SPQR: ROMAN LEGION WORKOUT

“Detail from the mosaic floor in the Gallery Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Ital: the coats of arms of the four capitals of the Kingdom of Italy. The fourth and last one: Rome. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, June 22 2007.”https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIMG_4341_-_Milano_-_Galleria_Vittorio_Emanuele_-_Le_4_capitali_Roma_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_20-jan_2007.jpg

THIS ROUTINE might be seen as being presented in a tongue-in-cheek manner, as the individual exercises may not be ancient and definitely aren’t new. (“Yeah right, I’ll be a Roman soldier as a result of following this program”, you might be thinking). 
 
But sometimes a novel or unexpected perspective on a familiar routine can jolt us out of inaction. If we can imagine ourselves re-creating the training regimen of a person or persons we admire, we may be able to persevere with fitness building.  This workout may benefit runners, walkers, hikers, and exercise enthusiasts who are looking for ways to spend time outdoors yet train to improve strength and performance in a no frills manner.
 
Veronica Seder presents a plausible scenario for this workout in her piece for Huckberry.com’s Journal section of its website “Warrior Workout: The Roman Legion.”  Seder said the workout was developed by teaming up with Myles Apparel.
 
The plan involves carrying a weighted pack, starting initially with a lower load, on a run, walk or hike. Every 2 minutes, one of three exercises will be performed: 1) Weighted Push-up; 2) Squat and Press; and 3) Lunge.  The cycle of exercises is repeated throughout the duration of the run/walk/hike, the length of which is determined by each individual.
 
One of the fun and innovative features of Seder’s article is her reference/links to other resources, if readers wish to explore further the topic of the Roman Legion and its wartime and physical conditioning activities.
 
Thanks to Seder for this great piece and to Huckberry for featuring it! 
 
Good luck becoming a legionnaire, who has been trained to march behind the standard of the Roman Republic, imprinted with the letters SPQR, an abbreviation for Senatus Populusque Romanus (meaning Senate and people of Rome).*
 
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!
 
*In modern times “SPQR” can be seen in Rome, emblazoned on man-hole covers. Our family saw this on a trip more than a decade ago. 

https://huckberry.com/journal/posts/train-like-the-toughest-military-of-all-time
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR
 
https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Standard/
 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARomeinse_vlag.jpg