Fitness – the early years

‘If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.’ Hippocrates.

“Throughout history, the poor generally got all of the exercise they needed, and more, through hard physical graft, while the wealthier classes had their hunting, cricket and brisk constitutionals. But in early Victorian times, more attention began to be paid to the mechanics of physical training. A cultural trend known as ‘muscular Christianity’ saw physical strength as closely allied to moral strength, patriotic duty and the ability to protect the weak. What’s more, exercise was encouraged as a way to burn off excess energy that might be turned to no good, especially among the young.” From the article ‘The history of exercise’ in Who Do You Think You Are Magazine, March 23, 2023.

So I said to the gym instructor: ‘Can you teach me to do the splits?’ He said: ‘How flexible are you?’ I said: I can’t make Tuesdays.’ (Tim Vine, comedian).

See how fitness and exercise was practised and sold to us in the early 20^th Century – some machines you see in the gym today had early versions in these photos. Which equipment or exercise would you like to try…

Advert for a Vigor’s Horse-Action Saddle used for at-home exercise. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Chicago, Illinois: May 9, 1929..A woman is tangled up in the straps from the tummy shimmy machines at her athletic club. Photo: Underwood Archives/Universal Images Group
Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) gymnasium, Longacre, London, opened by the Prince of Wales, 16 June 1888. Men exercising using various apparatus. Wood engraving. Photo: Photo12/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting female gymnasts: apparatus such as the bar, the ropes, or climbing frames which developed muscle were considered unsuitable for women. Instead female exercises were based on bending, stretching and swinging to encourage graceful carriage. The Rundlauf: a May-Pole like apparatus where the girls ran in a circle , each holding a bar suspended from the pole by a rope. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Chicago, Illinois: October 21, 1927..One of the businessmen that patronizes the Chicago Athletic Club using the new vibrating belt machine. Photo: Underwood Archives/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting female gymnasts using a see-saw type machine. Apparatus such as the bar, the ropes, or climbing frames which developed muscle were considered unsuitable for women. Instead female exercises were based on bending, stretching and swinging to encourage graceful carriage. Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
London, England: January 4, 1923.A woman out for her morning run on the latest British invention for home exercise. Photo: Underwood Archives/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting an early treadmill. A screw enables the incline to be adjusted, so that the user can adjust the intensity of the workout. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting boys doing gymnastics. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting a man riding an early stationary bike. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Cartoon depicting women learning to box. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting a man riding an early stationary bike. This tricycle is placed on a stand so that it could be used indoors or outdoors. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Illustration depicting a man riding an early stationary bike. Dated 19th century Photo: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
Issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co., Parallel Bar, Walking, from the Gymnastic Exercises series (N77) for Duke brand cigarettes, 1887, Commercial color lithograph, Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (7 x 3.8 cm). Photo: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – shoulder abduction and flexion – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – stretching the hip and knee – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – the expansion of the chest – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – bending the knees – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – flexing forearms – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – shaking – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group
Therapeutic exercise – flexing the torso to the side – an illustration of the encyclopedia publishers Education, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, 1896. Photo: Igor Golovniov/Universal Images Group