Video: Torture or rocking chair? The first models of simulators
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Today, photos, including selfies, from the gym are commonplace. And a person who has ever visited a gym with exercise machines will always be able to recognize a familiar device in another photograph, in whatever country it was made. However, this versatility of simulators is also a product of technology development. The first simulators were so sophisticated that it was easy to confuse them with torture machines.
The prototypes of the machines we use in gyms today are those of Dr. Gustaf Zander, which he developed over 150 years ago. Zander was born in Stockholm in 1835. In 1857, when he was working as a physical education teacher at a local school, he realized that he simply could not physically give the same attention to all his numerous students. That is why he decided to build a device out of wood, belts, springs and weights, so that in his absence, schoolchildren would develop their muscles on their own, performing strength exercises.
Zander gave instructions to everyone on how long he should manipulate his invention - in much the same way today, a personal trainer makes up a personal exercise program for everyone in the gym. The first simulators worked exclusively on mechanical strength. Later, after 10 years, steam motors were added to the device, and after another 20 years, in the 1890s, they were replaced by electric motors.
The first Zander Institute was opened in Stockholm in 1986. This institution was simultaneously for women and men who wanted to develop their muscles or restore physical shape after various injuries. The premises were divided into two sections closed from each other so that women were not ashamed of men. However, women at that time did not particularly prepare for visiting the gym - they did just that, being pulled into corsets, dressed in long dresses with numerous skirts, while the men did not take off their ironed suits and belts.
Despite certain inconveniences, the Zander Institutes have gained a truly international popularity. In 1911, more than 300 Zander Institutes were opened around the world. Even on the Titanic there was a separate room with Zander's apparatus. What these simulators looked like at the beginning of their long journey of improvement can be seen in photographs taken by photographer Okand in 1892. Now these pictures are in the Stockholm Technical Museum.
Modern "rocking chairs" may look different, but no less severe. So, for example, in Kiev there is an open-air gym, which is clearly not lacking in brutality. At one of the sports publics this place was even called " The most hardcore gym in the world."
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