Spartan Warrior Workout

The skills, athleticism and physical capabilities of ancient Spartan warriors are truly legendary.

If you’ve ever watched the Hollywood film “300,” you’ll know what we’re talking about. It shows how King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 men fought bravely against the vastly superior Persian Army. 

Honestly speaking, the movie is enough to make anyone feel like grabbing a sword and shield and yelling, “This is Sparta!” at the top of their lungs. But if you truly want to feel like a Spartan warrior, then you need to build up your body like one. 

The best way to do that is by undertaking the Spartan warrior workout. Although, if you are not as knowledgeable about such things, you might not know what such a workout actually entails. But don’t worry – we have discussed that in detail in this guide. 

So, get ready, for things are about to get intense over here!

What’s So Special About The Spartan Warrior Workout?

Back in those days, soldiers did not have access to fancy weapons and gadgets as we have now, meaning that they could only rely on their individual capabilities. That’s why they had to undergo intense physical training to develop and condition their bodies and become a capable warrior. 

And when it came to warriors, the Greeks, or more specifically, the Spartans, were famed for their ferocity and prowess in battle. There are numerous stories about their exploits on the battlefield to corroborate this information. 

In fact, the famous Battle of Thermopylae, which inspired the “300” movie, is one of the most well-known events that tell us about the physical feats of Spartan warriors. And in case you are wondering – even the Spartan women were required to be in peak physical condition, just like their male counterparts.

That is why Spartan warrior workouts are so tempting for fitness enthusiasts nowadays. After all, who wouldn’t love to have a chiselled body like the one sported by King Leonidas in “300”?

With that being said, we do not know the exact training regimen that was followed by Spartan warriors, given that they lived such a long time ago. But the limited information we do have after studying different historical sources suggests that the Spartan training program was a brutal one indeed. And as you can guess, the end results of such a training regimen are equally as rewarding.

How Did The Spartan Warriors Train?

Based on what we know about Spartan warrior training, it is safe to say that they can even put some modern-day military training programs to shame. Young boys were subjected to a long and gruesome training process from a very early age so that they could eventually become strong warriors.

A. Physical Training

Spartan children were encouraged to play or fight without any clothing, regardless of the weather conditions. At most, they would be given a single piece of garment, such as a wool cloak, to cover some parts of their bodies. Likewise, they were not allowed to wear any shoes either. 

These methods helped to harden and condition their bodies to withstand any condition without flinching. Besides, training barefoot helped them to develop their balance and footwork. As such, they could anchor themselves firmly on any type of terrain.

In terms of physical exercises, it is believed that they focused on drills that enhanced strength, endurance and agility. After all, a true Spartan warrior was required to be not only strong but also quick on their feet. 

To build up their strength and endurance, they used to engage in drills like running for long distances, wrestling, lifting heavy loads and so on. They were expected to perform laborious tasks in their daily lives, which further helped in this regard. And to build their agility, they would often engage in drills like sprinting, jumping, and even dancing.

B. Intellectual Training

Of course, there is no use for brawns without any brains, which is why Spartan warriors were trained intellectually as well. Young Spartans were taught about strategy and tactics so that they could quickly come up with attack plans during battle or improvise if things started to go sideways.

They were also taught about state and foreign affairs at a young age, which would often be useful during times of war. Apart from that, they were taught to cultivate a warrior-like mindset and develop a high degree of mental toughness that would help them outlast their enemies.

How Can You Prepare A Spartan Workout Regimen?

Now that the history lesson is done, it’s time to get down to the business end of this article. In the subsequent sections, we have discussed how you can prepare a suitable exercise routine so that you can achieve a Spartan physique and fitness level at home.

Do not worry – we won’t tell you to study battle strategies or wrestle naked and barefoot in the winter! Those things were meant for the ancient Greeks, who had to go to battle frequently for days on end. But since you won’t have to do any of that, let’s just leave those parts out and focus on the physical exercises.

Of course, to train like a Spartan warrior, you will need to develop the mindset of one. Without proper mental fortitude, you might feel like giving up on your training regimen or skipping a few days of workouts. 

But if you do that, the end results won’t be what you expect. So, you will need to develop a strong focus and keep at it. Similarly, you’ll need to be ready to tackle any challenges and hurdles that come up eventually.

Are you feeling motivated enough? If yes, then you’re ready to begin!

The Weekly Spartan Training Schedule

As we have mentioned before, the workout routine for Spartan warriors included drills to develop strength, agility and endurance. There were other training frameworks in place, too, such as resistance training, callisthenics, cardio and so on. Keeping that in mind, we have provided a suitable weekly workout schedule below.

• Day one: Strength training
• Day two: Endurance training
• Day three: Speed training
• Day four: Variety training
• Day five: Strength training
• Day six: Speed training
• Day seven: Variety training

The above is just a sample workout routine, which means that you switch them around a bit or include other types of workouts. But as you can see, there is no rest day included here, which demonstrates the intensity of this routine.

That said, you can include a day where the workout intensity is a bit less. You can use this day to get a sufficient amount of rest and let your body recover. In any case, the core ideal of such a workout system is repetition. The more you repeat each exercise, the better your results will be, and vice versa.

1. Spartan Strength Training

Building up brute strength was obviously the biggest focus for Spartan warriors, which is why this kind of training was extremely important. Thus, in order to get a chiselled physique, you will need to shed your body fat and maintain a lean muscle mass.

You can get started by performing some basic exercises like bicep curls or powerlifting. Naturally, you will need the proper equipment, such as dumbbells and barbells, for these exercises. In addition to that, you need to perform other types of exercises, like clapping push-ups, handstand push-ups, pike push-ups, pull-ups, jump squats, jump lunges, burpees and planks.

Ideally, we recommend doing reps with explosive intensity for as long as you can. But if you are a beginner, we’d suggest that you start by performing 10 to 20 reps initially and gradually increase the intensity over time.

2. Spartan Endurance Training

Spartan warriors were required to be resilient in order to endure the strains of battle. This is where endurance training came into the picture, for it allowed them to build up their resilience. If you perform Spartan Endurance training, it will help build your stamina and keep your body weight in check.

On that note, long-distance running is possibly the best way to improve endurance. Initially, you can start with 20-minute runs and increase the duration gradually. The basic idea here is to run for as long as you can, take a brief rest to recharge, and start running again.

However, if you are not a fan of running, you can undertake other types of exercises, such as cycling, swimming, rowing and so on.

3. Spartan Speed Training

Speed training is all about building up your agility. So, if you want to be as nimble as a Spartan warrior, you’ll need to perform exercises like sprinting and jumping. Start by doing a bit of warm-up, and then perform sprints or jumps at high speeds for 15 to 20 seconds straight. Take a little break to rest and rehydrate, and repeat the process again.

If you wish, you can turn it up a notch by performing variations like hill sprints or lateral jumps. And as usual, keep the intensity low in the beginning and steadily increase it over time.

4. Variety Training

The primary aim of variety training is to expand your workout schedule to make it more dynamic. In other words, you can choose a few exercises from the ones we have discussed so far and mash them into a hybrid training regimen. 

Or, you can choose other types of exercises altogether, such as yoga, stretching or callisthenics. You can even use it to perform some light training and give your body some time to rest and recover.

Final Words

If you can perform such an intense workout sincerely for 30 days, you will see a noticeable improvement in your fitness levels and physique. And if you can keep it up for longer, the results will be even better.

In that context, if you are not sure about how to prepare a good Spartan warrior workout schedule, you can seek help from a personal trainer. They will be able to recommend a well-rounded routine to burn fat, build muscle strength and enhance physical prowess.

And that’s about it for today, guys. We’ll be back with more fitness guides in the future, so keep watching this space.

Until then, goodbye!