Naturally my interest in history has sparked a quest to discover the "training secrets of the ancients" but it does not take much imagination to realise these clever people would have known as much about  optimal training for sports as we do today.

Stonelifting , including the lifting of testing stones , is discussed on another page.

Halteres     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halteres_(ancient_Greece)ere stone or lead objects used as weights , for training gymnastics etc and also as aids  in competitions e.g. the standing long jump event. By swinging the weight back and forth it has been estimated the weights added up to 6% to the length of the jump , and of course this was legal.
You can read the1950s study here http://sites.google.com/site/ferrolithicpark/Home/ancient-lifting/ancient-lifting








This is a pair of halteres , an early form of dumbbell


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Halteres

Indian Lifting & Physical culture

A very long tradition of systematic exercise , often aimed at gaining prowess in wrestling.
The sandow site has som nice old articles and pictures , though not from ancient times.
http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/India/IndianClubs/clubs01.htm Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture

Implements were varied including :

Maces (gada) , Nals (hollow stone weights with handle inside ) , Gar Nal ("neck weight" - stone wheels  ) , Sumtola (barbells) & Mugdals & Joris (clubs) .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pehlwani#Training