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Epictetus

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Introduction :
Epictetus is my favorite philosopher so I chose him as my forum avatar/name.

I've been training with kettlebells off and on since 2011 but am returning after a long hiatus. I'm 25 years old and am looking to get stronger in a safe way, with joint health and longevity as a priority.

Current Program :

Enter the Kettlebell : Rite of Passage

I did a test last night and got 5 easy reps with the 24kg on both arms.

Pressing days change based on work schedule and stress. For example, I'm off on Saturday so I'll make that a heavy day since free time is abundant and stress is low.

Mobility is done everyday no matter what :
  • Joint Circles
  • Simple and Sinister Warmup
    • Prying Goblet squats
    • StrongFirst Hip Bridge
    • Kettlebell Halos
  • Convict Conditioning 2 Trifecta
    • Bridging
    • L-Sits
    • Twisting
  • Passive Bar Hanging
  • Bretzels
  • Kettlebell Arm Bars
  • Get Strong Warmup
    • Wrist Circles
    • Toe Touch/Reach Overhead
    • Downward/Upward Dog Switch
    • Hollow Body
    • Plank
Everything Above Takes About 20 Minutes
  • Done Intermittently Throughout the Day
    • Walking
      • 10,000 Steps
    • Breathing Ladders
    • Crawling/Rolling
Variety days are spent with heavier than my press turkish get ups.

Current Exercise Theory :
I believe that joint health, tendon health and structural integrity should be at the forefront of everyone's training. You're only as strong as your weakest link and generally speaking for most people those are the joints and tendons.

It's important to choose an exercise modality that inspires you and that you enjoy. Something you don't mind putting time in with that is reasonably safe.

What brought me back?
This article by Pavel
John “Roper” Saxon and the Kettlebell | StrongFirst

I'm looking forward to learning from everyone here.

Sincerely, Epictetus
 
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Heavy Day
3(1,2,3) 24kg Clean and Press
Superset
3(1,2,3) Chin Ups
3 min 24kg Hard Swings
 
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Medium Day
3(1,2) 24kg Clean and Press
Superset
3(1,2) Chin Up
4 minute 24kg Swing -- Medium Effort
 
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Stoics are good. Neoplatonism is interesting too. I enjoy reading Plotinus.

The Ancient Romans and Greeks had gymnasia where they lifted weights and wrestled etc. We have even pieces of a wrestling training manual, and the description of some weight training moves. Interesting stuff.
 
It's been a while since I worked in sports academia but back then I didn't come across what they are promoting here - that callisthenics was used to train for war. It was pretty much weapons training, fencing basically, and unit formation drills. As far as "callisthenics" these seemed to revolve around wrestling-based and inspired drills (like the sprawl aka hindu pushup) although certainly picking up weights from the ground, using a chinup bar for some activities, running and jumping holding weights. It was a lot like modern South Asian traditional wrestling gyms although I've not found reference to weighted clubs for exercise in Greek and Roman times, unless we're misinterpreting some words in the old texts.

Plato and Xenophon detail ancient Greek military training methods in their works, for instance. Doing handstands and stuff isn't part of it.
 
It's been a while since I worked in sports academia but back then I didn't come across what they are promoting here - that callisthenics was used to train for war. It was pretty much weapons training, fencing basically, and unit formation drills. As far as "callisthenics" these seemed to revolve around wrestling-based and inspired drills (like the sprawl aka hindu pushup) although certainly picking up weights from the ground, using a chinup bar for some activities, running and jumping holding weights. It was a lot like modern South Asian traditional wrestling gyms although I've not found reference to weighted clubs for exercise in Greek and Roman times, unless we're misinterpreting some words in the old texts.

Plato and Xenophon detail ancient Greek military training methods in their works, for instance. Doing handstands and stuff isn't part of it.
I agree, I think they're just capitalizing on calisthenics popularity. I would love to see the sort of physical shape a man like Milo of Croton was in. He for sure used external resistance, wrestled and was a champion. Until he got stuck in a tree and eaten by wolves.
 
I agree, I think they're just capitalizing on calisthenics popularity. I would love to see the sort of physical shape a man like Milo of Croton was in. He for sure used external resistance, wrestled and was a champion. Until he got stuck in a tree and eaten by wolves.
Resistance training back then was mainly picking up another human in wrestling training both as part of drills and as part of sparring. Thus the maximum load you would get is a human`s bodyweight. Modern barbell athletes are far stronger minus perhaps some freak exceptions.
 
Resistance training back then was mainly picking up another human in wrestling training both as part of drills and as part of sparring. Thus the maximum load you would get is a human`s bodyweight. Modern barbell athletes are far stronger minus perhaps some freak exceptions.
True, plus anything else in their life was manual labor.
 
True, plus anything else in their life was manual labor.
What moderns miss about the Greeks is that they used other humans as their weights. We don't do this these days outside wrestling studios. It is a kind of callisthenics I suppose, but using another person's bodyweight - partner callisthenics. Some people still do some of this as part of their workouts.
 
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My favorite (alleged) ancient feat of strength is Bybon heaving up above his head the stone that weights around 300 pounds
and doing so with one arm.

Ministry of Culture and Sports | Museum of the History of the Olympic Games of antiquity
There's a picture of that stone in "Perfecting the Press" by Kenneth Jay.

Some amazing feats of strength for sure. It's so interesting to mull about the physical culture of ancient times. I'm especially interested in the rowing of ships and the strength of ancient archers, specifically Henry the 5ths longbowmen. Apparently some recovered longbows from the time period had a pull back poundage of 200lbs. Contemporary commentators said they could pull trees straight out of the ground by the roots as well.

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