Agym, short forgymnasium (pl.:gymnasiums orgymnasia), is an indoor venue forexercise andsports. The word is derived from theancient Greek term "gymnasion".[1] They are commonly found in athletic andfitness centres, and as activity andlearning spaces in educational institutions. "Gym" is also the commonly used name for a "fitness centre" or health club, which is often an area for indoor recreation. A "gym" may include or describe adjacent open air areas as well. In Western countries, "gyms" often describe places with indoor or outdoor courts for basketball, hockey, tennis, boxing or wrestling, and withequipment andmachines used for physical development training, or to do exercises. In many European countries,Gymnasium (andvariations of the word) also can describe a secondary school that prepares students forhigher education at auniversity, with or without the presence of athletic courts, fields, or equipment.
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In Gymnasiums, apparatus such as barbells, bumper plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands, jumping boards, running paths, tennis balls, cricket fields, and fencing areas are used for exercises. Outdoor settings are healthiest when the weather is safe.[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 theancient Greeks. Gyms were used more as a preparation for military service or spectator sports. During theRoman Empire, the gymnastic art was forgotten. In theDark Ages there were sword fighting tournaments and ofchivalry; and aftergunpowder was invented sword fighting began to be replaced by the sport offencing, 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, DoctorCharles 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]
Inancient Greece, thegymnasion (γυμνάσιον) was a locality for both physical and intellectualeducation of young men. The latter meaning of intellectual education persisted inGreek,German and other languages to denote a certain type of school providingsecondary education, thegymnasium, whereas inEnglish the meaning of physical education pertained to the word 'gym'.[7]The Greek wordgymnasion, which means "school for naked exercise," was used to designate a locality for theeducation of young men, including physical education (gymnastics, for example, exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well asbathing, and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greekgymnasia had libraries for use after relaxing in the baths.[citation needed]
The first recorded gymnasiums date back to over 3000 years ago in ancientPersia, where they were known aszurkhaneh, areas that encouraged physical fitness. The largerRoman Baths often had attached fitness facilities, the baths themselves sometimes being decorated withmosaics of local champions of sport. Gyms inGermany were an outgrowth of theTurnplatz,[8] an outdoor space for gymnastics founded by German educatorFriedrich Jahn in 1811[9] and later promoted by theTurners, a nineteenth-century political and gymnastic movement. The first American to open a public gym in the United States using Jahn's model wasJohn Neal ofPortland, Maine in 1827.[10] The first indoor gymnasium in Germany was probably the one built inHesse in 1852 by Adolph Spiess.[11]
Through worldwide colonization, Great Britain expanded its national interest in sports and games to many countries. In the 1800s, programs were added to schools and college curricula that emphasized health, strength, and bodily measure. Sports drawn from European and British cultures thrived as college students and upper-class clubs financed competition. As a result, towns began building playgrounds that furthered interest in sports and physical activity.[12] Early efforts to establish gyms in the United States in the 1820s were documented and promoted by John Neal in theAmerican Journal of Education[13] andThe Yankee, helping to establish the American branch of the movement.[14] Later in the century, the Turner movement was founded and continued to thrive into the early twentieth century. The first Turners group was formed in London in 1848. The Turners built gymnasiums in several cities like Cincinnati andSt. Louis, which had largeGerman American populations. These gyms were utilized by adults and youth. For example, a youngLou Gehrig would frequent the Turner gym inNew York City with his father.[15]
TheBoston Young Men's Christian Union claims to be "America's First Gym". TheYMCA first organized inBoston 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.colleges andhigh schools, as well as almost allmiddle schools andelementary schools. These facilities are used forphysical education,intramural sports, and school gatherings. The number of gyms in the U.S. has more than doubled since the late 1980s.[17] Today, fitness gyms and private health clubs are a huge global business.[18]
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