Did the Spartans really have Six Packs? | Ramble

Hey guys, SnapJelly here and, do the ancient greek Spartan hoplites really have six pack abs?

[timomatic]

Thanks @SnapJelly for the pose reference pack.
I was desperately looking for something like that :)
(most references are really bad and overposed)

Update: Bought em. Looked through the pack.
Totally worth the every penny.
Many different angles for poses.
400 pics in total.
Can definately recommend. :)

[angryskeleton]

The Spartans weren't as ripped as the Jelly of Snap, that's for sure.

[MrAbsolutedance]

I always figured that spartans would look like an asymmetrical Olympic wrestler, possibly with more body fat because they didn´t have to care about weight classes.

[duploman]

Masterful marketing of that softcore pornography

[Ounouh]

Describing your enemy as muscular (after the fight) serves two purposes: if you win, your victory is even more glorious. If you lose, well at least you did not lose an army of skimpy nerds. Even the commanders of Roman armies described the tribes they fought as huge, ferocious, and numerous meanwhile the result of the fight that they without significant losses to their force. There's no glory in reporting your war campaigns that you beat outnumbered, poorly equipped and disorganized tribe of barbarians. So even when the first hand reports on the enemy is the best, it's also the most biased source.

[HiopX]

I have to disagree on this. Having an unbalanced body causes major problems for your joint. I had to quit rowing because we got a trainer that had no idea what he was doing and I got a chronic inflammation. So for more than 10 years now, I have problems using my right shoulder for anything more taxing than throwing a Frisbee. And all it took was 11 months under this trainer.
So unless there is evidence for asymmetrical muscularity in hoplites, I would say ancient Greeks were smart enough to develop a healthy body.

[breaden]

Getting mismatched muscles is really easy. I only shoot a 50# bow once a week and my right shoulder is very noticeably larger than my left.

[NemanjaNislija]

At the core of all ancient training was wrestling, with all the strength training that goes with it like carrying and throwing stones and so on (as evidence even in some later medieval depictions of knights training), and they did trek around in full gear, so I always just figured that they looked like strong wrestlers -- 11-14% bodyfat, relatively big, but not really too bulky, and strong as shit.

[YTho-evej]

Snap jelly has been working out and doing his research. So has metatron. Good on them

[motosXorpio]

There are also reports that Spartans were trained into ambidexterity. Makes sense to me, the shield would be the best work out for mass, then spear/sword-thingy for reposte and thrust.

[BeccaBuckLebowski]

Back in school in history class my teacher told us, that roman gladiators in fact tended to be a little chubby. He said, that this was on purpose, to minimize bloodloss when cut, because fat tissue wouldn't bleed as much, as muscle tissue would. And the Romans would have had a great interest in keeping their gladiators alive (because they were like rockstars back in the day), so they would provide their gladiators with foods, that would maintain this fat layer.
I tended to believe this, because my history teacher usually was really reliable. But unfortunately I can't provide any sources.
What do you think of this "theory"? Might it be true? Could it apply to (real war-) soldiers (and maybe other nations and cultures) as well?

[jowolf]

Strength and muscle definition are very different. For example, a body builder will have defined muscles that they gained likely gained through specific means or chemical means. Meanwhile a strongman will have more natural musculature that will not be as defined and yet will likely be much stronger than a bodybuilder.

[JohnDoe-onru]

This...Is...SPONGE

there go the abs.

[askaboutRudyV]

He's kind of right about the asymmetry muscle development, but the shield holding (left usually) deltoids would also have some developmemt, not just the left trapezius.

[hukaman]

😏😏😏😏😏well im going to have uses for that pack no homo tho. also stick fighting giggity

[sayanorasonic]

Im sorry but ancient greek statues weren't purely imagination, people say Romans were realistic and yet, they portrayed muscular men in statues. There is the pankration statue which i doubt is not based on persons that lived. Maybe the gods weren't based on actual persons but the ones that are suppose to represent historical persons like alexander i think is true to the physical look of the actual person

[scollyb]

It is worth adding that aesthetics and body image were very important to the Greeks, the Gymnasium where they exercised naked was an important part of (male) lives. They wouldn't look like bodybuilders because speed was as important as strength but they would try to look symmetrical and they would aspire to look "ripped"

[devonschneider]

These men of Sparta weren't just soldiers, in time of peace the Spartans actually had jobs to help contribute to the community. Thought I do believe they would be somewhat muscular, because let's be honest the ancient way of life was not easy, most of them were probably farmers, architects, or sculptures, the beautiful and best part of Greek culture in that time.

[Chorochronchotor]

Ty for that pack, I was searching for something like that for quite some time. Reasonably priced packs are quite hard to come by.

[hailhydreigon]

Take this with a grain of salt, because I don't remember where I heard this.
I remember hearing that there were lots of regular inspections. And if a Spartan go a bit round, they'd make him fast until he had abs again.