History of "The gym"...

The word γυμνάσιον (gymnasion) was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men (see gymnasium (ancient Greece)). The later meaning of intellectual education persisted in German and other languages to denote a certain type of school providing secondary education, the Gymnasium, whereas in English the meaning of physical education was pertained in the word gym.

The Greek word gymnasium means "place to be naked" and was used in ancient Greece to designate a locality for the education of young men, including physical education (gymnastics, i.e. exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as bathing, and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek gymnasia had libraries that could be utilized after relaxing in the bathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

After the ancient Greeks, gyms disappeared for centuries. Medieval and Renaissance life was physically arduous enough, and ordinary people got all the exercise they needed working on the land and carrying out chores.

By the 19Th century, though, schools and colleges were building gymnasiums (and even today, the word "gym" means "school gym class" to many people). The YMCA also built a number of gyms for physical exercise and social sports and games.

During the mid 19Th century, the Turnvereine (gymnastics unions) movement led to the founding of Turners, German-American gymnastics clubs. These had a political as well as an athletic element.

1930s - Boxing Gyms

A form of gym known as the "boxing gym" began to appear in the 1930s, with the founding of Cus D'Amanto's Gramercy Gym in Manhattan in 1939.These gyms were to train fighters and boxers - not places for general exercise.

Gold's gym chain, still going to day, was founded by Joe Gold in 1965 in Venice, California, which became a landmark for bodybuilders (despite the dirty state of its equipment). Joe Gold founded the World Gym chain in 1977.

1980s - Corporate Gyms

More and more gym chains were founded during the 1980s, including 24 Hour Fitness (1983) and LA Fitness (1984).

Do you work in an office building with its own gym? The trend of corporate gyms began in the 1980s, too, as employers began to take on a greater responsibility for employee's health.

today, lots of people are or have been gym member s - people who would never call themselves "bodybuilders", "fighters" or even especially sporty. New gym chains have sprung up over the past couple of decades; Lifetime Fitness in 1990, Equinox Fitness in 1991, and Virgin Active in 1999.

Widespread celebrity gym-going has encouraged the boon in gym membership, and gyms look set to be popular for decades to come.