I suddenly find myself really fascinated with what strength training and fitness was like hundreds of years ago...

I suddenly find myself really fascinated with what strength training and fitness was like hundreds of years ago. I'm pretty sure the concept of lifting weights on a bar is a relatively new invention, but what did they do before that?

I know the Chinese used to lift kettles of boiling water and Norse and Celts loved lifting stones. Did they just randomly find the heaviest shit they could lift and lift it? Or was there some science to what they did back then?

I know for fucking sure the Greeks and Romans had to have done more than lifting stones and eating barley to get bodies like that but it seems like something nobody knows or talks about. What do you know about historical lifting, Jow Forums?

Attached: viking.jpg (800x400, 100K)

bump, interesting topic

They practiced with their weapons, rowed a lot, was a lot more active in the day etc. I think even their weakest men would be way stronger than our regular gym goers today.

nutrition was awful back then, most people were manlets and those statues you see were the select few who were blessed with good genes and wealth.

The gauls had a rule that if your belly drooped over your belt as a soldier you'd have your pay docked

>The gauls had a rule
>gauls
I think you mean romans friend.

Greeks had some sort of primitive gyms. Romans soldiers were getting fit mostly through the brutal work and training they were doing every day.
Lifting stones most likely wasn’t organized at all. It was more of a
>grog lift bigger stone
>grog stronger
Circus strongmen helped push lifting to the general public and they were training harder than a grog on cocaine so of course, soon after that people started developing actual routines.
Indians are responsible for yoga which is god tier and the Chinese are very good at hardening the body for fights.

Well, manual labor was way, way more widespread and most people survived on mostly carbs, which has been proven to keep people slim. I think people were just about 100x more active back then than most these days.

iirc I heard it in relation to the gaulic confederation facing JC, wouldn't surprise me if it was the Romans though

the ancient greeks had games and gymnasiums and they practised their event over and over again. In terms of the specifics of their training im not aware of any sources to do with routines like how we understand them. They definitely had an understanding of diet as well, which is fascinating given the Greeks thought that thought originated in the gut.

t.classics student

Some civilisations had it pretty organised, like Greeks having actual (nude with non-homo buttsex) gymnasiums and being responsible for calisthenics/gymastics which would have had fairly structured training with circles of thought discussing techniques and learning. And would also have done some things like throwing stones (shot put etc.). This was probably a lot focused on looking good.

Others, probably more common scenario, was every person doing what they thought worked best if they wanted to gain renown as a strongman. But mostly just getting stronger through a life of hard physical work.

Military-wise, since a lot of soldiers were either professional and so drilling for hours a day already or levies who worked the fields etc, extra work would have seemed like a lot to do. Those who did extra training like some would probably be like this one (text excerpt, can't recall the name) French Knight detailing his training which involved climbing walls and ladders in plate or chainmail, running, throwing stones, wrestling and dancing.

The romans where all manlets due to the diets they lived on, mostly grain and fishoil, but they did tons of cardio in the legions, running/marching in full gear and full packs, also building a fort EVERY day, they also did full day combat drills with weighted training gear... to sum it up they where cadio monsters in the legions.
Greeks did tons of different routines and it really depended on what City State they were from, spartans for example focused on cardio and bodyweight exercises aswell as wrestling.

>Carbs keep people slim
wut

A lot of cultures would train their warriors with heavier weapons than what they would use in battle for the sole purpose of getting stronger.

or in some cases to make them easier to defeat or kill in the arena

Lol, I can bench 120kg I bet im stronger than 99% of vikings

U are most likely right... only the personel hird of nobles and the jomsviking were proffesionel troops

Sure buddy. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

>he doesn't know about the Djúpalónssandur lifting stones
Check out this amlooi

yes, you fell for the carbs makes you fat meme user

Le ancestors were stronger meme
You would absolutely break those manlets

just fucking lift with the backing of modern science and the convenience of modern amenities you fucking retard

They had no concept of training, they exercised. Prior to Mark Rippetoe (despite all the trolling) there was nothing on the stress and adaptation recovery cycle which is used in strength training. Either you figured it out randomly or someone else told you by word of mouth, people only understood it to a limited extent because of this.

wrestling was a big thing for ancient greeks and romans try wrestling somebody your strength level and it's a full body workout and builds strength and shit

>I'm pretty sure the concept of lifting weights on a bar is a relatively new invention,
Newfag or brainlet?
It's been around in Europe for at least 2500 years

No.

The united States of America only very recently surpassed the medieval european when it comes to eating meat.
The whole “only rich people ate meat“ shit is a ridiculous myth.
You eat whatever the fuck is around you and back then they had a lot more nature around themselves than we do.

>I'm pretty sure the concept of lifting weights on a bar is a relatively new invention
Its been around for literally thousands of years you retard. Even the Romans did it. And they had actual gyms, with actual weights, and did actual routines. You didnt need modern fucking society to understand Joe who lifts heavy shit all day and is huge must be doing something special to be huge.

>Greeks thought that thought originated in the gut.
Incorrect, while feelings were often located in the chest or belly in ancient times (probably due to the feedback there when strong feelings are involved) both Greeks, romans and pretty much everybody else was aware that thoughts were a head-thing.
They also had quite popular and surprisingly succesful brain surgeries.

t. Classical philologist, aka your superior by every margin, bow down, pleb

>The romans where all manlets due to the diets they lived on,
No, italians, especially southern italians are still manlets