How to get the body of a gladiator without stepping foot in a gym

In the spirit of bringing gladiator-level fitness into everyday life, The Metal Store has partnered with personal trainer Ollie Burman from premium gym, Graft Haus, to show how anyone can build functional strength, power and an impressive physique at home, without needing elaborate gym equipment.

“Gladiators needed a unique combination of functional strength and power that not only served them in battle but also wowed the crowds,” explains Ollie. 

“While modern gyms offer a range of machines to isolate specific muscles, gladiators relied on simple, full-body movements to achieve their formidable physiques.”

Unlike today’s gym-focused routines, gladiators honed their skills through functional, compound exercises, which can be mirrored today with bodyweight training and minimal equipment. 

Gladiators often trained in a structured four-day cycle, or tetrad, rotating through exercises to build resilience and strength. 

According to Ollie, a similar approach can be used to structure home workouts, promoting total-body fitness and an aesthetic that would impress even the most discerning emperor.

Ollie recommends a few exercises that harness the strength-building and endurance benefits of primal movements - no gym required:

Start strong with pull-ups: Essential for back, shoulder and arm strength, pull-ups were a gladiator staple. Hang from a pull-up bar, engage your core and pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar. This move sculpts the upper body and boosts grip strength - essential for wielding heavy weapons or armour.

Master the inverted row: Set a bar at a low height, grip it firmly and pull your chest towards the bar. This movement builds the back, biceps and core, enhancing upper body mobility and stamina. Gladiators would have practised pulling and lifting in battle, making this an ideal strength-builder.

Elevate your push-ups: Increase the intensity of standard push-ups by raising your feet on a step or bench. This variation engages the chest, shoulders and arms, mimicking the upper-body control needed to hold armour or swing a sword.

Strengthen legs with split squats and lunges: Bulgarian split squats and lunges are ideal for building leg power and core stability. “Movements like squatting and lunging were integral to a gladiator’s routine and these exercises build the leg strength and balance necessary for agility and resilience,” says Ollie.

“Using rudimentary equipment, including stones, logs and ropes, gladiators performed primal movements such as squatting, overhead pressing and lunging,” Ollie adds.

“They applied a 5x5 rep range for strength and power, paired with sets of higher repetitions for muscular development, a method that still builds serious full-body strength today.”

“Compound lifts like these replicate the full-body strength gladiators developed. Upper body work, including the bench press and rows, helps build the power and durability needed to withstand the physical trauma of battle,” Ollie notes.

Callisthenics combined with simple equipment like resistance bands or a pull-up bar can deliver impressive results. 

“With a few pieces of high-quality equipment and some dedication, anyone can build a gladiator-level body from the comfort of their home,” concludes Ollie.