That’s true up to a certain point. The Spartans were famous for their stoicism to pain and their ability to withstand hardships and it is true that they trained their bodies to a finely honed edge, over many years. But what made them fearsome was their minds.
Any soldier as well as any fighter knows that physically we are weak. Even at our best we are not much of a match for anything the animal kingdom can throw at us bigger than a rabbit. What makes us truly dangerous is our minds, our ability to mentally armour ourselves to the point that we can do the most incredible things and it is here that the Spartans excelled.
Like the best trainers of fighting men in the world, which they were, the Spartans realised that the shortest route to training the mind is through the body. Logically we all want to play it safe, be comfortable and enjoy an easy life. No one willingly subjects themselves to cold, pain, fatigue and extreme physical discomfort, so to do so, means that we have to overcome the part of our minds which logically says: “Stop! What are you doing? This is madness indeed!”
The Spartans realised that if they pushed men hard enough, physically, for them to perform they would have to use willpower and mental stamina. We are not suggesting here, of course, to even attempt to replicate the training regime of Sparta’s legendary warriors, but becoming mentally tough is not a bad thing to want to achieve and there are physical tricks you can use:
1. Experience some pain. Get on a treadmill and run until you are fairly tired. The length of time and distance will vary for each individual based upon your personal level of fitness and endurance. Then, when you are ready, sprint for a 30-second burst at a speed that’s past your personal best. When that is over. Repeat two more times. Each time should be more and more painful. Getting through it requires the kind of mental focus that top athletes bring to bear.
2. Overcome exhaustion. Pick one day in your training month and have a blow out session. Do sprints, long distance, weights, aerobics, resistance training. Work at everything and anything which is designed to tire you out and simply keep at it, rotating cycles. As you get more and more tired a funny thing happens, the body starts to feel like a machine you control with your mind. To do anything you need to focus your will power and will it. This is the first step in becoming a real warrior.
3. Increase your performance range. Set a target in something you are good at and extend it. If you can lift 100 pounds go for 110. If you can run a kilometre in five minutes aim for four minutes and 45 seconds. You get the gist of this exercise. The point is to help you overcome a limit at something you are really good at and the only way that is possible is by achieving lazer-like focus in your mind.
4. Set a goal. Spartans did not get to be Spartans on a training regime that let them do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. They had to get to specific stages in their training lives by certain times. Do the same in your life. Tell yourself you want to be able to run 10 km without stopping by the time you are 25 or 45 or 60, and do it. Tell yourself you want to bring your sprint speed for 100 metres up by a specific time in your life, and do it. Goals help you maintain focus, they give shape to your training life and help you achieve a sense of success.
5. Never give up. If there was one way in which opponents could describe the Spartan military machine it would be relentless. Spartans might have been fit, brave, mentally tough and psychologically determined but what set them apart was that they simply did not stop. If you wanted to stop them you had to kill everyone of them. Try and be as focused in your training. You may have bad days when you feel that the whole world is against you or good ones when your feet barely touch down. It really does not matter how you feel as long as you give it your everything each time.
6. Take pride in yourself. This is not the obvious training tip anyone can give you but it’s a crucial one. The Spartans had an acute sense of their own identity. They knew who they were and they were aware of the fact that they were unique in the ancient world. Bring that same sense of pride in your training and focus it upon yourself. This will not only help you achieve a deep sense of respect for what you do and who you are, it will also help you improve physically.
These are six easy tips on how to train like a Spartan. Think about them, adopt them, practice them regularly and you will soon feel the changes in yourself which will help your body become a stronger, leaner, fit machine.
