The tradition of strength
After the decline of classical civilization. This method of physical exercise Lasted a long time. If anyone wants to get stronger. The ultimate way is to exercise with your own body weight according to the principle of escalation.
Hundreds of years later, ancient exercise methods still played an important role in military camps in Byzantium and the Arabian Peninsula. At this time, warlike Europeans were more eager than ever to learn about ways to increase physical strength. It was at this time that the Crusaders brought this relatively complete strength training system from the East to Europe. As we all know, becoming a knight requires physical training. There is a lot of evidence that the training performed by knights was actually based on gymnastics. Today, surviving patterned manuscripts and tapestries show knights doing pull-ups on trees or on wooden equipment, and performing power stunts while standing on their heads (looking like handstand push-ups). The fact that medieval warriors were already doing strength training without barbells and dumbbells is indisputable. Western armies at that time had incredible power. Longbowmen, admired by Henry V, were said to be able to uproot a tree. This may be an exaggeration, but a longbow later salvaged from Henry VIII's HMS Mary Rose had an estimated draw force of 900 newtons, equivalent to 90 kilograms of force. Today, no archer can draw such a longbow to its full length.
Throughout the Renaissance, these old methods continued to be used extensively in the military field and were widely praised by troubadours. To make a living, acrobats, singers, and jugglers performed strength stunts and gymnastics in villages, towns, and palaces. This method continued to spread during the Enlightenment.
In the 19th century, many people still used bodyweight training to increase their physical strength. In fact, if the ancient Greek era was the first golden age of sports, then the late 19th century was undoubtedly the second golden age. In that era of rapid change, the worldHealth experts around the world have recognized the exceptional value of bodyweight training and have attempted to scientifically document it. In Prussia, legendary retired army officer Friedrich Ludwig Jahn formalized bodyweight exercise. The bodyweight training he created used very few equipment, only horizontal bars, parallel bars, pommel horses, and balance beams, and thus the well-known "gymnastics" was born. The tradition of performing strength stunts during parades continued in the circus, and the era of Hercules began. A large number of outstanding bodybuilders emerged all over the world. During this period, there were many legendary strongmen, such as Arthur Saxon, Rolandow, and even Eugen Sandow. The man's strong physique became the source of the image of the "Mr. Olympia Bodybuilder" statue. They are the most powerful people who ever lived, even stronger than those who used steroids. Saxon can lift 175 kilograms with one hand; Rolando can easily shred three decks of playing cards, which is almost unimaginable; and Sandow can break the steel cable wrapped around him by simply tensing his muscles. The reason why these people are so good is due to gymnastics. Don't forget, barbells and dumbbells weren't invented until the 20th century. Before the advent of these fitness equipment, most of the bodybuilders relied on handstands and exercises on the crossbar to make their upper body muscles extremely developed.
Legends of the 20th Century
Even until the first half of the 20th century, many of the legends in the field of strength trained through bodyweight training. At that point, you couldn't be called strong unless you could do a one-leg squat, a pull-up, or a handstand with ease. Yes, they also use barbells and dumbbells, but only after mastering bodyweight training. At that time, even the super big guys were masters of advanced gymnastics. Englishman Bert Assirati is a strongman-turned-wrestler. He became famous in the last century because he could bend his body back into a bridge shape and then turn into a one-handed handstand even though he weighed more than 110 kilograms. To this day, Aselati is still the heaviest person who can perform the incredibly difficult "Iron Cross" on the rings. In the 1940s and 1950s, the strongest man in the world was probably Canadian giant Doug Hepburnurn). Hepburn is regarded as one of the greatest pressers. He can lift objects weighing 230 kilograms; when doing behind-the-neck presses, he can lift objects weighing about 160 kilograms. This was before steroids and doping. Although Hepburn weighed nearly 135 kilograms - almost crushing the scales - he still regarded bodyweight training as a basic method of strength training. Hepburn was good at weightlifting, and he attributed his unusually strong pressing power to the handstand hold. He often does free handstands when exercising, sometimes doing them on parallel bars so he can get lower than when doing them on the ground. This giant proves that a muscular body is no obstacle to practicing gymnastics. Hepburn is indeed very big, but his muscles are not stiff and his movements are not slow, because he always adheres to his own body weight training seriously, an attitude that is difficult to see in modern bodybuilders.
Perhaps the last great achiever of bodyweight training was “The World’s Most Perfect Bodybuilder,” Angelo Siciliano, also known as Charles Atlas(Charles Atlas). He blends traditional gymnastics with some static exercises techniques. Through his cartoons, an entire generation learned that it was possible to build a body that no one could bully without weight training.
But "old school" gymnastics only goes so far.