The Ancient Roman Gladiators were definitely lean and perhaps mean, and unfortunately, they were killing machines.
Fighting was in their blood, and it was their way of life; it was who they were born to be. If a gladiator wanted to be the champ, they certainly could not lose focus, not even for a split second, just one minute slip up or lapse in attention could be the end of it all, this manifested in an unwavering strength, drive and complete determination. Their courage became the legendary tales still told today. Lucky for the gladiators these days, slipping up does not mean certain death… but it does not deter from the fact that they give of their all as if they are fighting for their survival.
If you would like a bit of insight into how to train like a gladiator, let us share a few tricks of the trade.
Callisthenics or bodyweight exercises were a huge part of gladiator training. The reason behind this is because these exercises don’t rely on anything else but a person’s own body weight.
Common callisthenics exercises that are also performed by gladiators include push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, jumping jacks, crunches, pull-ups, squats, dips, plank, and so much more if you want to add more resistance, then these can be performed in a variety of ways.
The three main categories that all your gladiator training exercises can be divided into are as follows;
Vigorous exercises: These are exercises performed with Strength but without speed. Such as: lifting weights, working with resistance bands, heavy gardening like digging and shovelling, climbing stairs, hill walking, cycling, push-ups, sit-ups and squats, even climbing a rope or hanging from a rope or beam for as long as possible, holding arms up (with or without weights) these all build your Strength and muscles.
Speed exercises: clearly here, the primary objective of the training is speed, for example, sprint running, boxing, hitting punching bags, running around with balls and drill exercises. Uphill sprints at an all-out speed for 10 to 20 seconds, followed by enough recovery time to bring the heart rate down a bit is how to go about it.
Bear in mind that it can be an intense workout, so you should ease into it. You don’t need a very steep hill either. Start small, do just a few reps per workout, and build on that in time with steeper inclines or more reps or less recovery time.
Power exercises: These exercises combine speed and Strength.
Strength, combined with speed, is a secure foundation to build a training regimen upon; Strength needs to be combined with other elements of training like speed. Otherwise, the outcome can be extremely limited. Being strong just isn’t enough to be the last gladiator standing. On the contrary – when you mix Strength with speed: That combination of putting Strength into motion can make it a force to be reckoned with.
