Ancient Greece Ballistic training from Ancient Greece. British Museum, BC. , 1981. • Throwing a heavy stone (a stone put). Smaller stones were thrown one handed from the shoulder. The heaviest record of a stone throw from the period is Bybon's stone which was found at
Olympia, Greece. It is 316 lbs (143.5 kg), has a handle, and an inscription which states it was thrown over the head one handed by
Bybon. • Throwing a discus. Metal discuses weighed between 3-12 1/2 lbs, and stone discuses up to 15 lbs. • Throwing a javelin. • Throwing a tree trunk.
Plyometrics • Long jumps from standing with specially shaped jumping weights, called
halteres, held in the hands. For a jump from standing, one foot is positioned forward and one foot back. The weights are swung up and down until the jumper jumps in conjunction with an upswing. The long jump could also be performed without weights, and with a running start. • Vertical jumps as high as possible. Some descriptions state the legs are kicked out behind during the jump. This may refer to the natural movement of the legs which occurs during a powerful upwards jump.
Amphorae show a vertical jump with the jumpers looking sideways, which also precipitates a movement of the bent, lower legs in this direction. • Jumping up and down and alternately extending the legs forwards and backwards. • Jumping (meant generally) • Jumping whilst wearing armour. • Vaulting onto horseback with a pole (
pole vaulting)
Calisthenics • Drill type exercises such as may be found on a modern parade ground. • Running. Different varieties of running were practiced such as running whilst carrying halteres, in armour, in heavy sand, incorporating jumps along the way (
hurdling), running whilst turning a large ring (
hula hoop) along the ground by their side with a stick, and running whilst carrying a large metal tripod, running in a decreasing or increasing circle, whilst holding a torch • Marching on the forefeet while swinging the arms • Gymnastics including acrobatics, tumbling, and rhythmic dance. • Dancing. Various dances were performed, including the Pyrrhic dance which was a war dance that imitated battlefield actions of attack and defence. It involved quick dynamic actions such as bending to one side, crouching down, leaping up etc. • Swimming and diving • Driving a chariot • Rope climbing • Empty handed dumbbell movements with the hands open or clenched.
Co-operative calisthenics • Holding the arms extended while another person tries to push them down.
Strength and weight training •
Stone lifting. A 480 kg stone found at Santorin is inscribed with the statement 'Eumastas, the son of Critobulus, lifted me from the ground.' • Carrying a heavy weight •
Rowing •
Digging. This was for two reasons. Firstly, the sand in the gymnasium was dug over daily with a pick before being rolled flat again. Secondly, digging was performed as an exercise in its own right and was especially popular with boxers. • Using halteres as dumbbells in a rapid fashion including in swinging motions. Halteres ranged from between 2 1/4 and 10 lbs. Movement ranges mentioned in connection with this exercise include bending and straightening the arms, sideways movements, lunging in the style of a boxer, and bending and straightening the trunk. Another exercise described by the renowned physician
Galen, consists of placing the halteres six feet apart and standing between them. The exerciser picks up the left haltere with his right hand, and then the right haltere with his left hand, replaces them, and continues to repeat the sequence. • The addition of weights or armour to calisthenic exercises.
Games and sports played for fitness •
Greek wrestling was considered fundamentally important to contemporary fitness regimens. •
Pygmachia (Ancient Greek boxing). Boxing exercises included hitting a punch bag and practicing punching actions whilst holding dumbbells. •
Pankration (similar to modern
MMA) •
Hockey, the rules are unclear but it involved similar shaped clubs, ball, and bent over playing postures as the modern game. • Platanistas, a game popular in Sparta. Two teams enter an island over opposite bridges. The island is surrounded by water filled ditches and each team attempts to drive their opponents into the water using a variety of striking and wrestling techniques. •
Ball games. Striking a ball against the ground or wall and hitting it again when it rebounded. Similar to the game of '
fives' in this respect. Amphorae show some ball games were played in a piggy-back style where one person was carried on the back of the other. Exercising with a small ball at any pace and using any desired rules and techniques, solitarily or with others.
Sky ball, a player throws a ball into the air, and he and other players try to catch it.
Epikoinos, a game involving two teams of equal numbers and a ball which was roughly the size of a large apple. The two teams line up in a staggered formation either side of a centre line i.e. player 1 is closest to the line, player 2 midway and player 3 furthest, and the same for the opposite team. The centre line was marked out of gypsum or stone, and called skyros or latype. There was a goal line some distance behind each team. At the set up of the game the ball is placed on the centre line. When the game begins, each team races to secure the ball. Whoever secures the ball then attempts to throw it over and beyond their opponents who attempt to catch it and return it in a similar manner. By following this process, the aim of the game is to force the opposing team back over their goal line. ----
Rome demonstrates the excellent physical conditioning of both Roman soldiers and
Celtic warriors.
Dallas Museum of Art, AD. • Throwing the javelin
Plyometrics • Jumping • Fencing
Harpastum, the gameplay is not fully clear but involves players passing to each other in a bid to avoid an opposing player who is attempting to intercept the ball. It also involves feinting to fool the opposition and dodging out of the way. Non-active players would wait to join in the game, perhaps standing around in a circle to demark the playing area. A waiting player could be allowed into the game by an active player. ----
Medieval Europe ) mercenaries training, including stone putting, wrestling, skipping, and jumping or diving.
Lucerne Chronicle, 1513.
Ballistic training • Throwing the stone. A one-handed throw of a stone from the shoulder is among the more common exercises displayed in medieval artwork. The thrower holds the stone above their shoulder and turns their body sideways on to the desired direction of travel. They shift their bodyweight so it is predominantly over the foot which is the same side as the stone. They then throw the stone as hard as they can which involves a shift of the bodyweight to the other foot. Throwing heavy stones is also an exercise, a knightly pursuit, recommended by the fencing master Hans Talhoffer. ----
Renaissance (1500–1550).
Ballistic Training • Stone putting. One handed from the shoulder. Throwing heavy stones. • Stangeschieben, was the holding of a tapered stick by the narrow end over the shoulder, and throwing it so that it landed thick end first.
Plyometrics training •
Hurdling • Vaulting
Calisthenics • Climbing. Rope climbing using different rope patterns and climbing styles. Climbing up a sheer vertical post. Climbing up the underside of a ladder using the hands only. Climbing a ladder with legs as bent as possible. • Monkey bars • Chin ups • Walking and balancing along narrow beams • Gymnastics, including parallel bars, gymnastics horse, and Olympic rings • Seesaw ladder. Like a normal seesaw but instead of a cross beam that is sat on, it has a ladder crossbeam which each person reaches up to hold onto. They are thereby lifted up from the ground whilst holding onto the underside of the ladder crossbeam. They then descend, land, go into a squat, and then push the ladder upwards in a jumping action so that they go up and the other person goes down. • Pole vault • Body weight
squats and one-legged bodyweight squats (pistol squats)
Strength and weight training • Holding and moving dumbbells around the body often with a stepping action. • Swinging wooden clubs (
Indian clubs) • Weighted pulley exercises • Pulling a loaded sled up a hill • Gym machines • Free weights (
kettlebell,
dumbbell,
barbell) • Cable exercises
Games and sports played for fitness •
Wrestling •
Rock Climbing •
Fencing •
Gymnastics •
Cricket •
Quoits •
Tennis •
Cycling •
Bodybuilding •
Olympic weightlifting India Physical culture in the Indian subcontinent has historically been tied to military training and religious practice. Archaeological finds from the
Indus Valley Civilization, such as the
Pashupati seal, have been interpreted by some scholars as representing early precursors to
yogic postures, though this remains a subject of academic debate. During the
Vedic period, physical exercises were often restricted to the
Kshatriya (warrior) class and included
archery,
chariot racing, and
wrestling (
Malla-yuddha). By the medieval period, physical training was formalized in
Akhara (gymnasiums). These institutions focused on
Pehlwani, a style of wrestling that integrated Persian and indigenous techniques. Training involved the use of weighted implements such as the
Gada (mace), stone weights (
Nal), and heavy wooden clubs known as
Indian clubs (
Jori). The arrival of the British in the 19th century introduced Western sports like
Cricket,
Football, and
Polo. While Polo was popularized among the Indian elite and military, indigenous forms of physical culture persisted. During the early 20th century, organizations such as the Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal (HVPM) attempted to modernize traditional Indian fitness for international audiences, including a demonstration at the
1936 Summer Olympics. An important exception was China, which developed its own athletic traditions. However after 1920, the Nationalist and communist governments emphasized Western sports. ==Common training focuses==