Doing it like the Greeks
No not what you might first imagine!
The Greeks were obsessed with a physical culture far beyond anything that we see today. In fact in many ways, it could be seen to be one of the foundations upon which their society was built. Physical training dominated an Athenian youths schooling in the middle teen years with an emphasis on climbing, throwing, running and combat techniques. Indeed physical perfection was an indication to a Greek not only of one’s health but also one's education and social status- ‘the Greek, with his keen eye for physical beauty, regarded flabbiness, want of condition, and imperfect development as a disgrace and a sign of a neglected education’( Gardiner)
The Greeks followed three main forms of physical training. Martial, Pedagogical and Restorative. This is in line with my own thought about a complete training program for a complete view of health, strength and personal physical development. Many people follow one of these lines of training but neglect the others leading to imbalances within the body and never truly achieve what they are capable of.
Martial- This referred to the combat arts. From Pankration – wrestling combined with open hand strikes, pugilism- early boxing, javelin throwing, discus, and submission wrestling the Greek was expected to practise and become competent at them. Sparring develops not only self-discipline but it takes the strength you have gained in other forms of training and teaches the body how to use this strength in a practical environment. I believe everybody is capable and should indeed practise some form of physical sparring, even on a very light level as it is an innate human capability that will develop speed, agility, strength and power.
Pedagogical- This basically put being able to use one’s own body against its own weight- such as gymnastics or external force as in weight training. This is where the base strength is developed. This period was one of the main forms of early training for children as the name suggests. Much higher strength levels can be achieved in the martial training if the strength is also worked on aside from the combat training. The main emphasis was on compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, chins and pull-ups and dips.
Restorative- in Greek history this would refer to downtime away from the exercise but also include light stretching exercises, massage and hot baths etc. Today we have many more means of restorative exercise bought to us from around the globe! Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, Meditation, Very light kettlebell and Indian club work are all excellent forms of restorative exercise that if regularly practised have an immense nervous system, muscular and psychological benefits.
Within my own training, I try to practise all of these at least once a week for an integrated approach to training. Many times when I’ve placed too much emphasis on one over the other I’ve ended up injured, fatigued or hit Plateaux’s that have disappeared when I’ve brought balance back to my schedule. If you are looking for a personal trainer in Brighton don't forget to message me and we'll get you started hitting all the elements of fitness above!
