Want to get fighting fit? Try a vibrating belt or a rocking saddle – almost as effective as riding a horse!
Ugh, exercise. Must we? Apparently so, but take heart: we can use props. Things were so terrible in the past that I assumed people required no assistance in keeping fit, since simply attempting to stay alive provided ample cardiovascular and strength challenges – but no. “Exercise equipment, per se, first appeared in historical texts around 6000BC, when ancient Chinese writings indicated stone lifting, archery and weight throwing [were] being used for both personal health and warfare preparation,” according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal.
Chinese martial artists lifted three-legged cauldrons, while ancient Egyptians swang sacks of sand over their heads and held them there, both of which sound awfully like CrossFit to me (that’s me, a person who doesn’t know what CrossFit is). The Greeks have a lot to answer for, too – including inventing the Olympics, of course – and the Romans got women involved, making them play with balls and hoops.
Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian
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