Train Like a Warrior # 1: The Roman Legionary

Important Note: What follows is the first chapter of my book “Train Like a Warrior” which is collection of essays discussing the historical context, equipment, and fighting styles of a variety of warriors from history (from the Roman legionaries to the ashigaru of feudal Japan), and how I would go about training someone to fill those roles using modern methods.

You can get a Kindle or paperback version of the book from Amazon here.

Now for the complete first chapter…

The Roman empire was without a doubt the most influential civilisation to ever grace the earth.

Modern science, architecture, language, art and culture all have their roots in work done by the Romans millennia ago. However, all of this was only made possible through the blood, sacrifice and brutal efficiency of the Roman war machine.

The ancient world was an unforgiving place where might made right. Artists and scientists couldn’t do their valuable work without the safety afforded by civilised society, and in a world where the barbarian hordes were poised and waiting for an opportunity to plunder and pillage, the only way to ensure that safety was to be better at killing than the other team.

The Roman way of war was unlike any the ancient world had ever seen. They were the first to turn war into an industry, and their mechanistic approach was apparent in everything from weapon and armour production, to how their forces were organised, to how they fought on the battlefield (1).

Roman warfare was all about efficiency over anything and everything else. Even in the early period, there was no room for displays of individual skill in battle.

When the Roman legions marched to war, their enemies would break against their implacable shield wall and then be ground into chunks by disciplined cuts and thrusts of the gladius. This brutally efficient and effective strategy enabled the Romans to conquer the whole of Western Europe, parts of the Middle East and a large chunk of North Africa (2). It’s a testament to the effectiveness and adaptability of the Roman army that they were able to bring such a wide range of cultures, each with widely different styles of warfighting, to heel (3).

Things changed with the Marian reforms of AD107. The Roman Empire had become less about conquering new territory and more about maintaining and building upon what they already had, defending it from the ravages of the enemy beyond the borders.

You see, before AD 107 a man had to be of a certain social class to undertake military service. Gaius Marius turned that on its head, opening the army up to the masses and offering them a wage, armour and weapons in exchange for fifteen (later rising to twenty) years’ service. Not only did this swell the army’s ranks considerably, it further refined the already hyper-efficient military structure by eliminating the little variability that arose from having the soldiery source their own equipment (4).

The post-Marian legionary marched into battle wearing what essentially amounted to the first true battle plate, the lorica segementata which consisted of iron strips attached to leather strips that overlapped and assembled horizontally providing excellent protection against both penetrative and slashing blows without compromising mobility too much. This was worn over leather or padded clothing for comfort and added protection.

An iron helmet was worn to protect the head and neck, and some legionaries wore segmented arm plates and greaves. They also carried a large, rectangular shield called a scutum that weighed around 10kg.

For weaponry, the legionary carried a sword, either a spatha or its shorter and more famous (but no less nasty) cousin, the gladius. Additionally, they carried a few throwing spears called pilum. These were very different from other javelins used at the time and specific to the Roman legions. Pilum were about two metres long and heavy, meaning that they were exclusively used at close range. They were also designed to bend on impact rendering them useless to the enemy as they couldn’t be thrown back, or if they hit their target they would become lodged in their shield (or body part) and couldn’t be easily removed (5).

All this stuff was heavy, likely well over 25kg, and this is just what they took into battle — they carried a whole lot more when on the march.

Why?

The Roman legionary was expected to be self-sufficient, in that each man was responsible for carrying his own equipment and tools (6) in a sack on the end of a pole no less!

This sack included, among other things: All his weapons and armour, clothing, satchel, waterskin, food, cooking gear, entrenching tool, and equipment to assist in camp construction.

If you hadn’t already guessed, these guys were seriously strong and in awesome shape. The Roman legionary was a professional soldier. In other words, his job was to train, go on campaign, and eventually, fight. No other culture in antiquity could match this singular dedication in their troops — not even those with professional soldiers like the Scythians or the Spartans because their ‘professional’ troops were drawn from the land-owning classes or were freemen with other responsibilities or interests.

The post-Marian Roman legionaries were drawn from all walks of life, and anyone could serve regardless of class or standing (7). Because they received a regular wage, they had no need to pursue other avenues of work to support themselves. Consequently, the Roman legionaries could and did dedicate themselves wholly to the pursuit of martial perfection and, in so doing, became the fittest, strongest warriors in antiquity to the point that even the average soldier, when fully equipped and fighting alongside his comrades, was the equal of the enemies’ elite.

Somewhat uniquely for the time, the physical training regimes used by the Romans are fairly well documented.

According to the Roman historian Vegitus, the very first thing a Roman was taught to do was to march at speed and in formation. The expected standard was twenty Roman miles (18.4 real miles) in five hours.

This equates to an average speed of 3.7 miles per hour which, at first glance doesn’t seem too impressive. But, when you take into account the fact that this was done in formation and carrying their full kit (40kg+) in a sack suspended from a pole slung over one shoulder, it’s undeniable that this was a massive feat of strength and endurance. As well as marching, the legionnaires would swim, run, perform the long and high jumps, and carry heavy packs (8).

How to train like a Roman legionary

Working out how to apply Roman training principles to the modern lifter wasn’t actually too difficult, thanks to the accurate historical sources that are readily accessed through the power of the internets.

Our wannabe Roman legionary needs to have:

• Excellent conditioning. The Romans liked nothing more than a good march.
• Strong arms and shoulders. For stabbing, holding a shield and throwing a pilum.
• Powerful legs. For bracing against charging barbarians and pressing the advance from behind the tower shields.
• A thick, robust back. For carrying those extraordinary loads on campaign and in battle.

With the above in mind, here is how I would probably go about training someone who wanted to fight in the Roman legions…

The Roman Legionary Programme

Monday

AM

1. 2-Mile Weighted Vest Walk

PM

1. Push Press
   • 2×5
2. Incline Press
   • 2×5
3. Curls
   • 2×15
4. Dips (weighted)
   • 2×15
5. Barbell Complex
   • 1×8
     • Row
     • Clean
     • Front Squat
     • Press

Tuesday

AM

1. 5-Mile Run

PM

1. Bodyweight Ladder
   • 10-1 (So, first round you do 10 reps of each, the second, 9 reps, and so on all the way down to 1 rep).
     • Squats
     • Dips
     • Chins
     • Situps
2. Farmer’s Walk
   • 100 total metres

Wednesday

AM

1. 2-Mile Weighted Vest Walk

PM

1. Deadlift
   • 2×5
2. Row
   • 2×5
3. Weighted Chinups
   •  2×5
4. Barbell Complex
   • 1×8
     • Back Squat
     • Behind the Neck Press
     • Row
     • Deadlift

Thursday

AM

1. 0.5-Mile Swim

PM

1. Bodyweight Ladder
   • 10-1
     • Squats
     • Dips
     • Chins
     • Situps
2. Prowler Pushes
   • 100 total metres

Friday

AM

1. 2-Mile Weighted Vest Walk

PM

1. Squat
   • 2×5
2. Good Morning
   • 2×5
3. Single Leg Squat
   • 2×12 (per leg)
4. Barbell Complex
   • 1×8
     • Hang clean
     • Front Squat
     • Press
     • Back Squat

Saturday

REST

Sunday

REST

To conclude

Roman soldiers were most excellent at killing.

That is all.

References:

1 – Hollis, B. c.1998. Formations of the Legion.

2,3 – Zhou, W. 2015. The Roman Army: Strategy, Tactics and Innovation.

4,5,6 – Wake, T. 2006. The Roman Army After Marius’ Reforms.

7 – Webster, G. 1998. The Roman Imperial Army of the First and Second Centuries A.D. Third Edition. A&C Black.

8 – Vegetius. c.400. De Re Militari.

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