Gladiator Conditioning - Our way

If you are looking for a workout that is different from the usual stuff everybody does, then this is the workout for you. It's designed to get you strong, fast and very deadly.

Gladiator Training commenced with getting the new gladiator to the peak of fitness. Gladiators trained much like professional athletes do today. They received medical attention and three meals a day. Their training included learning how to use various weapons, including the war chain, net, trident, dagger, and lasso.

Successful training required intense commitment. Fighting styles were learned through constant rehearsal as choreographed "numbers". An elegant, economical style was preferred, as a single bout probably lasted between 10–15 minutes, or 20 minutes at most. A wooden pole called a palus was first used as a target to practise moves with a sword. The wooden swords used during training on the palus were often double the weight of the actual weapon ensuring that the gladiators built up their upper body and arm strength. Palus training allowed a gladiator to practise various vicious strokes and manoeuvres such as thrusting, cutting, and slicing without imposing an injury on an opponent.

Training included preparation for a stoical, unflinching death. To die well, a gladiator should never ask for mercy, nor cry out. A "good death" redeemed a defeated gladiator from the dishonourable weakness and passivity of defeat, and provided a noble example to those who watched.

He had to be the best.... 

In my next article, i will show how he was able to be the best.