Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills.
Calisthenics or callisthenics is a form of strength training that utilizes an individual's body weight as resistance to perform multi-joint, compound movements with little or no equipment.
The dumbbell, a type of free weight, is a piece of equipment used in weight training. It is usually used individually or in pairs, with one in each hand.
Physical culture, also known as body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US.
Pehlwani, also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in the Indian subcontinent. It was developed in 14th century by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words pehlwani and kushti derive from the Persian terms pahlavani (heroic) and koshti respectively, meaning Heroic wrestling. A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a pehlwan while teachers are known as ustad.
In weight training, a kettlebell is a cast-iron or cast-steel ball with a handle attached to the top, resembling a cannonball with a handle. It is used to perform many types of exercises, including ballistic exercises that combine cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. Kettlebells are the primary equipment used in the weight-lifting sport of kettlebell lifting.
Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases "Indian martial arts", deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines, by Classical times they were used generically for all fighting systems.
Malla-yuddha is the traditional form of combat-wrestling originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles such as naban and is one of the two ancestors of kushti. Indian wrestling is described in the 13th century Malla Purana.
Functional training is a classification of exercise which involves training the body for the activities performed in daily life.
Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni or varzesh-e bāstāni, a traditional system of athletics and a form of martial arts originally used to train warriors in Iran (Persia) Outside Iran, zoorkhanehs can now also be found in Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan, and were introduced into Iraq in the mid-19th century by the Iranian immigrants, where they seem to have existed until the 1980s before disappearing. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music. It contains elements of pre-Islamic and post-Islamic culture of Iran with the spirituality of Persian Shia Islam and Sufism. Practiced in a domed structure called the zurkhāneh, training sessions consist mainly of ritual gymnastic movements and climax with the core of combat practice, a style of folk wrestling called koshti pahlavāni.
A gym, short for gymnasium, is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term "gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational institutions. "Gym" is also the commonly used name for a "fitness centre" or health club, which is often an area for indoor recreation. A "gym" may include or describe adjacent open air areas as well. In Western countries, "gyms" often describe places with indoor or outdoor courts for basketball, hockey, tennis, boxing or wrestling, and with equipment and machines used for physical development training, or to do exercises. In many European countries, Gymnasium also can describe a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university, with or without the presence of athletic courts, fields, or equipment.
The Bulgarian bag, also known as the Bulgarian training bag, is a crescent-shaped piece of exercise equipment used in strength training, plyometric weight training, cardiovascular training, and general physical fitness. The bags are made of leather or canvas and filled with sand; they weigh from 11 pounds (5.0 kg) to 50 pounds (23 kg) and have flexible handles to allow for both upper and lower body training, and for building grip strength.
The gada is a mallet or blunt mace from the Indian subcontinent. Made either of wood or metal, it consists essentially of a spherical head mounted on a shaft, with a spike on the top. Outside India, the gada was also adopted in Southeast Asia, where it is still used in silat. The weapon might have Indo-Iranian origins, as Old Persian also uses the word gadā to mean club; see for example the etymology of Pasargadae.
Power training typically involves exercises which apply the maximum amount of force as fast as possible; on the basis that strength + speed = power. Jumping with weights or throwing weights are two examples of power training exercises. Regular weight training exercises such as the clean and jerk and power clean may also be considered as being power training exercises due to the explosive speed required to complete the lifts. Power training may also involve contrasting exercises such as heavy lifts and plyometrics, known as complex training, in an attempt to combine the maximal lifting exertions with dynamic movements. This combination of a high strength exercise with a high speed exercise may lead to an increased ability to apply power. Power training frequently specifically utilises two physiological processes which increase in conjunction with one another during exercise. These are deep breathing, which results in increased intra-abdominal pressure; and post-activation potentation, which is the enhanced activation of the nervous system and increased muscle fibre recruitment. Power training programmes may be shaped to increase the trainee's ability to apply power in general, to meet sports specific criteria, or both.
Wrestling in Pakistan, known locally as koshti, has been practiced since ancient times, mainly in Punjab (Pehlwani) and Sindh (Malakhra).
A mudgar or mudgara is a type of gada (mace) from India, and it is generally considered to be made of wood, but can also be made of iron.
Mudgarpani was a Yaksha deity in ancient India. His name means "Mudgar-holder", the Mudgar being an ancient form of heavy club, usually made of wood, but it can also be made of iron.
Physical training has been present in human societies throughout history. Usually, it was performed for the purposes of preparing for physical competition or display, improving physical, emotional and mental health, and looking attractive. It took a variety of different forms but quick dynamic exercises were favoured over slow or more static ones. For example, running, jumping, wrestling, gymnastics and throwing heavy stones are mentioned frequently in historical sources and emphasised as being highly effective training methods. Notably, they are also forms of exercise which are readily achievable for most people to some extent or another.
Iran has some traditional games, sports, and martial arts that date back thousands of years. Many of these games have started to disappear due to urbanisation, the advent of computer games, and the neglect of cultural institutions.
Indian physical culture is the form of physical culture originating in ancient India.
