Exercising Over the Years Pt 1

It seems not a day goes by where I don’t see some newfangled exercise gadget or system being hawked as the next big thing. The infomercials make big promises and are designed to be pretty compelling; however, when you dive into these trends you will find they aren’t so new after all.

In this series we will go decade by decade and see what fitness fads and trends we can use to spice up our current exercise routines. Today we have the 40s-60s. Have fun! 

1940s Workout

During WWII people had a lot on their minds so exercise took a back seat to the busyness of the day. It’s no surprise then that calisthenics ruled the day.

There weren’t many gyms or health clubs but people would gather to stretch and try to improve their physical appearance. Exercises like sit ups, touching your toes and ‘gently rotating each arm like a propeller before rotating both arms while bent at the elbow’ were particular favorites.

1950s Workout

Once you are finished your stretching in the 1940s it’s time to move on to the 50s and get your hula hoop on! First marketed by Wham-O toys in 1958 the hula hoop was so popular they sold 25 million of them in the first 4 months of production!

It all makes a lot of sense if you think about the music of the late 50s such as Elvis Presley with a deep swing to it that makes you want to shake your hips!

1960s Workout

Now that you have worked out those hips maybe it is time to get on an exercise machine and that takes us to the 1960s? During this time many different fitness gadgets and machines became popular. This included the ridiculous looking belt vibrator, which promised to shake those pounds away!

If only weight loss were so simple but alas it is a bit more complicated. What’s funny is occasionally you will still see on late night TV or infomercials the same concept of vibrating away fat pitched even today. It proves the point that people are looking for an easy out in all eras and there will always be someone there to sell it to them.

And don’t forget you can use Zim’s Max Freeze Cooling Liquid to provide relief from sore and tired muscles no matter the decade you are working out in!

So what do you think of the 3 decades of exercise we talked about? What do you think they got wrong and what could you apply to your own fitness routine? We’d love to hear in the comments section and who knows? Maybe incorporating some hula hooping will be just the ticket to your peak physical fitness conditioning.