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2500 BCE
Earliest traces of physical exercise
Drawings on the walls of a funerary chapel at Beni-Hassan, Egypt, are some of the earliest traces of physical exercise (estimated at 4500 years ago). -
1896 BCE
Strength performed in the British Isles
Records dating back to the Neolithic era and as early as 1896 B.C. have been uncovered about the feats of strength performed in what is now known as the British Isles (the beginning of agriculture beyond the practices of the hunter-gathers). Strength or weight training (which is an important component of personal training) dates back to ancient Greece and China. Early weight throwing is also depicted in the Homeric poems. -
625 BCE
Roman weight training
There were competitions involving athletes lifting big stones in the sixth century. Formal weight training dates back to the Romans, who built a formidable army. -
200
Galen
Galen was a well-known physician in the second century A.D. who played a key role in the development of organized strength training routines utilizing tools like the halteres. Nowadays, these are referred to as "workout regimens" or "strength programs." He used heavy lifting and isometric workouts, which are now referred to as "heavy lifting" and "isometric exercises" by modern trainers. Galen also suggested a variety of workouts for increasing athletic power, strength, and speed. -
Commercial gyms begin to emerge
Gyms as a business enterprise began to emerge by the middle of the 19th century. Hippolyte Triat, a French strongman turned fitness entrepreneur, is widely recognized for being the first to build commercial gyms, opening the first in Brussels and then in Paris in the 1840s. Eugene Sandow arrived with his gym near the end of the nineteenth century. He is often regarded as the first bodybuilder. The Mr. Olympia Statue is known as the Sandow since it is based on him. -
Hippolyte Triat
In 1847, Hippolyte Triat, a former vaudevillian strongman, built a gymnasium in Paris, ostensibly in response to the growing popularity of exercise. The Gymnase Triat is noteworthy because it was one of the first clubs to charge for membership; fees for men, women, and children ranged from 31 francs per month to 400 francs per year. -
YMCA's
Physical activity gained popularity in England when Triat was popularizing exercise in Paris. In 1841, Sir George Williams founded the YMCA in London as an attempt to replace street life with "Bible study and prayer." When Muscular Christianity first emerged in England in the 1850s, YMCAs were among the first to embrace it. Good Christians exercised to maintain their body's health because the body housed the Holy Spirit. Physical activity was included in the curriculum of all YMCAs by the 1860s. -
Muscular Christianity in the USA
When Muscular Christianity crossed the Atlantic and arrived in America, its mission changed slightly, and it aided in the development of collegiate sports teams, which people believed would help develop physical fitness, team spirit, and certain militaristic tendencies deemed necessary for business success. The emergence of YMCAs in America further stressed the significance of exercise; yet, financial constraints and the Civil War hampered the growth of gymnasiums. -
Muscular Christaibty in the USA (contd.)
Nonetheless, during their annual convention in 1864, the YMCAs of America reaffirmed their commitment to physical fitness with the following statement: "Any mechanism that does not consider the entire person is incomplete. All YMCAs must include physical recreation." -
Windship and American weight-lifting
Windship is credited as the catalyst for the American weight-lifting boom, which is claimed to have started on June 9, 1859, with Windship's first successful lecture. However, opponents of weight lifting blamed exercise when Windship died suddenly from a stroke at the age of 42. Weightlifting lost popularity in the United States, albeit only for a brief time. -
Traditional fitness introduced
More traditional fitness programs and physical education classes were introduced in the twentieth century. Even at this time, however, most civilian activities consisted of calisthenics, running, leaping, and sports. One individual, in particular, sought to dispel the perception that the gym was only for bodybuilders, weightlifters, and military personnel. His name was Jack Lalanne -
Strongmen
The acts of vaudevillian strongmen had evolved by the 1920s, and they now featured gymnastics and hand balancing. Many acrobats and gymnasts honed their skills at Santa Monica, California, and by the late 1930s, the capital of muscledom had relocated to Muscle Beach, a tiny stretch of beach. -
Jack Lalanne
Lalanne was responsible for bringing health clubs and gyms to the masses. In 1936, in Oakland, California, he launched his first fitness club in the United States. He also emphasized the importance of weightlifting as a workout for everyone, not only sportsmen and bodybuilders. He went above and above. He is credited with developing the first leg extension machine, first cable machine, and early weight selector versions of these machines. -
Victor Tanny
Many immortals emerged from the immortal beach. Victor Tanny was maybe the most important figure to emerge. In 1940, Vic and his brother Armand started a gym on Santa Monica's Second Street. The gym was located in a second-story loft that the brothers rented for $35 per month, with a $5 monthly membership fee. In 1941, they opened a new gym in Long Beach. The bombing of Pearl Harbor drew the United States into World War II, and coastal blackouts caused the Tannys' gymnasium to close. -
Tanny's gym empire
Vic Tanny had several gyms around Los Angeles by 1947, and by 1960, the Tanny empire had grown to 84 facilities around the country. Vic sold his clubs in 1963 in order to retire. His retirement could have been accelerated by financial and managerial issues at his company. Vic bequeathed a legacy to modern clubs, regardless of his reasons for retiring. -
Joe Gold
Vic Tanny also motivated others to open gyms. Joe Gold, a close friend of the Tanny's, worked in Vic's gym for a while. Vic Tanny changed the market with his health clubs in the 1950s. When the Muscle Beach Weightlifting Club was dissolved by the local government, Joe tried unsuccessfully to persuade friends to invest in a new club. In 1964, he was able to open the first Gold's Gym for $30,000, just two blocks from Muscle Beach. -
Integration of women into health clubs
As the century proceeded, the look, equipment, and, in some cases, titles of health clubs evolved, so did the clientele. Amateur exercisers, encouraged by club owners like Tanny and Wilson, began working out as well, starting with only die-hard lifters and serious bodybuilders. Stockton, erroneously dubbed "Pudgy," and LaLanne, dubbed "Jack LaLanne," each contributed to the integration of women into health clubs in their own way. -
Personal training becomes a long-term career option
There were no National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)-recognized certificates for personal trainers at the time, and it wasn't until 1996 that one was formed. This is when personal training became a viable and long-term career option. -
Personal trainer requirements today (I couldn't find specific dates anywhere)
There are currently more than a dozen personal certifications that the National Commission For Certifying Agencies accredits. They include the Academy of Applied Personal Training Education, American College of Sports Medicine, American Council on Exercise, The Cooper Institute, International Fitness Professionals Association, National Academy of Sports Medicine -
Personal trainer requirements today (contd.)
National Academy of Sports Medicine, National Council for Certified Personal Trainers, National Council on Strength and Fitness, National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association, National Exercise Trainers Association, National Federation of Professional Trainers, National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Training and Wellness Certification Commission.