A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
The fitness industry has experienced significant growth and transformation over the years, with public gyms playing a central role in promoting physical fitness and well-being. From humble beginnings to the sprawling fitness centers we see today, the evolution of the public gym reflects changing societal attitudes towards health, exercise, and personal fitness goals. If you... Continue Reading →
Were people as concerned with being fit and healthy two thousand years ago? The need to be fit isn't a new phenomenon. In fact two thousand years ago, the the ability to run fast, lift heavy things and punch hard was arguably much more important than it is today. For many civilisations it was matter... Continue Reading →
Stone lifting has, thankfully, come back into vogue both in strength competitions but also among the general lifting public. While previously on the site we have spoken of various acts of weightlifting in the Ancient World, it dawned on my recently that I have, to my own shame, rarely discussed some of the oldest, and... Continue Reading →
Performance enhancing drugs seem to become more problematic every year. Athletes are getting bigger, stronger and faster. Spectators are getting curious, suspicious and concerned. Performance enhancing drugs have touched nearly every major sport at one level or another. It's a modern problem right? Well not exactly... Research into the Ancient Greek Olympics has uncovered evidence... Continue Reading →
When it comes to a broad meaning of bodybuilding it concerns a process of maximizing the muscle hypertrophy by mixing various exercises into training. The modern meaning of the concept has changed significantly since the first-time bodybuilding came to be. As a sport, bodybuilding focuses on a series of athletes who are showing off their... Continue Reading →
Society often makes certain demands on the level of physical strength of its members. This is especially the case in times of primitive communal systems. Yet even then, even in 'pre-modern' societies, there were peculiar principles of physical education, because a person’s life was largely dependent on their physical qualities. Today, fitness is still of... Continue Reading →
Performance enhancing drugs seem to become more problematic every year. Athletes are getting bigger, stronger and faster. Spectators are getting curious, suspicious and concerned. Performance enhancing drugs have touched nearly every major sport at one level or another. It's a modern problem right? Well not exactly... Research into the Ancient Greek Olympics has uncovered evidence... Continue Reading →
Were people as concerned with being fit and healthy two thousand years ago? The need to be fit isn't a new phenomenon. In fact two thousand years ago, the the ability to run fast, lift heavy things and punch hard was arguably much more important than it is today. For many civilisations it was matter... Continue Reading →
1896 was a special year for athletes. Long touted in the making, 1896 marked the first Olympic Games in over 2,000 years. Through loans, promises and sheer determination, Pierre de Coubertin and his cohort of plucky fitness enthusiasts had somehow managed to organize an international sporting event comprising over 280 athletes from 14 different nations... Continue Reading →
Previously on this site we've looked at fitness in the classical age and today we'll be continuing that theme with a brief examination of the Greek Halteres. The halteres were the Greek equivalent of the modern day dumbbell and had a variety of uses from athletics to aesthetics. Whilst many date the creation of the... Continue Reading →