World of fitness: He jogs, she juggles

There’s one thing about exercise we all know: it features in every single New Year resolution list in the world, his or hers.

Now here’s something I bet you didn’t know: exercise, in ancient times, was a thing only men did. At a Greek invention called a gymnasium: ‘a public place for body movement and weight lifting’. The name itself comes from the word gymnos, which means naked.

Apparently men gathered in this large public hall, completely discarded their togas, rubbed their bodies with olive oil, and proceeded to lift barbells, swing clubs, punch bags, push weights and pull hamstrings — motivated by each other’s glistening muscular bodies.

They also ran, jumped, threw, leapt, skipped, swam, hurdled — all in their stark gymnos barefoot state, because it was difficult to do so wearing togas, and the Greek goddess Nike hadn’t yet launched her line of shoes and track pants.

Meanwhile, Greek womenfolk didn’t do any exercise at all. Because they were so busy juggling their female duties all day: walking miles to village wells, pulling heavy buckets of water, carrying loads back home, running behind their kids, bending to pick discarded togas, stretching to pluck olives, and pressing to make olive oil. The men meanwhile were getting competitive, out-exercising each other, then and decided to make a big sport of it in 776, called the Olympics. 

Pictures of Ancient Greece show sports like running, wrestling and discus throw, but the intriguing thing is men still ran and jumped and wrestled all completely naked (ouch).  The authorities forbade married women (gynaikes) from viewing these raw displays of male beauty and talent. However, unmarried maidens (parthenos) were allowed to cheer from the sidelines.

One day, a bunch of envious sporty ladies began to wonder why on earth they too couldn’t run, carry weights, and even wrestle to win prizes like the men. After all, they’d been in physical training for centuries in an occupation called housework. But it was only 1500 years later, in the 1900 Paris Olympics, that women finally got to be included in this grand sporting event.

Exercise enters the lexicon

‘Exercise’ had finally entered the world of women’s vocabulary! Not just for their bodies, but their minds as well. Women fought to exercise their rights to vote, and were soon storming male bastions in their bid for emancipation. Not to mention, the ultimate male preserve: a gymnasium membership. (While wearing clothes, though). 

Today, both he and she are just a short jog away from this unisex world of fitness, with fancy gyms springing up in every street corner. But the one down my road is the most ingenious. 

The entrance has a wide door that opens automatically, as you approach. But the exit is a narrow single heavy door that you have to push and shove and squeeze through sideways to get out. You get the subliminal message: to make it easier to leave the gym, you better get fitter and stronger and narrower with every visit.

There’s also this motivating poster my trainer has put up in the reception: ‘Mirrors in this gym don’t lie. Fortunately, they don’t laugh either.’

(He Said/She Said is a minthly column on gender issues — funny side up. Reach the author at [e-mail])