Is there anyone who can eyeball training methods from a look at a physique?We have>Very evenly developed chest, upper, middle and lower pecs are basically the same size - what exercise does this? Ancient authors claimed it's from discus thrower training, so how did they do it?>HUGE abs, basically the biggest muscle group, yet there are no hints about how they did it. We can probably rule out gymnast type training because there are no descriptions on things like that. There are some allusions to breathing exercises but you don't get abs like that from breathing hard.>Ass. All the statues have gigantic asses. Did they only develop those with sprinting and jumping exercises?
>>76615326>I'll likely never be perfect and in the image and likeness of God again Shit. Thanks for the reminder OP
>>76615326Dat lil' willie
Good question — training for ancient Greek warriors varied depending on time period, city-state, and class (citizen-soldier vs. professional), but here’s the breakdown:1. Spartan System (Agōgē)Sparta is the most famous case:Starting young: Boys entered the agōgē at age 7, living in communal barracks.Physical conditioning: Constant running, wrestling, jumping, discus/javelin throwing, swimming.Combat training: Fighting in formation (phalanx), spear and shield drills, mock battles.Hardship training: Minimal food, thin clothing, encouraged to steal to learn resourcefulness — all meant to build toughness.Discipline: Obedience, endurance, and fearlessness were drilled daily.2. Athens and Other City-StatesCitizen-soldiers (hoplites): Most Greek warriors were farmers, artisans, or merchants who trained part-time.Ephebic training (Athens): Around 18, young men did 2 years of military service (ephebia) — learning weapons handling, drill, and fortification work.Gymnasia & palaestra: Men trained in athletics — running, wrestling, boxing, pankration (a brutal MMA-like sport). These sports doubled as combat conditioning.3. Hoplite Training & TacticsPhalanx formation: The key was not individual dueling skill but group cohesion. Drilling side-by-side with shield and spear was critical.Strength & endurance: Marching in heavy bronze armor (40–70 lbs) meant long-distance stamina was essential.Weapons practice: Spear thrusting was the main technique, with secondary sword use if the spear broke.4. Daily MaintenanceDiet: Bread, olives, figs, cheese, and meat on occasion — simple but dense in carbs and fats for endurance.Lifestyle: Many warriors kept fit through labor — farming, hunting, carrying loads — which built natural strength. So, Greek warriors weren’t bodybuilders — they trained for endurance, discipline, and fighting as a unit, with Spartans being the only ones who lived in a near full-time military system.
Pankration was one of the most intense parts of Greek warrior training — and it blurred the line between sport and combat. It was basically a no-holds-barred blend of wrestling and striking, closer to modern MMA than anything else in antiquity. Here’s what pankration training looked like:---Core Elements of Training1. Striking (Pyx)Open-hand blows, fists, elbows, knees, and kicks.They trained without gloves, so conditioning the hands and shins was part of practice.Head strikes were allowed — making it rougher than boxing.2. Grappling (Pale)Throws, clinches, and takedowns.Wrestlers trained on sand or dirt (sometimes oiled skin to make grips harder).Joint locks, chokes, and pins were central to pankration.3. SubmissionsChokeholds, arm bars, leg locks, finger breaks — all permitted.The only things generally banned were biting and eye-gouging (though some sources say even those sometimes happened).---ConditioningAgility and stamina drills: Running, jumping, shadow-grappling.Strength training: Stone lifting, carrying heavy logs, resistance work with partners.Endurance through pain: Fights could last a long time, so mental toughness was drilled.---Spartan Use of PankrationSpartans valued pankration for battlefield survival skills — fighting when weapons were lost.They trained to transition smoothly from spear and shield combat into close-quarters unarmed techniques.---MindsetVictory came only when one opponent was incapacitated or signaled defeat by raising a finger.Matches could be brutal — broken bones, suffocation, and even death weren’t rare.Training emphasized arete (excellence/virtue) and control, not just raw violence.---In short, pankration training was functional combat conditioning, not just sport. It produced fighters who could handle both stand-up striking and ground fighting — making it one of the earliest comprehensive martial arts.
>>76615418>>76615424Thanks for not answering the question. God, AI is so fucking dumb now.
>>76615436Perfect — here are some direct descriptions and comparisons from ancient sources where the Greeks themselves connect athletic/warrior bodies to the statue-like ideal:---1. Xenophon (4th c. BC) – on Spartan trainingIn Constitution of the Lacedaemonians (4.6), he describes Spartan youths as being so well trained that “their bodies were both beautiful and capable of enduring toil.” He ties together aesthetics (kalos, beautiful) and function, echoing what statues show.---2. Philostratus (3rd c. AD) – on athletic formIn Gymnasticus (ch. 30), he writes that athletes trained to achieve:“broad shoulders, strong chests, a small waist, and well-knit limbs.” This is essentially a verbal description of the sculpted Doryphoros-type physique.---3. Pausanias (2nd c. AD) – on statues resembling real menIn Description of Greece (6.4.11), speaking about statues at Olympia, he says:“The likenesses of the victors are made to resemble them in build and age.” Statues weren’t fantasy bodies — they were modeled on real athletes’ proportions.---4. Lucian of Samosata (2nd c. AD) – on sculpted bodiesIn Anacharsis (27), Lucian has a character admire Greek athletes:“See how their bodies gleam, smooth and firm, like the works of Phidias and Polykleitos.” He explicitly compares living athletes to statues by the greatest sculptors.---5. Galen (2nd c. AD physician) – on training and the ideal bodyIn On Exercise with the Small Ball (ch. 1), he describes the athletic ideal as:“Neither too fleshy nor too thin, but proportioned according to the canon of Polykleitos.” Direct link between medical/athletic training and the sculptor’s “canon.”--- So yes, the Greeks themselves did compare living men’s physiques to statues, and sometimes even said the statues resembled the athletes rather than the other way around.
greeks culture was really focused around physicality and a balanced body. They loved Pankration like we love UFC fighters today. These guys were considered "strange" because their diets contained a lot of meat as opposed to regular greeks. They trained naked, slathered in olive oil and dust, with a mix of bag work, full contact HARD sparring and calisthenics (i've read a LOT about this shit)
>>76615448Alright — let’s line the ancient descriptions/statues up with modern athlete types, so you can picture what they probably looked like in real life:---1. Broad Shoulders, Narrow Waist (Philostratus)Ancient: “Broad shoulders, strong chests, small waist, well-knit limbs.”Modern Comparison: Think of a gymnast or sprinter — wide shoulders, compact torso, visible muscle but not bulky.Example: Kohei Uchimura (Olympic gymnast) or a 100m sprinter like Usain Bolt.---2. Functional Strength, Endurance (Xenophon, Spartans)Ancient: “Beautiful and capable of enduring toil.”Modern Comparison: CrossFit athletes or MMA fighters — lean, defined, but built for stamina and toughness more than sheer size.Example: Georges St-Pierre (MMA fighter) or Mat Fraser (CrossFit).---3. Statues Resembling Victors (Pausanias)Ancient: Statues made to match the real build and age of Olympic champions.Modern Comparison: Olympic wrestlers — strong, compact, dense muscle, balanced proportions.Example: Jordan Burroughs (freestyle wrestler).---4. Smooth, Gleaming Bodies Like Statues (Lucian)Ancient: “Smooth and firm, like the works of Phidias and Polykleitos.”Modern Comparison: Swimmers — well-defined, even musculature, not exaggerated bulk, with a “polished” look from training and low body fat.Example: Michael Phelps in his prime.---5. The Canon of Polykleitos (Galen)Ancient: Proportions balanced, not too fleshy, not too thin.Modern Comparison: Decathletes — muscular but not extreme, built to perform in many disciplines.Example: Ashton Eaton (Olympic decathlete).--- In short:Not like modern bodybuilders (too bulky, disproportionate).Closer to combat athletes and multi-event Olympians — muscular, lean, and balanced.The “statue look” wasn’t just about muscle size, but symmetry, proportion, and functional strength.
>>76615326Decathlon, spear thrusts, javelin throws, running with armor on, carrying shields.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HoplitodromosSome of them would've done wrestling, although the typical greek structure isn't really a wrestling body-type.
>>76615326you know thats what 90% of peoples bodies look like at low bf%... right???the answer is just lose fat you fucking loser
>>76615326Start with this autist who documents and recreates the techniques based on contemporary writing https://youtube.com/shorts/mTtP7LxgI-4?feature=sharedhttps://youtube.com/shorts/uPGvvv21YnU?feature=sharedhttps://youtube.com/shorts/CHL1x2A816Y?feature=sharedBottom line lots of ballistics, isometrics and loaded carries, all full body compound.
aside from specific training for sports or combat, trench digging was seen as a good way to train the body
>>76615943Still is a good way to train the body while making money
>>76615326Greek statues were about proportions. That one aspect were they differ from roman statues
>>76615326>how did men who had to march dozens of miles every day burdened with an uneven load have a strong core?????
1. Push-up–like movements • The Greeks practiced exercises called anastaseis (“rising up”) and stomacheia, which involved pressing the body up from the ground — basically push-ups or planks. • Greek wrestling training also involved pushing up off the ground against resistance.2. Pull-up–like exercises • Gymnasia often had beams, rings, and ropes. Training with climbing ropes (skhoinos) and pulling up on horizontal beams was common. • Rope climbing itself is a functional equivalent of repeated pull-ups.3. Squats • Training manuals describe repeated bending and extending of the legs, sometimes holding weights like halteres (early dumbbells). • Athletes practiced jumps from a squat position while holding halteres — almost like weighted squat jumps.4. Leg raises / core work • Core training was emphasized for wrestling, pankration, and combat. • Movements described included raising legs while lying down, twisting exercises, and supported leg lifts using apparatus.5. Sit-ups / crunches • The exercise called anchisteis involved lying on the back and curling upward — very close to sit-ups. • Other descriptions mention “folding the body forward repeatedly,” which matches sit-up–style ab work.
Aren't all the ancient statues more of their vision of the perfect body, not the norm of their culture?
>>76615406The Spartans, upon reaching the age of thirty three and having been to battle once, would have their mother arrange with another family a marriage, the young daughter, typically 14 and having completed the ritual of the woodland girls, would be shaved of all hair, tied to a bed, and the room darkened. The Spartan male was lead to her room and they would ‘have sex™’ for the first time each thereafter being considered married the husband upon returning the next day to a well lit house would see for the first time his wife’s face.Would you be so lucky to have a penis that has lived out that kind of life.
>>76615326ZAMN
