Fitness

Today we will talk about something which is essential for our wellness: Fitness.
Nowadays, with technology so advanced and all the comforts and means of transportation we have, the human race is losing its fitness skills and moving less and less. This is not for everyone, of course, but for the biggest part of the society.
In the past there were not other ways to survive for humans than using their physical strength. They needed vigorous activity and hard labor to get food, avoid dangers, build shelters and most important, to move from one place to one other.


The modern mechanized society and the abundance of food in industrialized countries made everything easier for us. Our physical strength doesn't play a big role anymore.
Unfortunately, this sedentary lifestyle is taking serious consequences: obesity, heart diseases, cancer, illnesses and depression are some of them.
Many researches have proved that physical activity is essential both for body and mental health.
Fitness is also known to be the best stress relief- activity, it also improves self-esteem, and the quality of life in general.
After this introduction, which may seem like a fitness motivational speech, let's see now where and when the human race started to practice physical activity...


I will tell you that everything started in Ancient Greece, whose culture and civilization gave great importance to physical fitness.
The Greeks believed that the development of the body was equally important as the development of the mind.
Gymnastics, along with music were considered vital to the education of all Greeks.
A common saying in those times was in fact "exercise for the body and music for the soul".
In Athens people could train in indoor facilities called "palaestras" (which are the precursors of modern gyms). Another great example of how important physical activity was for the Greeks is Sparta, a city where the government imposed hard and specific fitness programs for young children, to ensure that they will become highly fit soldiers. Women also had to train and have a healthy and strong body, to give birth to the next generations of warriors. The people of the military society of Sparta was actually one of the most physically fit in the history of mankind. The advanced Greek medical knowledge also facilitated the growth of fitness.
And we cannot forget the Greek Olympics Games, in which athletes competed and showed their skills.


I hope you found this interesting and it will inspire you to go for a run or a simple walk with friends!
Now is your turn... do you think Greeks were the first to practice fitness or not? 


Solution:

This story is not completely true. Greeks were the first ancient civilization to give such importance to the cult of the body, beauty and physical fitness. But it was not the first one. Civilizations like Babylonia, Egypt, Palestine, Persia and Syria encouraged fitness among the people, mostly for military reasons. Also in the Ancient China and India it was important, the practice of Cong Fu and Yoga were methods to achieve balance between mind, body and spirit and a connection with nature.
 

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