I've already touched on the fact that the majority of the fitness "powers that be" would prefer that Bodyweight Training were brushed over and ignored in favor of much less potent conditioning ideas. The inarguable fact is that no other strength and conditioning method has such a shining history of effectiveness. Going all the way back to ancient times and lasting until today.
Don't take my word for it. Here's some historical highlights of Bodyweight Training...
- The Indian Wrestling Cults. Did you know Indian wrestling as a sport (and near religion) goes back thousands of years? Approaching modern MMA in its mix of grappling and striking, Indian wrestlers developed extensive libraries of Bodyweight Training exercises, some revived in the last decade or so outside of India like the Hindu pushup and Hindu squat which we will touch on later in our guide. The physical prowess of Indian wrestlers is legendary with well documented programs that included over 500 push ups and 1000 squats a day, six days a week!
- The Spartan Warriors. If you've ever seen a statue or painting of a Spartan warrior you will probably have seen that the movie "300" was right on the mark with their depiction of the Spartan physique. The Spartans lifted no weights, but trained using advanced Bodyweight Training methods which left them with a still lasting reputation of being some of the finest physical specimen to ever walk the earth.
- The Roman Gladiator. A distant cousin of the Spartan, Roman Gladiators employed similar training programs brought to them from the Greeks. Their results were equally impressive.
- Charles Atlas and the American Physical Culturalists. The idea of building a healthy, great looking and powerful body first reignited in modern days at the start of the 1900's. Probably the most popular and well known of these fitness enthusiasts was the legendary Charles Atlas. Charles, along with most of his contemporaries, were dedicated Bodyweight Training advocates and built insanely well developed and athletically capable bodies. Google Charles Atlas, Earle Liederman, Jack Lalanne or other fitness gurus of their era and marvel at what they were able to achieve minus weights, anabolic steroids, supplements or even advanced diet ideas!
- Modern Military Spec Ops. From the American Navy Seals to the British RAF and every special forces group in between has been built on a foundation of push ups, pull ups, crunches and so on. Very few indulge in much weight training. Can anyone really deny their high level of conditioning and life and death level of true functional fitness?
- Matt Furey and the New Breed of Bodyweight Training. In the early 2000's a somewhat over the top fitness coach and author is credited by most as bringing back Bodyweight Training to the forefront of discussion and reviving a whole arsenal of lost exercises. Furey opened these doors and deserves more credit than he sometimes receives.
Now it should be clear you are about to follow in some very legendary footsteps when you dive into Bodyweight Training. Are you ready to carry on this proud fitness tradition? I think you absolutely have what it takes. Time to move forward!
