Well not many people want to exercise in the nude do they? For one thing the dangly bits would get in the way. And who wants to see the nether regions that would be exposed in such a simple exercise as ‘touch your toes’.

However there are advantages.

No sweaty clothes to wash so I suppose you could say that it is more hygienic You can quickly lose your inhibitions if everyone in the gym is in the same state of deshabille Cheaper No designer competitiveness You’d put more effort into building those pecs or firming those gluts

How did it start

Apollo and Herakles, the male gods of ancient Greek and the patrons of sport, were often depicted as naked.

In the city of Sparta it was considered the norm for adult men to be attracted by the beauty of young boys. The problem they had was how to express these desires and so the custom of exercising in the nude was introduced. The association with pedasty is obvious.

This custom spread throughout Greece and the Olympic games were almost totally conducted in the nude. As a result, foul play was hard to disguise but if discovered the culprit was immediately chastised in full public view.

One of the few disciplines to escape such exposure was the chariot race probably due to the fact that the body wasn’t available to be esthetically admired.

It is believed that religion played a large part in the nakedness of the competitors as the winners would often be represented as a nude statue in temples.

At the end of the day, I don’t think it would go down too well if our athletes were encouraged to participate in their chosen field disrobed. After all, who wants to watch a load of sweaty young men running across a field after the ball or hitting the ball to each other across the net. Where would you look? Silly question and I must stop repeating that word ‘ball.

However, in todays society there are many many naturist clubs and resorts where nude exercise is encouraged and welcomed.

Swimming is an obvious recreation that is much nicer done naked without the restrictions of swimwear. The practice of Yoga requires only the barest of essentials and is often a preferred way to attain total absorbion

If you want to pursue this style of exercising there are videos and books available to browse by clicking on here