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PUGILATUS: Part one, developing an
athletic body In ancient Rome, there were 2 different forms of boxing, both Etruscan. An athletic form of boxing and an gladiatorial style. Fighters were usually criminals or slaves hoping to gain fame and money in the arena. The fighters of athletic boxing wore leather straps (himantes) over their hands and wrists to protect em from injuries. The straps left their fingers free so there was still room left for grapling etc. But their main use was to 'soften' the delivered strikes. Gladiators wore Cestae decorated with lead and spikes over their hands and heavy leather straps to protect the wrists. Also at the end of the glove there was a layer of fur to absorb the sweat of the fighters head. The boxer of Quirinal shows what a brutal sport roman boxing could be.
In this first episode about Roman Boxing we'll discuss the matter of developing such an athletic body. First of all we must agree that an ancient gym won't have looked the same as we have nowadays. That's also a part we like to recreate in our trainings. First of all these athletes must have done a lot of Calisthenics (organized movements for which you don't need weights). The use of Calisthenics is also proved by the Spartans, where it was used in a Persian scout report, interpreting the odd movements of the Spartans as a dance and thus a sign of weakness. The Calisthenics would involve: -Jumping Jacks: jumping with the legs spread wide swinging your hands over you head and back. -Sit-ups: abdominal exercise -Crunches: same as push up but in short explosive moves -Push-ups: used for training chest, shoulders and triceps -Pull ups: used with an overhead bar you raise your head above the bar and back -Squats: squatting down as far as possible and coming back to half raised position -Calf raise: lift yourself up by standing on your toes and back again, trains the calf -Dips: Raising and dropping yourself by using 2 plateaus. Trains the shoulders and arms. -Running: no training as good as running Another part would have been training with materials. Most of the times it were materials who were in the natural surrounding. In summarize a few here in which we also use in our club: -Dead lifting a stone amphora: much harder than the squat, ultra hard for the muscles -Running in group with a tree trunk on the shoulder: teamwork and very tough exercise -Throwing stones: good for the muscle coordination of the arms and précising strikes -Practice against the pole: for developing stronger bones and toughen up the muscles -Boxing against the bag: ideal exercise for gaining stamina. -... About the diet, well it was a bit different, many of the doctores or professional trainers were usually themselves ex-gladiators or athletes so many had their own way to fame. We believe that a gladiators diet consisted of proteins of different sources. A fermented bread made of Farro (a famous cereal in Rome) and a soup made of Farro were the basics of the diet. High protein sources came from roasted meat, dry fruits, fresh cheese, goat milk and eggs. Among the vegetables, onions and garlic were used a lot along with wild lettuce. Ancient greek athletes for example consumed large quantities because they believed it would 'lighten the balance of the blood'. Also Anethun Graveolens or citronweed was added to every meal since romans believed that it would increase psychical strength. The best snack that was allowed for gladiators was goat milk with honey and walnuts. Also gladiators drank wine but never immediately after a training, then they would drink water. When they ate their 'Coena Libera' or last meal they would stuff themselves with whatever they could eat. It could be, in the end, their last meal. There you go, all the info necessary to build your own roman athlete body - take me back to research page - |
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