How Did Ancient Greek Athletes Exercise? The Remarkable "Tetras" Routine
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- čas přidán 1. 12. 2020
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Half of any martial arts' effectiveness is its accompanying workout; and the ancient Hellenes had a deep and complex system of exercising that we can still learn from today.
In this video, we'll go through each section of the ancient Hellenic exercise routine. From popular exercise techniques they utilized, to how they planned and sectioned their daily drills; including their unique method of scheduling workouts called Tetras (singular) or Tetrades (plural).
With focus on both aesthetics and functionality, the ancient Olympian Workout provides a harmonious mode of exercising, worthy of the divinity in its name.
Disclaimer: I am not a physician or exercise scientist. The information within is intended for general knowledge and historic purposes. It is not a substitute for medical advice, nor is it a treatment for underlying health issues. Any suggestions within should only be used after consultation with a medical professional, especially if you are a minor, pregnant, or have pre-existing health conditions.
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#workout #history #martialarts #ancientgreece #mma #pankration #combatsports #exercise #greekgod #AncientGreekAthleteWorkouts #FitnessRoutine #AthleteTraining #GreekExercises #AncientGreekFitness #FitnessAndHealth #AthleticPerformance #FitnessWisdom #AncientGreekCulture #FitnessTraditions #FitnessFuel #GreekAthleticTraining #FitnessAndDiet #AncientAthleticTraining #HealthyGreekCooking #AncientHealthSecrets #GreekWorkoutPrinciples #AthleticWorkoutWisdom #HealthyExercises #GreekWorkoutAdvice #GreekAthleticWisdom #AncientWorkoutTips #HealthyAthleticExercises #FitnessTrainingGuide #TetrasWorkoutRoutine
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Written & Edited by Athanasios Bonas:
Email: amopankration@gmail.com
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Voiced by Sifis Mainas:
Vimeo: vimeo.com/user3620268
Σινε-Συμπόσιο: / @cineposium
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Taking in a deep breath, holding it in and then screaming as loud as possible as a form of meditation, I wonder if my neighbors will like me screaming bloody murder to calm my anxiety at 1 am.
Only one way to find out.
No joke, it's hella satisfying
@@AMOPankration i wonder how would.ancient greeks view power lifters ,athletes and mma.fighters.today like if the went to.tth future
@@basti2607 I wish I can my neighbor's a politician
Go to a park or the woods 😉
I just realized something amazing.
At my previous school, we had a gym teacher, he’s a awesome man, and with a equally awesome body, hes has that body which makes you instantly realize how much and how long he has been training.
When some of my friends asked how he trains, he explained that he trains almost every day, but in a 4 day period exactly like described in the video.
We asked him why he structured his workout like that, and he Said it was good for body, mind and to build a routine and discipline.
He said he got the Idea from greece when he traveled there when he was much younger.
That sneaky devil.
You're saying he is either immortal or a time traveler
@@MrWizardd200 or he went to greece, studied their vast history and arts when we was there when he was younger lol
@@pinkpuff8562 Nah definitely a time traveler, you can't fool us that easily
@@pezantvr5871 damn it!
*leans closer to concealed microphone*
They know too much!
Thats cute
The ancient Greeks seemed to have understood periodization and recovery long before anyone else, at least anything recorded. This was fascinating to watch. Thanks for uploading!
I read in The Republic that Athletes slept a lot
they probably were good observers and listened to their body, thanks to no internet - just pure experience without source of information where can you find many trash or flat knowledge, we are learning slower because we rely on someone's knowledge nowadays instead of get up and learn but then again it takes precious time and todays human want everything now..
@@penclaw they had a holistic view of life, that was one of their secrets. The body trimming was integrated and a part of their life philosophy. They believed that only in a healthy body can be generated healthy thoughts. And for them the kind of thoughts that one entertains was substancial.
Whats periodization mean?
@@penclaw Not only that but we live much busier lives now than the ancients did; they lived slower than we do.
As a Greek I appreciate the accurate pronunciation of your Greek. I can really tell that you have an extensive knowledge when it comes to Greek antiquity!
I think he's Greek as well.
Re mlk ellinas einai des sto telos ta onomata
Actually, the ancient Greeks pronounced these words in a very different manner. In fact, the modern Greek pronunciation isn't an accurate way of rendering the ancient sounds at all - there were some drastic changes in the pronunciation during those past two and a half thousand years. If the ancient Greeks from the classical period heard someone speaking modern Greek they would have thought it was just some odd foreign language. It's like arguing that the proper way of pronouncing Latin is pretending that it sounded like Italian. It's fine to pronounce ancient Greek like a modern one but we must keep in mind that it's by no means better than any other pronunciation of the ancient variant.
@@erazmwratislaviensis669 true our language has gone through changes from ancient greek to Byzantine Greek then the language changed again during the revolution and it changed in around the 60s 70s i believe could be earlier to the modern version plus each region has very different dialects from from the Macedonian region to Crete to central Greece and Cyprus all have different way of speaking and the differences aren't just pronunciation but entire words that are different
But modern Greek is a good basis to understand ancient greek
In school we dedicate 6 years to ancient greek but at the end you can write and speak in it on a good level but it takes a lot of work to achieve it
Same
The word calisthenics comes from the ancient Greek words kállos (κάλλος), which means "beauty" (to emphasize the aesthetic pleasure that derives from the perfection of the human body), and sthenos (σθένος), meaning "strength" (great mental strength, courage, strength, and determination). It is the art of using one's body weight as resistance in order to develop physique.
Huh... so it can be translated roughly to "beautiful strength", or "the beauty of strength"?
Your accent is impeccable.
I can tell that you're greek just from that "tetrades"
Awesome! I've always been really interested in how the greeks put an emphasis on the mind and the body. Seeing this routine shows just how serious they were about mentality and how it informs technique. Excited to see fighting techniques, if possible!
Well to be honest, the ancient poets and philosophers often criticized that they fellow citizens were focused too much on sport rather on using their minds
@@MilornDiester that is for normal greek .only certain greeks were given knowledge because the greeks thought that not everybody deserved that knowledge
@@MilornDiesterso it is kinda confusing sorry
Add meditation in your training...
That breathing and meditation technique seems to be exactly the same as the very popular wim hoff breathing technique.
Its amazing that these techniques were lost but then rediscovered in the modern age by experimentation yet again.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Aristotle
Did the Ancient Greeks do the same calisthenics as us, aka push ups,pull ups, rows handstands etc? I would love to know the specific calisthenics that they did
They did calisthenics exercises . As well as weight exercises. They did both. They were ancient warriors, they had to be strong to survive.
@@lani_plays endurance is so much more important then strength on the battlefield
@@shiftyguggs2415 you’re absolutely right
There is archaeological evidence that they performed Squats while holding on their backs their training partners, deadlifted heavy rocks (pretty much like strongmen lift stones) and farmer carriers while holding rocks or some say bulls on their back although that would be kinda exaggerating
it is known they did push ups, i dont know about the other exercises
Physique wise, the Farnese Hercules puts all modern bodybuilding to shame
Nah not everyone
That’s the truth
Calm down
Not really
Not really, these training methods are still used in Kickboxing, Sambo or MMA for example and many more sports. Studies of the human physique derive from this and have even been improved by modern scientific knowledge.
I did this for the last 16 days. Some of the best training I have ever done. I'm going to do a podcast episode on it.
What ??💀 modern day workouts are 10x better than this , judging by your comment it’s probably ur first training ever
@@meyr1992 You probably never worked in a day your whole life bruh
@@RamboTheGrand I have been working out for a whole year now. nice try bud
@@meyr1992 only a year and you act like u know better ?? Lmao, pipe down
@@meyr1992 A year of workout is only newbie gains
Superb video. Thanks a lot for this modern take on the original techniques.
this is so crazy I was literally thinking in my head not that long ago when I saw greek statues at the museum " I wonder what the workout routine was back then " and then this video gets recommended to me 🤯
You will receive what you need, when you need it.
Very interesting thank you, usually its hard to find anything at all on training in ancient times and medieval times be it in Europe or Japan. The best think I personally found was in a picture book when I was in 7 grade about medieval knights they explained types of exercises they did but that was long ago ...
Yes :) for most of history dance was closely linked with religion so we have a LOT more sources for how they trained and what dances they taught and performed in ancient times.
Its pretty cool how much of their athletic training is still in use today 🙂 but sad that they didn't write more of it down for us lol. I find the prep period at the beginning of the workout pretty fascinating :)
Super cool! I'm glad I found this video, I might have to give this routine a go!
what a great source of inspiration
Underrated video, good content!
One of my favorite videos. One day I’ll be thanking this video for much more 🙏🏻
Fascinating subject 💪🏼 awesome video
Wow! This is something super useful! Thank you a lot!
Well, this is one of the most unique and amazing channels that's been recommended to me recently. I am now a lifelong fan!
Πολυ ωραίο βίντεο, μπράβο!!
Thanks man. Very informational. I plan to train in strength & combat and this helps me build my own personal modern system.
Great video! Thank you.
I appreciate your pronunciation.
Thank you for sharing.
Saved this for great content.
Thanks, man! I really enjoyed watching and learning with your video. Also i had a similar training estructure when i was training to become the strongest man of the world and i din't know about this concept. Very good video, thanks! 😊❤👍
Awesome video and great information, thank you!
I’ll definitely try to work out like this, this structure and exercises are exciting 😃
Very well presented video, I will look more into this. You earned a subscriber!
Εξαιρετική εργασία και πληροφόρηση / excellent work.
Excellent channel!
Thank you for your hard work!
Excellent presentation...
This is absolutely fascinating.
Such a great video! Very informative, explanatory and useful. The pronunciations of the words were also amazing, where in most videos about ancient Greece get them wrong. Wonderful work!
Great video. Thank you
Great analysis of their culture and training types,you've studied it very well...:)
Excellent video.
Do you have a book you could recommand me ?
This is awesome. The breathing exercises are interesting
This is brilliant. I’m wondering why we haven’t kept to this methodology in modern times.
There has certainly been a concerted effort to take us away from an understanding of whole-ism in the human experience.
Instant superficial results.
It's more profitable to push vanity than it is to help create happier people.
All true
Now I feel like I want to give a try at this Olympian workout...
Ill be watching this again thank you
Just found out where the Portuguese word for Dumbbell “Halter” came from
Alot of words we use every day (especially English words) have Greek origins
Where I come from (Romania) we call dumbells "gantere" and barbells "haltere"
@@ovidiudante in Portuguese is just plain old “barra” :(
Hantel, Germans and Poles both use for a weight/ dumbell/ hand weight. Used also in Swedish, Azerbaijani and Russian -Gantel-> in standard Russian they have no - "h" letter).
This was brilliant thankyou
I'm amazed by your pronunciation sir. Seriously, great work! Normally foreigners don't take any time to get the letters and pronunciation right, resulting in sounding very strange. Thank you for trying your best to keep the words as close as possible to the ancient text!
he's probably greek lol
Just found this channel. I'm looking forward to learn more about it, and, maybe helping with the revival of this art. Cheers!
I love your Greek pronunciation. You don't just make every Greek word sound American. Good job! You're probably Greek and it's probably very natural for you but it's something I appreciate
This was amazing why haven't I heard of this channel
Super fascinating!
Very interesting. The modern day French word for dumbbell is "haltère" and pronounced just like you said!
I really like the tetrades. I think I will try to incorporate it in my training
Great video- Intuitively it makes total sense and highly applicable to enhancing health and human performance
I like how you threw some Muay Thai and boxing clips in there to help us understand better 👏💯
Keep your good work, salute from Santos, Brazil!! Love Greece my friend!
Um BR, aí sim.
Facinating video! Thank you very much. If someone could please link to some of the sources for this video that would be great.
Thanks stewie ! 🤝
Magnificent thank you so much
Very interesting! i used to study karate and we didn't do anything this systematic. of course we only had an hour or two three or four times a week and sometime a black belt class, but I'm thinking this kind of systematic approach would benefit most modern athletes or martial arts students. These days about all i do is some power lifting, kettle belling and kicking, but I will have to try using some of your principles.
Subbed to this channel! I love the structure that you propose here... I will try this blueprint. One of the best coaches worldwide, Scott Sonnon, offers "4 day waves". Very similar to this. Xaire!
Xaire stems from the same root as norwegian/skandinavian "kjære" and english "cheer" meaning "beloved" or "blessings" relating to ones joy for something.
Gea sou!
This is a very enlightening video, as the parallels to quality strength and conditioning training are very clear. The most surprising part was how the trainer/trainee have a general idea before starting, then work out the details the day of.
Could the author provide any references to how we know such specifics about their training routines?
I've responded to other comments with the sources, but since you ask so nicely I'm happy to repeat them:
Galen, Philostratus, Oribasius, Hippokrates, Pausanias, Plutarch, Lucian, Plato.
The post Hellenistic authors give us the most detail.
A very fascinating video. Could you please provide the Greek words for the 4 types of running, and/or an ancient source that mentions this method? Ευχαριστώ!
Sure. It's ἀνατροχισμός (anatrochismos), περιτροχισμός (peritrochismos), and ἑκπλεθρίζειν (ekplethrizein). (Γαλ.-Yγ. 2,240,6-8 & Oρειβ. Iατρ. Συν. 6,14)
@@AMOPankration Thank you!
Thank you, after fighting some recent internal demons I have made the decision that I wish to become "Herculean", and after drunkenly sharing this with a friend - he pointed me to your channel.
While the next month and a half I have already planned out will continue as scheduled - I intend to put forth the wisdom you are sharing as I adapt and develop my workouts to achieve my goal
Also, if you see this, please recommend some books - not directly for working out, but ones you think are beneficial for any man to read
You're looking for modern weightlifting, either powerlifting or bodybuilding.
Powerlifting if you want to do something with those muscles i.e. STR stat, bodybuilding if you want to look good and open up career paths / socialize / open doors via appearance i.e. Charisma stat.
i hope if u didn't do it, u do it now. and if u did it, that u keep going.
How’s the progress a year on?
@@sycadelic666 Sober, down 30lbs, and feeling a lot better - but I got ages to go for sculpting myself
@@DaWhim2380hang in there
Loved it
Fascinating.
As a fun fact, the word halterofilia still means weightlifting (the discipline/sport) and altera still means weight (the object you lift not the force) in Spanish.
If you are curious, it has an H; as far as I know; because the H used to indicate grammatical gender in ancient greek and the word is femenine in Spanish.
Excellent. 🙏🏻
ex-Professional atlhete here and can say This method quite close or even the same to how a nowadays daily routine works at high intensity levels. You could say the way we train now is derived from this. It follows the exact same principles
Very underrated channel
Awesome video! Would be fascinating to know what a Spartan soldier's training regiment was.
Ah yes time to relax *inhales takes in the beautiful land the bright blue sky, with puffy white clouds, the trees so green and full of life, the birds are softly chirping* and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The pronunciations are spot on.
I think... you just changed my life. This is the piece I've been missing. Rythm. Tetatres. Thank you.
I love this. Awesome. It can also be designed for any age.
This is a genius way to workout
Very cool what they did back in the days.
Now I'm curious as to what specific exercises they did as well
Proparaskeve is actually amazing. No more feelings of shame as I fail to do this overly ambitious workout that felt perfectly doable because I was riding the highs of motivation and inspiration one can only have while binging fitness content at 3 am. Now the workout is tailored to me in the real time. And it's an actual part of the workout, so it doesn't feel like a moment of weakness if I lower my expectations for the day.
Great video, very clear how and why they trained like that. I think I'll try the 4 days cycle.
Ήρθε κανείς εδώ από Σινε-συμπόσιο; Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα η ιδέα του καναλιού, καλή δουλειά.
So much ancient wisdom here. Like I structure my workouts in similar ways just intuitively. I you could say that I do a miniature tetrades in my day to day and a larger one in how I structure the workouts.
So I will do whatever it be not at full intensity for a set. Then do it with full intensity. And then often will simply go through the motions and imagine my muscles still under full strain the whole time. Then really focus on technique.
So a great example, on my sumo exercise days. I start with shiko to warm up, then do slow suriashi, then jumping suriashi, then fast suriashi, then weighted jumping suriashi, then weighted suriashi. Then I thought about actual matches and the timing of both hands down tachiai. I then in incorporated as soon as both hands touch I go. I did regular suriashi and jumping suriashi with this and noticed the increase in intensity. Then I grabbed a 25lb kettlebell to simulate have to not only move as soon as both hands down but also grab for something like the belt. So I had it sitting just far enough that I have to be quick with my hands. So both hands down, grab the kettlebell for both suriashi and jumping suriashi.
Then stretches etc. As for breathing I am a Buddhist and meditate/ use the proper breathing techniques to calm my breath.
My weight days follow a similar formula of building up the motion, working the entire group of muscles and antagonist muscles, etc.
The attenion spend on relaxation/breathing surprised me the most
It appears in a lot of pro athletes workouts and even the ancients realized that. Even most slaves through history got a day of rest since it simply works better. It's also why many religions have a day of rest that often features mediation, we in the west just don't always call it meditation but rather prayer or visualization but it wasn't much different from what they do in the east when we call it "meditation" instead.
could you tell me more about these Resistance training? was this part of the Main workout (day 2) and/or for warm up day. Also what sort of resistance exercises would they have done. Also, you mentioned resistance bands, what did those look like? Thank you so much for making this video, this has been filled with great knowledge.
Want a newly made Tetras workout schedule every month, with an accompanying 4-day nutritional plan based on the ancient Greek Mediterranean diet? You can get both with a $10 subscription on Patreon. Check out the link for more details: czcams.com/video/YdngDK17usY/video.html
Beginners Tetras: czcams.com/video/caY1n7pH-_k/video.html
Strength & Conditioning Tetras Routines: czcams.com/video/HTGpOvhSLgo/video.html
How to Ease Into the Tetras Routine: czcams.com/video/X1vi9Qs6voI/video.html
Breathing Exercises: czcams.com/video/zT5MCnI1c78/video.html
If you end up using the workout, let me know how it goes! Cheers
Tetrades routine can be used everywhere, even in studies. Very good video.
After spending almost a year trying to push past my bodies limits to see if I can just go go go without stop. I realize now that is not possible for the human body to go intensely indefinitely. I tried like hell but your body just won’t let you. So I concede I tried I failed so now I’ll do my own version of this.
the knoledge is so awesome. all in all harmonious to the way into greatness.
strength training, martial arts, recovery, stamina training.. to put it in that way is great. as we know now that recovery time might be as important as strength training. Im doing this kind of routine and have seen lots of beenefits ind mind body and soul 😁👊🏽
Definitely I’m breaking down the fight technique in a few videos
The narrator's voice is soothing
Didn't know what I did in my head or wanted to do due my intrusive thoughts and anxiety was an ancient form of meditation and yes I sometimes do it when I can. The first part at least.
7:25 Woow, they still use this method of training to this day!
liked and subbed. would you please provide a list of sources. i'm assuming there are literary sources, distinct from the pottery. thanks in advance.
This is pretty cool.
What are the sources? Would be good to have them
Hello! Amazing video!
Just have one quick question about the daily training phases. In minute 3:43, what do you mean exactly by sectioning? Is it a "planning" part of the next phase "core" workout? Or it includes exercises in itself? I find it quite a hard training of it's healthy workout, then some HIIT sets and then the main core workout! I believe it must be the first one, but it doesn't really make sense to me to have a pause for planning outside the initial planning phase of the daily workout. Could you clarify please? Thank you!
Do we know how long their workout sessions were? I'm sure there were variations depending on what they worked on but it seems like these would be a couple hours at least
great! this is awesome, can you share some of your references please? i'm interested to know more about this sport :D
think the greatest thing I learned from this is that I've been pronouncing "Pankration" wrong
tho it is interesting how Pankration was basically MMA back then
So cool
*Wow, guess I've been training like a Greek fr the last few days!* 😆✌
Have u seen any progress and physical or mental changes?
@@eyripidis_5432 Quite a bit yeah! I'm more eager to train with a more lenient schedule, and it's more fun somehow!
@@fatefulbrawl5838 nice im going to try it thanks
Try the last few years...
Hey how’s the workouts going for you ?
nice
So for those of you who know more about exercising and programming, what would a full 4 day program look like if you threw it together right now given the info here? What exercises? Reps and sets? Do we know what they use to do for exercises for bodyweight? Weighted? I know nothing about programming and would like to see just a whole program laid out on how they would've done things. Including running.
I am just astonished, and in awe how refined these workouts were. I mean visualization and meditation, easy workouts. One would wish this "rep till my muscles fall of 24/7/365 I don´t care about anything else but my muscles"-culture could be bansihed from any fitness center :D
I personally enjoy a more intense workout, it helps to vent frustration that I have no other vent for.
Why should training hard be banished? The modern world with cars replacing much walking and jobs tending towards the sedentary means moderns must train all the harder to stay in shape and combat their easy life styles.
I want to mention the tangent where it would be profound to explore how lyric and instrumentation are used in the setting of ancient Greek athletics.
If there's enough interest on the subject maybe I'll make a video for it in the future.
@@AMOPankration I imagine something like a Vuvuzela in Ptolemaic Egypt. Music theory is the same kind of test as military strategy, for ancient people.