How Busy People Can Also Stay Fit and Healthy? Here’s What the Ancient Greeks and Romans Did

Many people today worry about how to find time to stay fit and healthy in the middle of their busy lives. Believe it or not, this was also a problem in ancient times.

So how did ancient people deal with this?

A universal problem

The physician Galen, who lived from 129 to 216 AD, cared for thousands of patients in Rome.

He complained that some people do not devote enough time to keeping fit. In his treatise: HygieneGalen wrote that one of his patients, a philosopher named Premigenes, was such a workaholic that he stayed home all the time and wrote books. Because of this bad lifestyle, Premigenes became ill.

Galen stated that Premigenes should work less and devote more time to exercise and sun.

Some 2,000 years later, most of us will be able to identify with this. The World Health Organization has a number of Recommendations for the amount of exercise you should do each week. But it can be difficult to balance work and other commitments with our health and fitness.

The Compromises of a Busy Life

People in the Greco-Roman period knew that being busy affected your health.

The writer Lucian of Samosata, who lived in the 2nd century AD, says in his essay: About positions at Great Houses about how certain jobs didn’t give employees time to take care of their health. A bad diet, endless work, and lack of sleep all contributed to their unhealthy lifestyle:

sleeplessness, sweating, and fatigue gradually weaken you, causing tuberculosis, pneumonia, indigestion, or that noble disease, gout. But you endure it, and often you should lie in bed, but that is not allowed. They consider illness as an excuse and a way of evading duty. The general consequence is that you are always pale and look as if you were going to die at any moment.

Doctors of that time also noticed this problem. Galen saidIn his opinion, one of the factors that determines whether we can be healthy is the amount of free time we have.

He acknowledged that some people had no choice but to “be caught up in the circumstances of their activities” – such as those who were taken prisoner – but noted that others seemed to have

they have chosen to live a life entangled in the circumstances of their activity, whether due to ambition or other kinds of desires, and as a result they have the least time to take care of their bodies.

Galen was also affected by this problem. As a physician, he had little free time, and his normal routine was often interrupted by the problems of his patients. Nevertheless, he translates How he started following a daily health routine at the age of 20:

After I turned 28, having learned that there is an art to hygiene, I followed its rules all my life and have never suffered from any illness, apart from occasional, short-lived fevers of varying intensity.

This routine involved eating one full meal each evening and doing some type of exercise each day. One of these exercises may have been wrestling, as he also mentions dislocating his shoulder while wrestling in a gym at the age of 35.

One of the benefits of Galen’s routine was its flexibility. He simply had to find some time each day to eat and move his body.

He he said Many other doctors of his day did not take care of their health. They overworked, ate and drank too much, and did not exercise enough.

Galen did not say that everyone should adopt his routine, however. He noted that everyone has a different nature and people should adopt the routine that best suits their body.

How the ancients kept fit

A wealthy citizen of Athens named Ischomachus, who lived in the 5th century BC, kept fit by exercising daily commute.

When he had to go to town, he ran or walked, or alternated. He did the same when visiting his farm. Even the famous philosopher Socrates praised Ischomachus for taking care of his health in this efficient way, despite being constantly busy with his duties.

Galen recommended to all people play ball games involving running and throwing to stay fit. Ball games, he said, were a good option because they exercised the entire body and didn’t require a lot of money or equipment.

For your overweight patients recommend a fast-running routine and a weight-loss diet – one meal a day, consisting of foods that filled the patient up but were “poorly nutritious.”

One of the 7th century AD physicians, Paul of Aegina, also identified as Some people let their busy schedules negatively impact their health.

Describes the type of person who used to have a healthy lifestyle but has now stopped following it because she is busy:

He who devotes his time to business should consider whether in a previous period of life he had the habit of playing sports, or whether, although he does not play sports, he tolerates this habit well and avoids illnesses by sweating profusely.

Paul advised busy people to ease up on their commitments and get back to their old routine as much as possible. If they can’t exercise like they used to, they can at least eat healthily, he said. The worst thing would be to give up both healthy eating and exercise.

Developing healthy habits

Philosopher Aristotle he said health is partly a matter of personal responsibility. If someone leads an unhealthy lifestyle and does not follow the advice of doctors, it is not surprising, Aristotle thought, if he ends up unhealthy.

Generally speaking, the ancients believed that everyone needed to find flexible habits that would help them stay fit. And while this may be difficult, they considered it essential to living well – just as we do today.

It seems that some things in life don’t change.