As I flipped through a bunch of my old DVDs, I came across the movie 300 - and couldn’t resist just playing it for a while.
Looking at the lean bodies of the Spartan Warriors - I couldn’t help but once again feel inspired to be in great shape. I mean.. who doesn’t feel that way after watching the movie… right?
And though this isn’t the first time I’m watching the movie, something struck me differently this time as I watched King Leonidas breathe heavily after having just slaughtered a Persian soldier. All of us have been so concerned and curious to know the secret behind the actors looking this good, which I did try to highlight in one of my previous posts “The 300 Movie Workout - What We All Overlooked“. How did the Spartans get that way? So lean, so fit, and full of energy - such a huge contrast to some of us who find it difficult to even get up from the sofa just to change the channel on the television.
Though we will never be able to observe what a typical Spartan may have eaten throughout the day, well one thing is for sure - they didn’t have cupcakes the size of oranges or the luxury of having junk food delivered right to their battlefield 24 hours a day.
Perhaps the scene where Leonidas eats an apple after the first battle does give a clue? And when was the last YOU had an apple? And I do mean an actual apple - not Apple Pie, Apple Juice, Apple Crisps or Baked Apple desserts.
Look at the Spartan warrior, and now look at the person next to you. What went wrong? Ever wonder what happened throughout the years? Shouldn’t our bodies be evolving to become more efficient at processing the food we eat? Unless of course our eating habits are far too off the scale for our bodies to even grasp.
You know… I believe that each and every one of us have been designed by God to look like that Spartan warrior. Decent muscles and healthy bodyfat levels - that is how our bodies should look like. Once again, ask yourself… what went wrong?
Isn’t it just ironic… that we need to try so hard, overcome obstacles, fight… just to look like HOW WE’RE SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE? Shouldn’t that be something that comes easy, something we don’t even have to try to be?
It’s funny how the phrase from the movie “Tonight we dine in Hell!”, which is used to describe their bloody and gory battle ahead can even be used to describe our diets and unhealthy eating habits today. It’s hell to our bodies.
“Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!”
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Tonight we dine in hell! That’s my fave movie! You can be like the actors from “meet the spartans”, just paint the muscles with a spray! =P
If we worked hard enough like they used to in the old days, we would certainly look something like that. But once again, as pointed out by DM, we indulge in the luxury of our home. “We even find it difficult to get our ass up and switch the channel on our television” is one of the example which made us what we are today. If we were to do things like they would in the past (really working hard just to stay ALIVE), for sure we would be a few steps closer to our desired goal, which is having a fitter and leaner body.
One thing I can’t help but consider though is just how do we know what they looked like back then?
Consider if someone from the future were to dig up our current civilisation. They’d find Marvel comics of super-muscular heros, action movies of Arnie, Sly etc and all the women looking very slim and gorgeous. But that’s Hollywood, not the actual reality of 2008.
Who’s to say what we have in the way of drawings and the like back then were not exactly the same, that is to say depicting the idealised fantasy figures rather than the reality of the average Spartan?
If we look at undeveloped areas of Africa or the like where people are truly living ‘traditionally’ we see lots of skinny people with pot bellies, not mega-warriors with huge pulsating muscles and 6 packs.
I agree though that since the advent of agriculture and eating a lot of carbohydrates in the form of grains, we are a lot fatter now on average. I live in Asia now and of the people I know I can confirm both at a glance and via knowing them which ones eat Western diets and which ones don’t. Walk into McD or somewhere and you’ll see as many fat asses as you do in the US or UK. Go to the traditional food stalls and if like me you have a certain partiality to a well-formed female ass you’ll get neckache…
Can’t say the guys are particularly muscular though ;)
Alan
Biggly.com
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