Gerard Butler’s Fitness Regimen
For the movie 300 Gerard Butler had to get into great shape. When Gerard played King Leonidas his wardrobe didn’t hide much of his body. Gerard admits that he wasn’t in the best shape when he landed the role. He spent four months training, and transforming his mind. He talked to Men’s Health about his workout for the film, and we wanted to share it with all you guys that want to get into incredible shape! Check out all of Gerard’s Body Sculpting Secrets Below!
Gerard Butler’s Workout
Gerard Butler enlisted the help of Mark Twight, a former world-class mountain climber who, based on personal experience, believes in training as if your life depends on it. In fact, Twight would argue that a good workout should make you feel almost queasy upon hearing what lies ahead. For example, to hasten Butler’s mind-body transformation, he created what he calls the “300-rep Spartan workout.”
300 Rep Spartan Workout
Without resting between exercises do:
- 25 pullups
- 50 deadlifts with 135 pounds
- 50 pushups
- 50 jumps on a 24-inch box
- 50 floor wipers
- 50 single-arm clean-and-presses using a 36-pound kettle bell
- 25 more pullups
All this, in addition to utilizing other unconventional yet equally taxing training methods, such as tire flipping and gymnastics-style ring training. Sound like hell? It is. In fact, upon receiving his marching orders for a Spartan workout, one of Butler’s costars told Twight, “It feels like you just killed my dog.” Five weeks before the cameras were to roll, Butler took on extra sessions with a Venezuelan bodybuilder named Franco LiCastro in order to exaggerate the physique he was after.
“I wanted to look really strong.” “I’ve seen so many actors play these kinds of roles, and you see all this equipment on either a big belly or skinny little arms.”
“You know that every bead of sweat falling off your head, every weight you’ve pumped — the history of that is all in your eyes.” says Butler of his dedication. “That was a great thing, to put on that cape and put on that helmet, and not have to think, S@#t, I should have trained more. Instead, I was standing there feeling like a lion.”
During production, Butler would often train with Twight, train with LiCastro, and then do his sword-and-shield work for hours on end. As a result, every joint in his 6’2” body ached by the time he set down his shield for the last time. And at some point along the way, he became over trained, a state in which the stress of training has surpassed the body’s ability to recover fully from it. As a result, once filming wrapped, Butler stopped working out as abruptly as he’d started. Understandably, his body — and mind — needed a break.
But the upshot was that his no-holds-barred training regimen turned into an equally hard-to-shake layoff, one that would last 8 months. Neither approach is healthy long term. After 8 months of not working out, Butler returned to the gym 4 days a week, adopting a more balanced approach to fitness. He’s also finding that the nutrition knowledge he’s picked up during his character transformations has begun to stick.
“My diet is still never quite as scheduled as I wish it were, but now I try to eat vegetables and chicken instead of burgers and fries like I used to,” he says. The reemergence of his six-pack suggests the new found discipline is paying dividends.
Tips from Gerard’s Personal Trainer Mark Twight
Train For Victory
Start off by doing 100 reps using four to six different exercises, 10 to 25 reps per exercise. Build up from there until you can do 300 without rest. Feel free to swap in exercises such as jumping jacks, dumbbell curls, and Swiss-ball crunches, says Butler’s current trainer, Manhattan-based Joe Dowdell, C.S.C.S.
Learn A New Move
“Lie on the floor holding a 135-pound bar straight overhead,” says Twight. “Keeping his legs straight, Butler touches his feet to one plate, lowers them to the floor in the center, and then raises them up to touch the other plate.” That’s one repetition. Try it yourself, but with an empty bar first, raising your feet until they’re about 8 inches away from the bar (since there’s no weight plate to touch).
Recover Faster
To determine whether you’re pushing too hard, begin measuring your heart rate upon waking. When your reading is three to five beats above normal, your ability to recover is compromised, says Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S. Downshift your training — and try to sleep more — until your heart rate returns to normal.
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Source: Men’s Health
