The history of training — from gymnastics and strongmen to modern fitness

People have always moved and exercised – soldiers, athletes and workers – but the idea of systematic physical training for ordinary people, led by a trained trainer, is surprisingly young. The modern fitness industry, which you will work in, is the result of just over a hundred and fifty years of development from gymnasiums and strongmen to today's training centres.

§The gymnastics systems in the 1800s

Modern physical culture originated in the 1800s in, among other places, Germany, Britain and the USA. One of the most influential was the Swede Pehr Henrik Ling (1776–1839), who founded Swedish gymnastics — a system built on posture, breathing, flexibility and controlled exercises, often without equipment. Ling divided the exercises by purpose: pedagogical, military, medical and aesthetic. Swedish gymnastics had enormous influence across the Nordic region and shaped school PE for generations.

§The strong men and the first trainers

Around the year 1900, strongmen and 'physical culturists' became popular stars. The most famous was Eugen Sandow, who was both a strongman, entertainer and health advocate — often called one of the first known personal trainers. Sandow opened a training institute where one could learn advanced methods, and his teacher, known as Professor Attila, is considered by many to be the first true strength trainer and personal coach. Here the seed of the trainer role was planted: someone who had knowledge of the body and taught others to train safely and effectively.

§How training was done before

Before modern machines people trained with body weight, free weights, and homemade equipment. Early strongmen used dumbbells, kettlebells, bars, and whatever was at hand. Gymnastics systems often used no or very simple equipment: bars, beams, clubs, and body weight. Training took place in gymnasiums, clubs, and institutes rather than in commercial centers, and 'training plans' were often fixed exercise sequences that everyone followed in unison, rather than individually tailored programs.

• 01Body weight, bars, booms and clubs from the gymnastics tradition.
• 02Hand weights kettlebells and bars among the strongmen.
• 03Fixed exercise series for the whole team rather than individual programs.
• 04Associations, gymnasiums and institutes instead of commercial centres.

§The commercial training center is born

The modern commercial training center took shape in the 1900s. Fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne opened one of the early American health clubs in 1936 and along the way invented several of the machine types we know like leg press and cable machines. In the 1970s strength training really came into focus — Gold's Gym in Venice became a pilgrimage site — and machines from among others Nautilus and Universal made strength training accessible to far more than the seasoned lifters.

§The aerobics wave and fitness for all

In the 1980s interest in fitness and strength training exploded. Aerobics dance training and home training on video tape — with among others Jane Fonda's exercise videos — drew especially women into the centres in large numbers. Fitness went from being a niche for strength athletes to exercise for everyone and chains packaged training classes and facilities together into one offer. It is in this period fitness truly became a popular industry and thus a workplace for trainers on a large scale.

§The coaching profession today

Today fitness is a large and professional industry and the trainer role has become a profession with education certification and clear areas of responsibility. Where early strongmen learned by instinct and experience today's trainer is based on recognized knowledge of anatomy training principles and nutrition knows their professional limits and can do life-saving first aid. Training has gone from fixed exercise routines for the group to individually adapted programs and digital tools — apps training logs and online coaching — have become part of everyday life. But the red thread through all history is unchanged: someone who knows about the body helps others train safely and stay with it.

“From Swedish gymnastics to today's center, the history of exercise is the story of how healthy movement went from being for the few to being for everyone.”