Everyday Systems

I just saw an ad in Men's Health.com for their Spartacus workout. Which is fine, it is another spin on the 300 Workout, Spartan Workout, etc. I'm sure we could market an Alexander the Great workout, Athenian Navy Protcol, and Hittite Health and Strength Secrets.

But, shovel glove seems to have been around long before my wife sat next to me in the Sun Valley Theatre and cried while Leonidus was pierced by Persian arrows. And what better way to train undersized infantry than with a 14 pound sledge hammer?

Those warrior names make me want to call one the "600 workout," remembering where their workouts took them-into many valleys of death. Leave it to Reinhard to promote a workout of unglamorous but practical daily toilers, the salt of the earth.

admit it, you were crying too!

The Light Brigade.

If history like that interests you, I just finished The Return of a King. A nice bit of history, and a reminder of wasted lives in Afghanistan in the 1840's. Chilling in a way, the parallels.

I wonder if the Spartan diet (aka "Black Broth") will ever catch on?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_soup

According to legend, a man from Sybaris... after tasting the Spartans' black soup remarked with disgust, "Now I know why the Spartans do not fear death".

Maybe that's a reason NOT to exercise "in the Spartan manner."

I bet Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern have had a steamy bowl of that. Mmmmm...