Look at a photo depicting ancient Greece or Rome and you’ll notice something – the men in ancient times were in great shape.
But how could they look better than men today without all the science and knowledge that we have at our disposal?
How did they get so muscular without knowing their daily macros or without understanding the importance of meal timing?
How did they get utterly chiseled without testosterone boosters, BCAAs, creatine or protein powder?
Shit, they didn’t even have weights or protein shakes like we do today. Everyone knows that weights and protein shakes is how you get lean and strong, so how did our ancestors do without?
Hmm, maybe they didn’t overcomplicate it like we do today.
Here’s How Ancient Men Got Fit
It’s simple when you think about it:
- People in ancient times worked using their bodies
- They ate whole foods
- They repeated points 1 and 2 everyday for their entire life.
Over time they built lean, strong and dense muscles.
They had to work or go to bed hungry. They had to fight or risk being killed.
They earned their meals by working for it with their own two hands every single day.
We grossly overestimate what it takes to get and stay in great shape. It’s so incredibly simple but we INSIST on making it complicated.
All it takes to get in shape is physical activity and willpower.
If you exercises for 20-30 minutes a day and eat whole foods it’s impossible to get fat.
We already know that bodyweight workouts can make you ripped. Add in some weight lifting and now you’re on to something. No detox cleanse or meal replacement shake required.
Life in Ancient times was Physically Demanding
Men in ancient times plowed fields, chopped trees, pulled massive rocks from the Earth, and built monuments that still stand today.
Before machines and technology, everything required manual effort. There were no robots to produce goods. No supermarkets to buy food.
They had to grow their own food to eat. And they built things with their hands.
Need a house? Build one.
What to eat bread? Till the field, plant the seed, tend the crops daily then reap it come harvest season. then you have to beat the wheat, mill the grain, kneed it, and bake it. Everything took effort and energy.
There were no iPhones, video games, or Netflix. Men would wrestle, compete, and kill game for fun.
People had to walk everywhere. Only the rich had horses to ride.
They didn’t relay on machines like we do today. They used their bodies everyday just to survive.
The colosseum didn’t build itself. It took the combined muscle of thousands of men years to build.
These men worked all day and night carrying heavy stones and logs. These guys were doing deadlifts before there were deadlifts.
That’s a fantastic total body workout.
I remember last summer when I had to move six cubic yards of dirt for my elderly neighbor using a wheelbarrow and shovel. My entire body was sore for two days afterwards.
This is the type of work these guys did everyday. It will harden you up quick and build strong, dense muscle in the process. This type of brutal physical labor turned boys into men.
I imagine a boy would start working young, probably around 14. By the time he was 20, his body was lean and strong.
Now image working like this every day for 20+ years. You would be in great shape – as long as you eat properly…
The Ancient Diet Was Full of Wholesome Foods
Men in ancient times ate fresh meat, cheese, vegetables and meat.
Their diet contained plenty of protein, unrefined carbs, and healthy fats.
They didn’t have refrigerators or freezers. They ate fresh or they ate nothing at all.
The exception to this would be cured meats and cheeses – which I imagine was less plentiful than fresh meat from livestock and plants from the fields.
They ate hearty foods pulled straight from the Earth and animals raised on the open plains.
Whole Wheat and Fresh Meat would be the diet marketers choice in ancient Roman history.
For good reason, too – Gladiators were said to eat mostly meat and barley to build muscle and strength.
They had the bodies to prove it and where the greatest athletes in the known world.
Only the Strong Survive
Darwinism was also at play. The sick and weak died off, while the strong were left to flourish.
As a result those of sound body and mind are the ones that we have records of. The others simply didn’t make it.
Mentally they were tough. They must have been deep thinkers capable of great focus. Look no further than the wise minds of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who were products of those tough times.
Oh, How the Times Have Changed
So how did we go from a fit and strong culture to overweight and out of shape?
Look around and you can plainly see that “they don’t build them like they used to”.
People are no longer physically fit. The situation is especially dire in America. We are the fattest, sickest country on Earth. In spite of being the wealthiest.
This is without a doubt a direct result of our lifestyle. We have it easy now. We don’t worry about having our village raided by blood-thirsty muraders and getting cut down in street.
Now we worry about Keeping Up with the Kardashians and taking our blood pressure medication.
For perspective, people from ancient times had a 50/50 chance of having their child die during birth.
Now people get upset when their french fries come out cold.
Ain’t that somethin’.
The Dichotomy of Life
Society evolved and technology changed our lifestyle. We no longer need to grow our own food or build our own house (unless you want to – which is awesome and I love you for that).
Our bodies haven’t changed much since ancient times but our lifestyle has changed dramatically. This has negatively impacted our health and elevated to full blown crisis mode.
- Food is easy to access in abundance. We eat a lot because we can.
- Exercise used to be a by-product of our daily work. That’s not the case anymore. We don’t workout because we don’t have to.
Why would I eat eggs or nuts when I can grab a donut in less time?
“I don’t care what I eat. I’m hungry and just need to be satisfied.” seems to be a popular mindset.
Now we work on computers and come home “exhausted”.
We justify not working out because we “worked hard all day” then reward ourselves with take-out and Netflix.
Nothing wrong with that, it’s your choice – Hell, I do that every once in a while.
Keep in mind – Our bodies reflect our lifestyle.
How you can build a body like ancient men
If you want a great physique, eat clean and workout consistently. What does that mean?
That means workout 4+ times a week – workout daily if you can.
Get a mix of heavy weight training and endurance training.
That also means eat clean.
Clean eating is a diet of of all fresh foods. No junk food, fast food, take out or processed carbohydrates/corn syrup/artificial flavor garbage.
Food is made to make companies money – not to make you healthy.
It’s your responsibility to educate yourself and make your own decisions.
Create the Right Environment
Build an environment that enables you to live healthy:
Don’t buy snacks
It’s impossible to eat snacks if you don’t have any.
Meal Prep
Cook healthy food in advance so you won’t be tempted to eat poorly when you’re hungry.
Meal prep is the best way to stick to a diet.
Eat whole foods
Stay away from anything processed.
Eat at least one big meal of meat or fish a day.
Some things aren’t doable unless you live off the grid but there is a lot within your power.
You have the ability now it’s up to you to take action.
Design a lifestyle that will help you reach your goals with as little effort as possible.
Work hard. Eat Clean. And reach out to me for help.
This is some real shit, thank you so much.
Thanks, Hika.
Would’ve loved to live in the same time period as Jesus and his disciples did. Living off the land, no technology, true happiness right there. But God has put each and every one of us in this time period for a reason. Amazing article btw, short sweet and straight to the point, keep it up.
It’s a very interesting thought, Dylan. I often think about disconnecting and exploring parts of the world without overbearing technology.
That’s right. Here we are. It’s up to us to make the most of it! Learn from the past. Learn from others. And make life better for everyone in our own special way!
Thank you for your comment and kind words!
Very nice and useful article!
Thank you, Angel.
I don’t know why people still pedal the whole, they ate a lot of meat shit. For the majority of human history, meat has been an expensive luxury item that was sparingly eaten by the poor, and only easily assessable to the rich. There were no factory farms churning out meat for people to eat day in and day out. There’s a reason why our bodies developed to be so good at eating mostly plants. And there’s a reason why I’ve gained the majority of muscle without a bite of meat.
I also thought about this! I plan to do some time living in a cave, like a proper ancient man. With a spear, a sword, a spiked club, a shield, and a dagger/knife for cutting things, like meat off of a fresh kill. However, I’ve heard that the gladiators were actually mostly vegetarian because they were slaves. Could you please suggest to me what foods would be good to eat if one was living off grid, like a proper “caveman” so to speak, and still maintain a fit, strong, agile, fast, healthy body.
You may want to go back and research what the gladiators ate according to the latest research and archaeological evidence. It seems that everything recent and peer-reviewed disagrees with your opinion regarding meat consumption in ancient times, although I couldn’t find a date on this article, so maybe it was written 20+ years ago and just hasn’t been updated. Figured I’d give you a heads-up though.