Retro gym equipment?

[Stanley Doble]

If that is a rubber belt no wonder they don't make these anymore. They would erase the tattoos off the girls' fannies.

 

[Will015]

Generally golden era strongmen did not use any gym equipment. Just calisthenics and physical labor. Try checking out the book "Convict Conditioning" by Paul Wade.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I was going to suggest one of these as being vintage, but it turns out that you can still buy them new :eeek:

 

[flat-top]

 

[big lad on a spree]

It's totally untrue that old time strongmen did not lift weights. Look at Sandow or Gama or Anderson, you simply don't attain that level of mass without lifting heavy weights and bodyweight resistance doesn't offer the same progressions as some kind of weighted resistance, especially with pulls. If you want your shoulders to survivce intact long enough to get as big as Sandow you cannot neglect pulling exercises.

I think a great old fashioned weight training device would be as follows:

Get the heaviest gauge ziplock bags you can find, fill each one with about 5lb of sharp sand. Double bag it and duct tape it. Write the exact weight on it with magic marker. Make about 20 of these.

Put the as many as you want to work out with in a purpose bought liner, about 5-10 bucks on ebay.

Put that in a vintage navy seabag. Again, easy to source and not expensive.

Throw said bag around, lift it up, carry it around and generally manhandle it. Drink as much milk as you can possibly stomach every day. Do this 3-5 times a week for a year and then strip down to your vintage undies, look in the mirror and flex.

 

[Hat Dandy]

Does a floor count as vintage equipment? I use one to perform push-ups.

 

[robrinay]

I was going to suggest one of these as being vintage, but it turns out that you can still buy them new :eeek:

View attachment 15746

The older ones with green 'handles' look more antique - I picked one up yesterday in a Charity Shop for £2. If anyone wants it let me know and I'll post it in Classifieds cheap.

 

[Thunderhead19]

If you have the chance to visit the old Queen Mary in Long Beach you can check out their period gym equipment. I'm sure there's lots of photos on line as well.
http://www.queenmary.com/stay-aboard/fitness-center/

 

[PeterGunnLives]

I hope it's OK to resurrect this thread. I am into vintage fitness as well, but specifically inspired by the late forties and into the fifties. Based on much reading and actual practice, I feel that physique-focused training really came into its own at that time. Much of today's fitness is focused on "functional strength," but I feel that there's nothing wrong with practicing physical fitness specifically for aesthetics.

Here's some inspiration from Vince's Gym, which Vince Gironda ran in North Hollywood starting in 1948. While that barely catches the end of the Golden Age as defined on this forum, Mr. Gironda apparently kept the same older benches and stuff for decades. I think it's a great look, along with the wood paneling on the walls.
The original Vince's: http://www.ironguru.com/vince-s-gym
And his equipment in one place in 2003: http://www.ironguru.com/vince-s-gym-31-december-2003

And other gyms in the late 40s did indeed have benches. I have also seen a couple pictures of Jack Lalanne's original 30s-40s era gym (or "physical culture studio" as he called it) in Oakland, and it had a very similar look to the above. I am searching online, but I can't find any relevant pics at the moment. It may have been in a book. If I find anything, I'll post a link.

 

[sweetfights]

does not get any more classic and streamlined than a Soloflex with classic wood bench. Fully adjustable.

 

[BlueTrain]

How exactly were Indian clubs used in exercising? I also note that medicine balls appeared in photos from the 1920s, although it seems like a curious thing for exercising. All the same, I've used them (ages ago) and I guess they were for general physical fitness.

 

[BlueTrain]

I just remembered! You must have a steam cabinet! It might be called a small sauna, since that was all it amounted to. They showed up in old movies now and then. Usually the good guy would be trapped inside by the bad guy who would then turn up the heat. I imagine they may have been for weight loss more than anything else.

 

[52Styleline]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...-1920s-exercise-equipment-revealed-glory.html

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I highly recommend, in all sincerity, cast iron skillets. My kitchen is my gym. I use very heavy cookware on a regular basis. Barbells that also make dinner--what's not to like?

 

[David Conwill]

If you want to exercise while you travel look up the 5BX Plan or Canadian Air Force exercise program.Dr. Bill Orban developed it for the Royal Canadian Air Force as a way for air crews to exercise anywhere in the world with no gym, no equipment, no instructor, no nothing. It has been around since 1961 and has proven an excellent, very simple way to keep fit. Ian Fleming (of James Bond fame) was a fan. So are a lot of other people. In recent years the plan has been revived by computer geeks as a "life hack".

I believe the original booklets are out of print but you can find them on the web.

My grandmother, who lived to be 96 (1915-2012), followed that routine daily.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Crazy fitness equipment of the forties

 

[PeterGunnLives]

I just remembered! You must have a steam cabinet! It might be called a small sauna, since that was all it amounted to. They showed up in old movies now and then. Usually the good guy would be trapped inside by the bad guy who would then turn up the heat. I imagine they may have been for weight loss more than anything else.

I vaguely recall some old cartoon wherein a character got trapped in one of these and his whole body shrunk.