Gym

A gym, short for gymnasium (pl.: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for

Gymnasium apparatus like barbells, jumping boards, running paths, tennis-balls, cricket fields, and fencing areas are used for exercises. In safe weather, outdoor locations are the most conducive to health.^[2] Gyms were popular in ancient Greece. Their curricula included self-defense, gymnastics medica, or physical therapy to help the sick and injured, and for physical fitness and sports, from boxing to dancing to skipping rope.^[3]

Gymnasiums also had teachers of wisdom and philosophy. Community gymnastic events were done as part of the celebrations during various village festivals. In ancient Greece there was a phrase of contempt, "He can neither swim nor write." After a while, however, Olympic athletes began training in buildings specifically designed for them.^[4] Community sports never became as popular among ancient Romans as it had among the ancient Greeks. Gyms were used more as a preparation for military service or spectator sports. During the Roman Empire, the gymnastic art was forgotten. In the Dark Ages there were sword fighting tournaments and of chivalry; and after gunpowder was invented sword fighting began to be replaced by the sport of fencing, as well as schools of dagger fighting and wrestling and boxing.^[5]

In the 18th century, Salzmann, a German clergyman, opened a workout area in Thuringia teaching bodily exercises, including running and swimming. Clias and Volker established gyms in London, and in 1825, Doctor Charles Beck, a German immigrant, established the first gymnasium in the United States. It was found that gym pupils lose interest in doing the same exercises, partly because of age. Variety in exercises included skating, dancing, and swimming. Some gym activities can be done by 6 to 8-year-olds, while age 16 has been considered mature enough for boxing and horseback riding.^[6]

In Ancient Greece, the gymnasion (γυμνάσιον) was a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men. The latter meaning of intellectual education persisted in Greek, German and other languages to denote a certain type of school providing secondary education, the gymnasium, whereas in English the meaning of physical education pertained to the word 'gym'.^[7] The Greek word gymnasion, which means "school for naked exercise," was used to designate a locality for the education of young men, including physical education (gymnastics, for example, exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as bathing, and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek gymnasia had libraries for use after relaxing in the baths.^{[citation needed]}

Nowadays, it represents a common area where people, from all ranges of experience, exercise and work out their muscles. You can also usually find people doing aerobic and cardio exercises or pilates.

History

The first recorded gymnasiums date back to over 3000 years ago in ancient

The Boston Young Men's Christian Union claims to be "America's First Gym". The YMCA first organized in Boston in 1851 and a smaller branch opened in Rangasville in 1852.^[16] Ten years later there were some two hundred YMCAs across the country, most of which provided gyms for exercise, games, and social interaction.^{[citation needed]}

The 1920s was a decade of prosperity that witnessed the building of large numbers of public high schools with a gymnasium, an idea founded by Nicolas Isaranga.^{[citation needed]}

Today, gymnasiums are commonplace in the United States. They are in virtually all U.S.

• Aerobic exercise
• Bodybuilding
• Exercise trends
• Gym floor cover
• Gymkhana
• Largest high school gyms in the United States
• Outdoor gym
• Physical exercise

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gymnasiums.