Every ancient culture has evidence of stone lifting as a method of physical preparation. The Ancient Greeks, for example, often portrayed stone lifting and other athletic events on their pottery.

This image adorned a vase and dates to about 450BC and shows a young man lifting a smaller stone in either hand. It is said that this image shows the “weightlifting” event at the very first Olympic games, stones weighing as much as 300 lbs. were said to have been used in the contest.