If you’ve ever been to a gym at least once in your life, you may have noticed that there are several weight machines — and some of them are focused on muscles that we don’t always know about. But who had the idea of using machines and equipment to perform physical exercises? Well, one of the first scientists to test this idea was the Swedish Gustav Zander.
Photos of users using machines developed by Gustav Zander are, to say the least, curious, but they help us understand evolution of this science to the present day.
Focus on physical therapy
(Reproduction: Amusing Planet)
Gustav Zander was a training doctor. The goal of his inventions was not muscle growth or the athletic aesthetic achieved with this increase in volume, but to help his patients recover quality of life, overcoming pain or physical limitations. Therefore, the main mission was closer to what we know today as physiotherapy.
Zander developed the machines
(Reproduction: Amusing Planet)
The Doctor. Gustav Zander is recognized as one of the creators of the so-called “mechanotherapy”, which consists of the use of machines for therapeutic purposes. He graduated from the Karolinska Institute in 1864.
While still a student, he began to design the prototypes of his first machines. His initiative gained support from some renowned doctors of the time, such as Dr. Per Henrik Ling. He understood that the use of machinery could reduce the effort that the patient would need to make during exercise, which would help prevent the appearance of injuries.
Injuries were common in sports at the time , mainly in calisthenics, training that uses body weight to stimulate muscle strengthening and development.
State Support
The Swedish State liked the Zander’s ideas and decided to fund them. Thus, the Zander Therapeutic Institute was born. In the beginning, the patients were workers who acquired some physical disability during their activities.
In a few years, the Swedish doctor was already recognized and awarded as a successful inventor. In 1876, he won a gold medal at the Centennial Exposition in the United States. To give you an idea, it was at this event that Graham Bell surprised the world with his phone.
Uncomfortable clothes
Today, there are stores and brands dedicated to the manufacture of sportswear. But, as you may have noticed from the images in this article, Dr. Zander exercised in heavy and well-behaved clothes.
Although it may seem strange, we can conclude that the first “marombeiros” were very elegant. This is because, over time, these machines began to be used in spas, attracting the elite and making the bodybuilding we know today begin to emerge.
