VENTURE Fitness
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CHARLIE ALLENBY
T
he fitness industry is a non-stop carousel of new trends, techniques and technology, always seeking to improve how we work out, fuel our training, and rest and recover between sessions. What was hot just a decade ago has become a bit of a fitness faux pas (yes, Zumba, we mean you), and the focus is firmly on what’s on the horizon. But maybe it shouldn’t be. Turn the clock back 2,000 years and you’ll find athletes at the peak of their powers, with fitness regimes that could rival those of any of today’s professional sports stars. And even more surprisingly, they used techniques superior to the routine of the average 21st-century gym-goer. Just ask Alexander Mariotti. An expert in gladiatorial combat and a historical consultant for TV and film – including Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel, set for release in November – he has spent a career researching how combatants in ancient Rome trained and fought, and has passed this insight on to actors, personal trainers and stunt performers. “There’s a misunderstanding that because this happened 2,000 years ago, we must have progressed since then,” says Mariotti. “But if you look at all of human history, [the Romans are] the people we’re most like. And they had a lot of the things we take for granted, like gyms, saunas, and arenas housing 80,000 spectators.” There’s a misconception about gladiators, too, says Mariotti: they weren’t slaves thrown into the arena to fight to the death, but rather physically superior individuals similar to modern-day MMA fighters, housed, fed and trained in a ludus – a special gladiator school – to beat opponents into submission. From functionality-focused fitness regimes to specialised diets, here’s how gladiator know-how can strengthen your own exercise routine…
THE RED BULLETIN
and bunnies, gladiators were big on functional fitness – exercises that strengthened the body for the task at hand. But they utilised another trick to help them feel lighter and move quicker. “To get their stamina and reaction speed up, they would use swords and shields that were heavier than those used in combat,” says Mariotti. A similar benefit can be achieved today by wearing a weighted vest.
Recovery zone
EXERCISE
Pushing it to the Maximus Skip the latest fad workout for that of the gladiator – a mixed-intensity routine perfected over a millennium
Fantastic four
Gladiators’ training was based on the tetrad system – a repeated four-day cycle of toning and short, high-intensity efforts; long, strenuous workouts where you push yourself to your limits; complete rest, and medium-intensity work. “What’s great about this system is that it has huge applications – you could use it in any form of sport,” says Mariotti. “Your body gets a great variety, and you’re not just focusing on one thing like weight training.” The first day acts like a warm-up, he says, which gets the body and mind ready for what’s to come – something missing from popular modern-day workouts such as CrossFit: “Today, we go straight to
“Gladiator training could be used in any sport” Alexander Mariotti, historian
the gym from work and hit these incredibly intense workouts without any preparation between the two, which can cause injuries.”
Worth the weight
Rather than focusing on aesthetics like the Ancient Greeks and today’s social media-obsessed gym bros
A quarter of a gladiator’s training schedule was spent resting, and they certainly knew how to put their feet up. “Romans understood fitness was important – [so much so that] they had free public baths and gyms everywhere,” Mariotti explains. “On their rest day, gladiators would use a caldarium [a very steamy room, similar to a sauna, with a hot bath] and a frigidarium [the cold equivalent].” The fighters would switch between the two, “raising their body temperature before some cold shock therapy”. They were onto something, too: a 2017 study by researchers at the Netherlands’ Radboud University Medical Center found that repeatedly alternating between hot and cold surroundings can help reduce perceptions of fatigue 24 hours after exercise.
Pearl of wisdom
An athlete’s diet was required to fuel all this, and while the gladiators favoured lean protein such as fish, and lots of vegetables, it was another staple that earned them their nickname, hordearii (Latin for ‘barley men’). “They made a stew-like dish with barley, similar to what’s given to sumo wrestlers,” Mariotti says. “[Barley is] better than rice – a great form of energy.” Also an amazing source of protein, this ancient grain is said to lower cholesterol and help you feel full for longer.
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