The History Of Gyms

The evolution of fitness can be credited to man's need for survival and can be traced back to the beginning of mankind where people would remain physically fit in order to hunt and survive.

The first gymnasiums in history were dated over 3000 years ago, in ancient Persia, where they were known as Zurkhaneh, as areas that encouraged physical fitness.

But gyms formally came into existence in ancient Greece. The word 'gymnasium' is derived from the Greek word 'gymnos', which means naked. Gyms were usually a locality for the education of young men, which included physical education and bathing and studying. The ancient Greek gymnasiums were places where athletes trained for public games such as the Olympics.

After this, gyms disappeared for centuries. By the 19th century, schools and colleges started building gymnasiums. The YMCA also built a number of gyms for physical exercise, social sports and games.

In the 1930s, boxing gyms came into existence, with the founding of Cus D'Amanto's Gramercy Gym in Manhattan in 1939. These gyms aimed to train fighters and boxers and were not places for general exercise.

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Between the 1960s and 1970s, gymnasium chains came into existence. In 1965, the Gold's gym chain was founded by Joe Gold in Venice, California and it became a landmark for bodybuilders. By the 1980s, gyms were common and many gyms chains were founded, such as 24 Hour Fitness (1983) and LA Fitness (1984). It was in this era that corporate gyms came into existence as the employers were keen on getting their employees fit and healthy.

The gymnasium industry sprung up post the 1990s, where fitness was associated with gyms and people made it their priority. More gyms were founded, including Lifetime Fitness in 1990, Equinox Fitness in 1991, and Virgin Active in 1999.

National fitness campaigns were started in China prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics with the introduction of outdoor gyms. These gyms blended the ideas of jogging paths and obstacle courses, in addition to open areas where people could do a variety of exercises. Such gyms were widely accepted and over 37 million square feet of outdoor gymnasiums were built across China from 1998 to 2008. Participation levels in physical activity steadily increased since the outdoor gym concept was introduced.

The number of people joining gyms has increased over the years, proving a boon to the gym industry. We have the best of equipment, which only gets better, and gyms seems to get more popular with each decade.

*Image courtesy: ©Shutterstock

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