The History of Sports and Exercise

The Oxford English dictionary defines health as “the state of being free from illness or injury or a person's mental or physical condition.”

While that might sound a lot like just not being sick, being healthy can range from being able to easily go about our day to day activities to the most extreme athletes pushing their bodies to the limits. Generally the first thing people think of as good health is good physical health. A condition brought about through sports and exercise.

The global health and fitness industry is valued at close to $100 billion dollars. According to the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association), it is projected to grow at a rate of 7.8% over the next 5 years.

For those who do seek healthier living, there are vast amounts of outlets to be able to find fun ways to enjoy and challenge themselves. From being outdoors and walking with friends and family, joining cycling clubs and yoga studios all the way to competing in marathons, triathlons and spartan races on their weekends. Thanks to the internet, there are thousands of yoga, fitness and mindfulness challenges to enjoy with other like minded online users.

It feels like we live in a world where our ability to improve our health is greater than it’s ever been. But is it?

Between 4,000 BC and the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, civilizations rose and fell through conflict and conquest. Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and later on, the Greeks and Romans all imposed physical training on boys and young men. The purpose? Preparing for war.

Young men practiced fundamental and natural movement skills in preparation for conflict. Activities that tested their mobility, strength and endurance as well as unarmed fighting, and weapons training.

Not surprisingly, this physical training became competitive and civilized populations began to value these competitions as sport. Records of athletic competitions exist from ancient Egypt, and of course, the ancient Greeks famously created the first Olympic games.

Although training and sports competitions were already taking place, the Greek scholar Hippocrates, who is regarded as the father of medicine, was the first to point out, merely by his powers of observation, the therapeutic value of exercise.

He states in his book On Dietetics, “Eating healthily by itself will not keep a man well; he must also have physical exercise. Food and exercise mutually contribute to maintaining health. It is the nature of exercise to draw on the body’s materials, while it is the nature of food and drink to restore them.

Greeks and Romans, celebrated the body’s beauty and strength and embraced physical training as a philosophical ideal and an essential part of a complete education. They celebrated the idea of having a sound mind, in a sound body.

Although our knowledge and regard for exercise began early on, the chaotic middle ages saw plagues, barbaric invasions and the spread of Christianity. During this time the body was seen as sinful and unimportant.

So, it was not until the renaissance period of the 17th century that a greater interest in body, health, and physical education returned.

Physical education which included gymnastics, calisthenics, wrestling, riding and fencing. was beginning to be taught in schools and sports science and sports medicine began to be studied on a wider scale.

Again it was military organisations leading the way in training students. Gymnasiums and other sports facilities became more common around the late 1700’s.

Sports also took on a nationalistic pride, not just for readiness for war. In Scotland for example, the highland games began with events distinctive to the Scottish culture like tossing the caber, hammer throwing and stone lifting.

In the early 20th century, Frenchman, Edmond Desbonnet, managed to make physical exercise and strength training fashionable through the publication of fitness journals and by opening a chain of exercise clubs. Initially, these were only accessible to the wealthy as they were expensive and it wasn't until after WWII that the working class were able to access these facilities.

At around the same time in the USA, Benarr MacFadden rose as a prominent health guru and healthy living advocate. He published the magazine “Physical Culture” and began to run bodybuilding competitions. He was the man responsible for the rise of physical culture’s greatest icon, Charles Atlas.

MacFadden and Desbonnet were the precursors to the health and fitness industry as we know it. After WWII gyms in California began to pop up, like Muscle Beach and Universal Gym. These attracted celebrities from Hollywood who then introduced the aesthetic driven, bodybuilding idea of fitness into the homes of millions of people.

Since then, it has grown to become a multibillion dollar industry. With that a dichotomy of ideas. On one side, promises of better health in a matter of weeks, littered with diets, gadgets and supplements and on the other, the benefits of greater studies in sports science and the availability of that knowledge to the public.

And while promises of six packs and fat loss in just two weeks still haunt the internet, people are beginning to realize that personal health is a lifestyle and not just short term goals. As the science and accessibility of health grows, hopefully too will the behaviours of our society towards better living.

Small changes can be all we need to begin our life towards better health.