300

So, back at the beginning of December I started this post.... think, since I did the workout today, it's about time to finish it, eh?

You've read a couple of times now my mention of The Jedi - my bud at school who gets me through LONG days of class, arduous group assignments, and kicks my BUTT at the gym.

Hello, Jedi! (Totally stole your Facebook profile pic, I know. Good thing you heart me so much! HA!)

So, he's a little bit, well...many things. hahaha He's my bud, he's hilarious, he's intense as all get out (yeah, don't cross him. Or, don't do anything that'll make him THINK you crossed him even if you didn't.... OY!) And DON'T worry - he and Mr. Man get along GREAT and everything's on the up and up. :P Goofs.

You may notice...the Jedi has had some success in the gym. hahaha (Hey, he picked his profile picture for a REASON, right? I mean, don't we all??)

You may have also noticed over time on my little blog here, how seldom I mention resistance training in between my running, occasional love affairs with Yogilates, and keeping up with life. So, naturally, being buds with a weight-room aficionado I volunteered myself as a workout buddy and the Jedi AGREED to whip me into shape.

Part way through the semester he brought me"The 300 Workout"

300. As in Gerard Butler. Remember that movie? I mean, I didn't even see the movie and I know all about the insane exercise and training those men went through to get ripped like that. Oy oy OY!!!

(swoon Oh Mr. Butler, whatever else I may think of you I will always love your accent, your singing, and those ridiculous abs...)

Okay, so before you go WHOA I want MY abs to look like that and google "300 WORKOUT" (which I totally did, by the way) STOP! hahaha I DID that already. (Whoa...is there such a thing as a writing-echo? Holy redundancy, Batman?) 'Cause I'll admit, when the Jedi showed up with this cue card with a list of exercises and reps and said "this is the 300 workout, you know from the movie" I was skeptical. 'Cause I'd SEEN clips of these guys exercising and some of the insane off-kilter things they were doing with medicine balls and obstacles... I almost puked FOR them just watching! So I found this 300 disclaimer article very interesting and informative. So READ THAT, okay?? Do NOT kill yourselves because I brought it up. (Am I now safe from litigation by anyone? Please? I hope so. hahaha DON'T KILL YOURSELVES DOING THIS STUFF)

Okay, THEN I found this super-cool, quick youtube clip of a guy from Men's Health demonstrating the workout! WOOHOO! (If you want to adopt the workout WATCH IT CAREFULLY and take note of FORM, okay? It's SO important to do it RIGHT)


But here it is. (I have to refer back to this list a lot when I'm in the middle of it 'cause I'm a little focused on remembering to BREATHE and not what-comes-next hahaha)
* 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

And BEFORE you freak out...I can't really do all that. I mean, I can, and do, do all 300 reps. BUT...my pullups are either on those magic gravitron machines that negate some of your body weight OR (thanks to some awesome Christmas presents - THANKS everyone!) at home I put my feet on a chair slightly in front of the doorway my bar's in and let my legs help (seriously, 25 pull ups is a lot in a row.... and I'm a GIRL with SCRAWNY SCRAWNY arms!).... where it says 135lbs I currently use 45 - the Jedi can do it with 135, but the deadlifts he literally has to strap the weight to his hands or his grip gives out - 50 is a ridiculous number. hahaha AND...today for the clean and press I only used 10lbs - I can't remember what I was using before Christmas, but it should have been more than 10lbs 'cause that was too easy.

So there you have it. I LOVE this workout. It's SO hard and SO intense, and apparently wasn't even meant as a workout as much as a fitness test....but let me tell ya' WHAT a difference it made last semester. Unfortunately I went a little hog-wild with my Christmas celebrating, but I'm right back on that horse today!!

DO NOT KILL YOURSELVES and really MOST of you I'd say DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.... and almost NEVER by yourself. Okay? Okay.