let’s see where it brings me!

    • Two workouts a day are crazy anyways. One should be fine. Also, you can do cardio workouts on days when you have time. Gerard Butler would take days off and just do 90 minutes of different cardio at a slow pace. Good Luck!

      • btw: I am now following the plan for 4 months – started with about 15% Bodyfat and could decrease it to 11% so far (with keeping proper macros most of the time).
        Besides the programm I am playing football (soccer) twice a week!
        So, I really must thank you for the efforts!

        • Awesome. Thank you, for the effort, sticking with it, and letting us know how it’s going. Keep it up!

15. How many reps within a minute for each exercise for the dirty 30’s?

    • Find an amount of reps that’s challenging for you to do in 50 secs. If you go fast, you get rewarded with rest. If you start to dog it, you lose that 10 secs of rest time. It’s psychological, like a lot of the exercises you’d expect from a gym called Gym Jones.

      Try to continue to get everything done in 50 secs or less. If you move fast, you get more rest. But, it gets harder as you go longer. This makes it harder to find rest time between sets.

16. How do I get print friendly version of the whole workout. It will only work for page 1.

    • Navigate to printfriendly.com and type in the URL (/2 and /3 if you want those pages). Then, you can click on the objects you want to delete, and are left with just the workouts/whatever you want to keep.

      Print Friendly says they’re working on it:
      http://support.printfriendly.com/customer/portal/questions/1213293-print-a-paged-post-on-a-single-page-

17. Great article, but when you click on the printer friendly version it only gives you the first page (out of four). How can we get the other three pages?

    • Sorry, just saw the answer above.

18. on the saturday upper body workout it say 30m for barbell corner rows and 20m for situps ect, does that mean reps and the slosh pipe hold OH says 50m is that reps or metres? Thank you

    • Marc,

      Thanks for noticing. I’ve fixed the Saturday workout routine per your questions. It should be “reps” for barbell rows/situps. For slosh pipe hold, that’s meters. For beginners, you can just hold in place for 50 seconds. To make a slosh pipe, you can add water to a 10″ PVC pipe. Though, I just use dumbbells instead of a slosh pipe, as it’s much easier than making your own equipment.

19. Thank you for the clarification. Also for the pull ups ladder on thursdays workout, I’m not sure how that works. and for the pullups on saturday? And I don’t have access to tires to do the flips, I did sumo deadlift to high pull, what would be the best alternative? and how many reps and sets? It said 3 sets of 40m?

    Thank you

    • Sure thing! The Pull-Ups Ladder means you and a partner do a bunch of sets back-to-back. If your solo, then only give yourself the rest equal to what it took you to perform the exercise. The 300 crew used rings instead of a normal pullup bar. So, you do 2x, then 3x, then 4x, then 5x with very little rest.

      "Ladder" means you start with 1 set of 2, then 1 set of 3 reps, etc. up to 5. Rest 3 mins after entire ladder. Then, repeat Ladder 2 more times. Saturday is the same. Only, you do 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x (x=reps; 15 total), then move onto the next exercise.

      I don't have access to tires, either. So, I use kettlebell swings. You can even do dumbbell swings, if that's all you have around at the moment. Sumo deadlift to high pull sounds great, as well. What was the last question about 40m in reference to?

20. Also what is an alternative for the resisted rope pull?
    And the sparrows dozen, is it 12 deadlifts, 12 pullups, 12 pushups, 12 med ball slams = 1 set? then I do a total of 12 sets?
    =144 DL, 144 pullups, 144 pushups, 144 ball slams?

    And the farmers holds its 5 sets of 20 ? metres? …

    • The Sparrow's Dozen is the pinnacle of the Gym Jones routine. Starting out, I would aim for less than 12 sets. Do as many as you can, and try to add another each week. Yes, the ultimate goal is 12 sets x 12 reps of each = 144 reps. The mentality at Gym Jones is about pushing you to the brink. When they were training, Twight wanted to see who would give up first. So, that's why this rep range may sound crazy.

      Yes, Farmer's Holds is 20 meters. Added the (m) to the table. Resisted rope pull alternative? Hard to say, because it's such a unique exercise. I would probably do dumbbell rows. They aren't as metabolic, but they work the back muscles. If there's room in your gym, you could do DB rows + sprint to more fully mimic the resisted rope pull.

21. Thank you so much, the question about the tire flips was if I am doing kettle bell swings or sumo deadlift to highpull as an alternative to the tire flips, how many reps should I do? I believe it says do 40 m of tire flips

    • I read an article about how good kettlebell swings are for your body (shrink your waist, improve endurance). Since then, I've added KB swings to most of my workouts (as a finisher). They're a great way to leave the gym knowing you've given it all you got.

      Usually, with a heavier KB, I go for 3 sets of 12. It all depends on when you get to that point where you're out of breath. The Gym Jones mentality is to get you to that "edge." Proper form is the key with KB swings. Most people make the mistake of trying to use their arms as part of the force.

      The best advice I've ever got about KB swings, is to "think of your arms as a cable, let your legs and torso do all the work." Look down toward your waist as the weight comes down, then use your lower body (with your arms merely the cables) to raise the KB's back up.

22. I feel that there is too much overtraining and overlapping for this to have been his actual workout routine? especially on a carb restriction, I feel no amount of sleep or healthy diet could provide enough rest recovery to be hitting every muscle group every day. Deadlfits and squats 5 days in a row? and dozens of sets of shoulder presses several days in a row? what have you heard form people who have tried this? I cannot see someone doing two workouts a day for 6 days straight for more than a week.

23. Guys would anyone know a good fat burner supplement I could take to improve not only my level of energy workout but to burn fat.

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