The history of fitness and exercises has been very dynamic in the last one century, and so has has the gym equipment. From simple dumbbells that could be bought from local hardware stores, to the complex gym machines that come with touch screen technology, has been an intriguing one. In this article, the authors will attempt to provide a brief walk-through of the development of gym equipment with notes on important steps, trends and innovative enhancements that have led to the current state of the fitness industry.
- The Early Days: Primitive Beginnings
Since the ancient period the usage of gym equipment has been practiced, and this period evidence includes the Egyptians, Greeks, and the Romans. They used stones and branches of trees to do simple body building exercises intended to strengthen and shape their body muscles. These above early equipment have changed over time, as do the organization of the exercise systems practiced by the Greeks, Romans that tried to have got the best look for the human body.
The medieval man led a rare life, where rare movement was the only one to be preferred, and he had no physical fitness; at the time of the Renaissance people had had the interest in the human body and its capabilities until then. In these years, exercise routines were further brought to a formal level – there were calisthenics and isometric exercises – leading to innovations in today’s common gym equipment.
- The 19th Century: Wright on Weight and The Arrival of Weights and Machines
Weight training and thus the use of gym equipment reached a new level in the nineteenth century. Weight lifting equipment started with what is called the Indian Club in the 1800s and was made of wooden balls with handles on them. They saw this equipment as a better way of exercising than some of the forms they had experienced in the past.
Strongmen and athletes were using the barbells and dumbbells invented in the nineteenth century. By means of these tools, it was possible to train for strength and muscle more accurately, which laid the groundwork for weight lifting and most of the modern exercise activities.
- The 20th Century: Gym and Modern Equipment: The New Generation
Fitness center and gym have gained a significant boost within the 20th century with many people joining health clubs. As a result, they experienced an increase in the demand for the gym equipment and the development of a different kind of equipment.
Perhaps the most important invention in Gym equipment that came about at this time was the Nautilus machines invented by Arthur Jones in the 1970s. Nautilus machine employed a specialized mechanism of the cam system that has a characteristic of selecting a particular muscle group to work on and not the other adjoining muscles. This invention might be said to have helped to define the future development of workout machines such as the Universal Gym and the Cybex Eagle.
- The 21st Century: Technology and Intelligent Devices
In recent years and due to advancement in technology, there has been a new generation of exercising facilities and equipment. A notable innovation in this fields is the appearance of smart machines, which are equipped with digital displays, wireless connections for devices and artificial intelligence in order to offer the user unique workouts, and feedbacks.
There are many examples of smart machines: Technogym Skillmill is an example which is equipped with a digital display and a connection with a mobile application to track a user’s performance and improvements. The Bowflex Max Trainer is an example of gym equipment, or an allied product, which is a stair stepper and elliptical machine in one, much like a cross trainer, but provides resistance and performance tracking training.
Besides smart machines, the advancement of wearable technology including the activity trackers and smart wristband were witnessed in 21st century. They allow the user to track the exercise regimen, the heartbeat rate, or even has a virtual trainer of its own, basically, improving an experience in the fitness center.
- Overview of New Trends and Perspectives of Gym Equipment
It is important for the fitness industry as many new trends and innovations appear from time to time. One of these trends is the trend of producing functional fitness equipment where equipment are designed to mimic movements, enhancing general physical preparedness, strength and mobility. Kettlebell, battle ropes as well as suspension trainer are other examples of equipment in functional fitness.
The other emerging tendency is the increase in online and outdoor/ adventure fitness equipment. People are looking for ways to experience fun in exercising hence more and more every day, there are features like outdoor gyms, OCR and adventure challenges.
Going forward, the trends appear to persist in the form of continually integrating better and improving communication as well as introducing individualism of new wave fitness solutions based on data. Visibility and article technologies may also become critical determinants of the evolution of gym equipment as new training applications using virtual reality and augmented reality are developed for education and entertainment purposes with the aim to address personal needs and expectations of a particular user.
Conclusion
The article on the evolution of gym equipment a highly intriguing one as it gives an insight on how and what has been used by the gurus in the gym for the past century. The concept of gym equipment has progressively been changing from basic barbells and heavy stones to weight based and machine based equipment of today to the use of smart technology and client individualizing.
Consequently, observing how developments in technology and design will progress in their future in the fitness industry of the gym equipment and how these developments will address the need and want of man for fitness, health, and connection to one and another.
