GET STRONG LIKE A GLADIATOR

Ever wondered what it would take to build the physical and mental strength required to step out onto the blood-stained sands of the Colosseum and face mortal combat?

- Alexander Mariotti

The Gladiators of Ancient Rome may have fought two thousand years ago, but the training techniques and mindset they used to hone themselves into resilient, powerful athletes have been validated by modern science, and they still have valuable lessons to teach us. Picture the scene...

Marching out from the shaded depths of the Colosseum into the relentless Roman sun, the light dazzles your eyes as sweat crawls down underneath your claustrophobic, visored iron helm. You can see only what's immediately in front, through the dotted holes in your visor, and it's already hard to breathe.

As a dimachaerous, you hold a Roman short sword, the gladius, in each hand. Any street thug can swing two blades but will likely hack off their own limbs seconds later. In contrast, your weapon skills and muscles have been honed through structured training before you ever set foot in an arena: “On average, it took two years of training in a ludus to make a professional gladiator,” Alexander Mariotti, expert on combat in the Colosseum and historical consultant to Gladiator II told Men's Fitness.

You advance with flowing, deadly grace, your blades reflecting shards of sunlight into the cheering faces of the crowd. They feel like extensions of your hands after hours of drills using weighted blades. “Gladiators would train hard to fight easy,” says Mariotti. “Gladiatorial combat can seem very modern in that they fought in 3-minute rounds, so functional training with explosive elements was necessary. Their strength and conditioning sessions included bursts using weighted weapons, sprints, combinations like you would do in boxing and all-round functional training.” This would boost power but also increase anaerobic capacity, so that you could fight at 100% for longer, and recover faster between rounds - gladiators fought either in three rounds of five minutes or five rounds of three minutes.