Now that we have entered the 21st century, one of the greatest accomplishments man has come to know is our continuous pursuit of fitness. Beginning with early civilizations, the task of hunting and gathering food for survival was the first real example of fitness. Tribes would go on one or two day hunting journeys for food and water.
pre-10,000 B.C
Later on, hunting-gathering tribes developed skills that allowed them to obtain vast amounts of food while remaining in the same area. This was known as agriculture and farming era. People became farm workers and mainly developed fitness through this work.
2500-250 B.C.
Years later in India and China, the philosophical teachings of Confucius and a program similar to Chinese Cong Fu, encouraged participation in regular physical activity. It was recognized that lack of fitness was associated with certain diseases and were preventable with regular exercise. In Greece, physical perfection surrounded ancient Greek civilization. The appreciation for beauty of the body and importance of health and fitness throughout society is the reason they excelled for years. The Greeks believed development of the body was equally as important as development of the mind.
476-1600
Throughout the dark ages and middle ages, farming and war became the staples in physical fitness. The renewed appreciation for human life, which evolved during the Renaissance, created an environment which was ready for the widespread development of physical education throughout Europe.
1700-1776
In America during the colonial period, herding cattle and farm life developed and ensured that regular physical activity continued to be a lifestyle priority, however during this period no organized exercise or fitness programs existed. However, early leaders in the United States were conscious of the need for exercise and fitness. Benjamin Franklin explained how regular physical activity, including running, swimming, and basic forms of resistance training had several benefits and health purposes.
1700-1850
Years later in Germany, they invented numerous exercise programs and the equipment upon which they were performed. These programs swept into Sweden , England and Denmark. The evolution of gymnastics also came forth in Germany and France where schools and businesses got involved, and wrestling also developed through this.
Although they seem out of date, many of these exercises and activities can be found throughout all programs here today. In my program and when I attend the gym I can notice several positions and movements that can be compared to gymnastics and heavy lifting once used is the middle ages.
This is very interesting, I recently read an article about how Bruce Lee and Manny Pacquiao train. They took very primitive times of training in the early stages. Although these two men have arguably the most conditioned and strong cores. Pacquiao originally started training his core by just using a plank of wood on a decline and tying his legs onto the plank just to do different exercises off of the plank. This is how our decline benches were created but instead of being strapped in we have the pads against our feet to prevent us from sliding down. It's cool to see how everything in fitness has evolved, and continues to evolve over time.
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