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RTRAINING
Spartan "3OO"By Ken Mannie, Head Strength/Conditioning Coach,
MichiganState University, East Lansing. Ml
ong before the release ofWarner Biollier's block-btistcr movie,
300. 1came across an articlethe extremely cballeiigingand brutally
intense training regimentbe actors endu red prior to filming.
Through six months of workout ses-sions conducted by Mark
l'wight, anaccompHsbed mountain climber,autbor, and bigbly
respected irainer,the movie's casi transformed tbeir bod-ies into
tbe w arrior pbysiqties m andat-ed by director Zach Snyder.One
training approach called for'lie exectition of a string of
various
exercises - some conventional, someextiemely unconventional -
with tbegoal of cotiipieiing 300 total reps.Tbat's quite a feat,
considering thaimost workout scripts call for aboul balf(and
usually niucb less) of that grtiel-ing number.Always being a fan of
good, old-fashioned hard work, I decided lo takeihat them e, modify
it a bit, and rtui(lift, actually) with it.1 should styte here that
tbese work-
outs exceed tbe norm to a degree tbatrecjuiresyou to examine
them closely.You may determine that the pariit ulariige group
and/or the overall trainingexperience of your athletes
dictateslluil you file ibese scripl.s for future useIn order to be
judicioiLs and pru-dent, several important caveats are inorder:
" Tbese scripts are for oldei atlileteswho have been training in
earnestfor at least a couple of years. In(tther words, bigb scbool
juniorswho have been indoctrinated, well-coached, and put tbrotigb
the rig-ors of a year-round strength train-ing program since they
were fresh-men, should be ready for some-thing of this nauire.
These are extiemely challengingworkouts, and tberefore sbould
beused witb con sideration given totbe appropriate lime.s on tbe
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ing calendar. I would recoinnieiidperforming these routines in
theoff-season per iod s only, as they willassuredly indut e some
muscle sore-ness for al least a couple of days.These art- novel
workouts thatsliuiild be used no more than onceper week, and
followed with at leasta couple of recovery days beforeengaging in
even so inucli as a con-ventional strength workout.These scripts
are nol meant to beused for an indeliuJte |>eridtime. We use
them as a motiva-tional tool on a limited basis inthe ofl-.sea.son
only.A iitial suggestion for those whohl be a little wary of tlic
high vol-ume in a single .session is to bre;ik-iipihe workouts in
to two sepa rate !.>() reparrangements. The scripts could ihenbe
performed on two non-tonsecutivedays. This amoun ts to 15 sets of
10reps in each workoul, which is closerlo a standard stien gth
training session.Note: ,\11 of the workouts are pre-ceded with a
live m inute dynamic
warm-up peiiod, and followed with aijiief static and/or band
stretchingsegment.With these stiggestious in m ind,here are two of
oiir favorite Spartan"300" workouts, Michigan State style,complete
with some coaching points.
WOR KOU T I: COM E BACKW ITH YOUR SHIELO
This is a total body workout thatincludes the use ol barbells,
dtnnl)-bells, machines, sandbags, and severalbody weight
exercises.Twenty exercises are performedfor on e set of 15
repetitions apiece,with the lower bodv movements per-formed first
in the seqtience.[1 looks like this:1. Sanilbag Front Squats - 15
reps2. Hex Bar Dead Lifts - 15 reps3. Leg Press - I Tt reps4.
Straight bar Rotnauian Dead Lifts
(RDL's) - 15 reps (N ote: Theseare commonly referred to as
stiff-legged dead lifts, but a slight bendshould be tiiaintained
iti ihe ktieesthroughout the movement.)
5. Bodyweight Squats while wearing a25 11). weight vest - 15
reps6. Bodyweight Lunges while wearing25 lb. weight vest - L5 reps
(witheach leg)7. Dumhbell (DB) Incline Press- 15reps8. DB Bent-over
Rows - 15 (for bothright and left sides if
performedindependetitly)9. DB Seated Military P re ss - 15 reps10.
DB Upright Rows - 15 reps11. Barbell Close Crip Bench Press -15
reps12. Front Lat Pulldowns - 15 teps13. Sandbag Standing Military
Press-15 reps14. Hammer (machine) HorizontalRow 15 reps15. Hann ner
Chest Press - 15 reps16. Hammer High Row-15 reps17. Bodyweiglit
Cliin-nps- 15 teps(even ii dotie in ati all-negative, or
lowering only, m anner)18. Bodyweiglit Dips- In reps (eveti
ifdone in an all-negative tnatuier)19. Bodyweight Mid-Section
exercise(several choices) - 15 leps20,Bod\'weight I'uslMtps- 15
teps
Coaching Points: As dictated bythe high volume, tlie weight
loadsrange from light to m oderate on all ofthe applicable
exercises (i.e., thosetising an inipletneiu, rather than
body-weight, of some type). The accumula-tive fatigue created by
the high reptarget and sheer length of the scriptbecome the primary
overload indices.
"Heaw" weights simply cainiot (andshould not) be used because ol
thosetwo factors, which may be con tradicto-ry to most mainstream
plans, hut isnecessary for this particular approach.Another
overload technique thatcan be easily applied is (ontrolling
therecovery lx*tweeti sets. While the initial
recovery period between sets is usually1 '/-2 m intttcs, our
tiltimate goal forrecovery is 1 minnte between sets.
Finally, tiote that we allow for "neg-ative-only" reps on the
chin-nps anddips, due to the fact that a tretnen-dous amount of
fatigite will be built-ttp in the musculature by that particu-lar
point in the roittine. Good, posi-tive (raising) reps will be
hatd-eariiedaud maybe even impossible for someof your larger
athletes.WORKO UT I I : FIGHT IN TH ESHADE
The second workout consists ofrotating through three cycles of
fivedifferent bodyweight exercises andperforming 20 reps in each
set.Here it is:1. Modified Rope Ptill-tips(described iti the April,
'07 issue)20 reps
2. Dips - 20 reps3. C;hin-ups - 20 reps4 . Bodyweight S(|iiats -
20 reps5. Step-ups (on to a 24" high box) -
20 reps with each legCoaching Points: The firstsequence is
performed at a fairlygood clip, with ahout 30 secondsrecttvery
between exercises.After the step-ups, we allow for alonger respite
of 60-90 seconds, andthen we get after it from tlic top ofthe ord
er for ihe secotid cycle. A lit-tle more rest will be needed
betweensets - probably up to one mintite.At the end of the second
cycle, 60-
90 more seconds ate issued for recov-ery, followed by tlie third
and Hnalcycle. Again, we try to keep tlie lecov-ery period hetween
sets to 60 seconds.FINAL REP
These ate merely a couple of sam-ple workouts you can examine
andtweak to your liking. If the volumeha.s you concerned -even
though, asmentioned, these are infre(|uent!y
WWW.COACHAD.COM 2OO7 SEPTEMBER 9
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Spartan "3OO" Trainingused routines - you can certainlymake
adjiistnieiiLs as you see fit.Obviously, you can mix and matchany
type or sequence of exercises youprefer to work in concert with
yourcurrent approach.
Other than that, "Come and getthem!"
TIP FROM THETRENCHESSuper Foods for energy, recoveryfrom hard
exercise, and a healthylifestyle: If you're iooking for a shortlist
of hf althy, energy producing, andrecovery aiding foods that are
easy toincorporate in the daily diet, hsten-upHoops: Sweet Potatoes
- A real nutrition-al "all-star" lh;it is literally one ofthe he.st
veggies you can eat, try toincorporate this winner in yourdiet as
often as possible. Thesebabies are loaded with Vitamin
C,carotcnoids. potassi-um, andfiber.
Some restaurants even offer themas a substitute for French Fries
(atop-of-tlie-line artery dogger) andregular baked potatoes.Grape
Tomatoes - Sweeter andfirmer than other types of toma-toes, these
bite-size treats are per-fect for snacking, dipping, andplopping on
salads. Packed withVitamin C and Vitamin A, these Ht-de health
ntiggets also containsome fiber and those wonderfulphytochemicals
you hear so muchabout.Fat Free (Skim) or 1% Milk -Check it out:
Calcium, loads ofvitamins, and high-quality proteinwithout all the
fat; need I saymore? Caution: Don't be fooledby 2% milk, which
still has a con-siderable am ount of saturated fatin it.Blueberries
- Rich in fiber.Vitamin C, and the highly sought-after antioxidant
group, these littlesweeties are great on cereal, inyogurt, on
low-fat ice cream, or allby themselves.
Wild Salmon (not the "farm-raised" variety that has higherievels
of dioxin contaminants) -One of our "heart healthy heroes,"wild
salmon is chalk-full of thegood omega-3 fats, whose hea lthbenefits
are continually beingunearthed, and qii;ility protein.Citrus Fruits
-Juicy, great tasting,and oozing with Vilamiii C, folicacid, and
fiber, tliese are muchhealthier snacks than candy barsthat are
bloated with saturated fat.Pre-washed, Pre-cut Bags ofGreens (Kaie,
Spinach, Hearts ofRomaine, etc.) - Convenient,ready-to-eat, and
high in calcium,carotenoids. folate, potassium,fiber, and Vilaniin
C, loss tlit-rn ina .salad bowl, sprinkle some blue-berries, grape
tomatoes, greenpeppers, salmon chunks, a lightsalad dressing , and
yoiu" favoritenuts on top, and you've got ahealthy meal in
itself.
Ken Mannie mann ie^'ath.msu.edu
I you enjoyed reading this story, then why not ieg on to
www.coachad.cemand watcl i it before your eyes.That s right!
Beginning this month. Scholastic Coach& Mthletic Director s
Web site wil l feature a virtual monthly version of Powerline,
our highly suc-cessful and widely read strength and cenditioning
column . Just took for thePoweriine ONLINE logo on the
homepage.
Hosted by our very own Powcriine guru and resident expert, Ken
Mannie,the head strength & conditioning coach at Michigan State
University, PoweriineONLINE wiii provide tips, suggestions, and
recommendations from a whole bevyof strength and conditioning
activities, ail in digital quaiity streaming video.
Poweri ine ONLINE brings the pages of Coacb&MBio l i fe,
offering an inter-active, visual depiction of each set and each
exercise. You and your piayerswil l experience every grunt, groan,
and grimace as Ken Mann ie and his s taffexplain, perform , and
evaluate, step-by-step, al l of the m uscle-buiiding rou-tines that
wil l help your athletes and your programs reach their
maximumpotentiai in the weight room.
This mon th, Coach Mannie and his graduate assistant, Joe Tate,
a formerMSU offensive l ineman, who played briefly in the NFL and
NFL Europe, wil l take you inside the Sp artans' weight room and
perform 17exercises as depicted in th e September Poweri ine story.
Spartan "300" Training, based on the movie blockbuster, 300.
These specific exercises provide a new challenge and stimuius
for the MSU athletes, particuiariy the football players. The
segmentis nearly 40 minutes long and is time well spent.
Also, each month Coach Mannie will answer your questions at the
end of each Poweriine ONLINE segment.To ask Coach Mannie a
question, just email him at: [email protected] tog on and get
ready to feel the bu rn!- Kevin Newell, Editor, CoachA A thletic
Birectw
l O COACH AND ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
