Today's exercise equipment has much of the appearance of the prototypes designed almost more than 150 years ago by Dr. Gustav Zander. He was born in Stockholm in 1835, and the idea of making exercise equipment came to him in 1857, when he was employed as a physical education teacher.
Zander built a handful of wooden machines with weights, handles, and springs that people could use for exercise. He provided those interested with instructions on how to use them, much like personal trainers do today. Devices have become more and more complex over time, so some of them are from 1868 also used a steam engine, since 1890 and an electric motor.
The first The Zander Institute is in Stockholm opened in 1865. It was open to men and women who wanted to strengthen their muscles or recover from illness or injury. It is interesting that the men at the institute exercised in a dress, and the women in a corset.
The craze for this type of exercise spread to other countries, so in 1911 there were as many as three hundred Zander institutes in the world. believe it or not also the Titanic had one room with Zander's training equipment.
