Times sure have changed, things we do nowadays are so different then the way they were just 40 short years ago. And this is especially true when it comes to health and exercise. The machines and equipment that have been invented through out our history would make me never want to work out again. I am not sure what these inventors were thinking when they come up with these pieces of weird exercise equipment. Have a look at some vintage exercise equipment that will have you scratching your head.
1. Zander’s Horse-Simulation Machine – This machine was a huge hit with the idea that you didn’t really have to do anything but sit in a chair.
2. The Molby Revolving Hammock – By the time the roaring 1920’s emerged, corsets were on their way out.
However, inventors and scientists found new and exciting ways to combine painful bondage into passive fitness methods.
3. Electric or Magnetic Corset – This is a very odd contraption that was advertised to offer a cure for a number of ailments, including paralysis, indigestion, and rheumatism, all in the process of giving women tiny waists
4. Kellog’s Electric Vibrating Chair – Inventor Dr. John Harvey Kellogg’s truly lasting legacy was the idea that one could vibrate their way to good health and fitness
5. Stomach Roller — Looking for toned abs? Look no further than this crazy machine.
6. The Twist ‘N Tone – Then, it cost $5.95, and claimed to ‘provides the same simulating exercise as expensive equipment used in health clubs’.
7. The Reducing Belt – Advertised to only wear for an hour a day and to lose 4-6 inches. And guys, this fancy device also had doctor approval.
8. The Vita Master – This machine boasts a variable speed massage machine that vibrates away the pounds.
9. Air Shorts – These inflatable shorts are great for back support and shedding weight too.
10. The Sauna Exercise Suite – As the advertisement states “Just slip on and wear while you work or play… seals in body heat to help you shed extra moisture. Like having a portable sauna”.
11. Gustav Zander’s Exercise Machines in the 1800’s. The ultimate exercise machine – I don’t even know where to begin with this one.
12. This one seems okay to use, right?
13. Nobody said being comfortable was part of exercising.
14. The ultimate leg workout.
15. Perfect for exercising your feet.
16.
17. Mechanized Magic Chair – the idea was that rigorously twisting the poor woman from side to side would somehow correct her posture, chip away at water retention in her ankles, slim her chin and all kinds of other lovely things.
18. Vibrating Belt – I’m sure many of you remember this one. The obvious concept was to vibrate away unsightly cellulite and fat.
19. The Relax-a-Cizor – The poor women who had tried the vibration to no avail somehow became convinced that allowing themselves to be shocked via electricity would help! The Relax-a-Cizor was sold to over 400,000 unsuspecting victims before it was finally taken out of circulation, due to some very nasty side effects, including miscarriage, irregular heart rhythms, and aggravation of a number of underlying medical conditions.
The last few photos are from Gustav Zander, he was a Swedish orthopedist and physician. He made it his life’s work to develop a therapeutic form of exercise. Starting in the 1800s, Dr. Zander is well-known as one of the founders of a form of exercise called mechanotherapy, which we know today as “therapeutic massage.” It is a form of exercise, which was designed to help rehabilitate people, who have received some sort muscular injury.
Would you be willing to use any of this exercise machines from our history? I’m not going to lie, my grandma has the vibrating waist belt thing (number 8) in her basement and it has always freaked me out. What are your thoughts?