From Milo to Milo: A History of Barbells, Dumbells, and Indian Clubs by Jan Todd, Ph.D. During my dissertation research on the history of women’s exercise in the nineteenth century, I kept turning up references to an exercise in which the trunk is alternately bent and straightenecd. 4 dumbells, barbells, and other early resistance apparati in unexpected Halteres varied greatly in appearance and composition during the era modern historians refer to as Ancient Greece. Accord- places. In some instances, the printed references were surprising because of the early date at which they were published. In other ing to John Blundell’s The Muscles and Their Story, published in 1864, the author, Pausanius, “described the halteres as of roundish instances, the references surprised me because of the manner in which the implements were used. After searching unsuccessfully for or oblong figure, not perfectly round and that in using them the fin- an authoritative text which would allow me to place these references gers were placed as if in the handle of a shield.” Another ancient writ- in proper historical perspective, I decided to attempt the following er, Blundell explained, “mentions the use of wax in this respect. . . brief history of these hand-held weightlifting appliances. I do not In the palaestra these were called halteres, and to make them heavier doubt that I may be overlooking parts of this evolutionary tale, and they were sprinkled with particles of lead.” Some ancient texts, Blun- I welcome your additions and corrections. dell reported, even applied the term halteres to the weapon used by David to slay the Biblical giant Goliath, which would suggest that Halteres, Dumbells, and Other Early Implements the reference is to the object cast or thrown by the sling. 5 Although the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Chinese, the In the second century AD., the Greek physician Galen pub- lished his thoughts on the therapeutic benefits of exercise in De ancient Indians, and many other early peoples practiced resistance exercise, credit has tradi- tionally been given to the ancient Greeks for pro- ducing the forerunners of our modern weight training equipment. 1 According to Norman E. Gardiner’s Athletics of the Ancient World, the land that produced calf-carrying Milo of Cro- tona—the so-called father of progressive resis- tance exercise—had three weighted implements by the fifth century B.C. 2 The diskos and javelin were thrown for distance while the hand-held alteres or halteres were used as a jumping aide and for purposive drill. “Indeed,” Gardiner wrote, “[the halteres exercises] were probably taught as a musical drill, for as we have seen, the time in these exercises was commonly given by a flute player. The jumping weights were. . . used much in the same way as dumbbells . . . for ath- letes are often seen swinging them in attitudes which can hardly have any connexion with jump ing. ” 3 According to Gardiner, the writings of Antyllos described three different types of hal- Sanitate Tuenda, a medical text which remained influential into the nineteenth century. Galen discussed using halteres for a variety of jump- ing exercises—broad jumps, high jumps, jump- ing from low to high places, etc.—and also described exercises which involved bearing weighted implements upon the shoulders, head and feet. According to Blundell, these “body” weights—seen in the accompanying illustra- tions—were called plummets and were used in exercises to systematically strengthen the body. 6 Galen also recommended training with wooden implements; a piece of wood “with a piece of lead enclosed” should be used by gout patients, Galen wrote, until they were strong enough to use heavier implements. 7 teres exercises: “bending and straightening the DETAIL FROM THE “BIKINI GIRLS” MOSAIC As they did with most aspects of Greek culture, the Romans copied the Greek methods and implements of physical training. More war- like in nature than the Greeks, Roman males trained for military fitness rather than for athlet- ic prowess or physical beauty. Interestingly, a fourth century A.D. mosaic from the Piazza arms, an exercise which strengthens me arms FROM THE PIAZZA ARMERINA, VILLA ROMANA Armerina in Sicily suggests that some Roman and shoulders;” a lunging exercise with the hal- DEL CASALE. THIS MOSAIC DATES TO THE women may have used halteres in their physical teres held at arms-length in front of the torso; and SECOND CENTURY, A.D. training. Although hisorians are not sure whether 4 IRON GAME HISTORY VOLUME 3 NUMBER 6