What it costs to go to the gym ! Most of us signed up and after a few months we deleted ourselves because we really do not use it.In the Victorian era it became fashionable to do gymnastics and many doctors prescribed their Patients exercise as a way to improve their health.But, like us, many of them also found it hard to exercise and looked for a solution: machines that did gymnastics for you! Or at least make it more bearable and effective .The funny thing is that many of those gadgets are the precursors of those modern devices that we can see in any current gym.Let's see them !
The INCREDIBLE Victorian gymnastics machines
Most of these machines were devised by a Swedish doctor named Gustav Zander at the end of the 19th century and they were to exercise different parts of the body.Here you have 10 of them and what they are for.As you will see their principles are very similar that we can find today in any fitness room .Yes, they don't seem to make any kind of effort.The clothes they wear for gymnastics are amazing!
1.The riding is also a sport and the doctors of the time had it very clear; This is a great horse riding machine.The lady, very dignified, rides «womanies» instead of astride.
2.This is to stretch the trunk . Reinforced the back and shoulder muscles .Through a pulley, the rope from the waist and shoulders was tightened to a counterweight.
3.This device, using a rolling mechanism to which you could adjust the resistance , helped exercise your feet, ankles and legs without taking off your shoes!
4.This ingenious invention helped you get some Good biceps .Using rollers and weights, the arms flexed comfortably.
5.An incredible abdominal circular massager .No sweat from doing abdominal crunches! The rollers of this ingenuity avoided your effort.
6.This ingenuity is the precursor of the stationary bicycle .It reinforced the muscles of the legs and avoided having to learn to ride a real one.
7.To achieve strengthen the thighs Dr.Zander designed this device that strikes the muscles of the leg.
8.In this stretcher you could stretch and receive a good back massage fully mechanical.Below the couch a roller was moved to that effect.
9.This device was invented to develop the triceps .Surely in the gym you have seen some very similar.
10.The last gadget of Dr.Gustav Zander that we present to you is a hip and knee extender .The tension is also The proof that it does not sweat is that it can be used with the "Levite" on.
By the end of the 19th century all these devices already existed. We have modernized them, but the basis is practically the same.The only difference is that they did not sweat and we did.
If you were interested in this article and want to know more about Victorian era, you might want to read how they linked in the Victorian era.
Images: Tekniska museet
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