» Looking Back


A History of Fitness Equipment


Excellence Celebrating 25+ years of success


PART II


and the number of white-collar work- ers was on the rise, people no longer had the same amount of physical ac- tivity in their daily routines. The call for “assisted fitness” sparked the de- velopment and invention of mechani- cal fitness equipment, all designed to mimic natural movement. Early accounts lead us to Swedish


T


physician Gustv Zander – inventor of the mechanical horse (an early ver- sion of the Stairmaster) and a stomach- punching apparatus that is the grand- father of today’s ab crunch machine. More than 100 years later, there are


thousands of products, designs and features to choose from when selecting equipment. Here are some outstanding manu-


facturers who have committed more than 25 years to providing outstand- ing exercise equipment.


Did you know? Vibration technology’s origins in-


clude the Russian space program that experimented with vibration systems as a supplement to other fitness training.


Both the term aerobics and the spe-


cific exercise method were developed by Dr. Kenneth Cooper in the 1960s using research results from over 5,000 U.S. Air Force personnel. Now known


26 Fitness Business Canada May/June 2014


as group exercise, aerobics was made popular by Jane Fonda with the release of her first exercise video in 1982.


Bootcamps have been around for


years in a military setting but be- came popular in mainstream North America after they were featured on weight loss reality shows.


Pilates originated from a self-de-


fence program created by Joseph Pilates while he worked at Scotland Yard in England in 1912. While in- carcerated as an enemy alien during WWI, Pilates refined his ideas by rig- ging springs to hospital beds enabling bedridden patients to exercise. This led to his later equipment designs.


oday we call it a workout, but it used to simply be referred to as work – “all in a day’s work”! As the 1800s came to a close


Y34 A


Raymond Sansoucy EARS ATLANTIS STRENGTH


tlantis Strength was founded in 1980 by Raymond Sansoucy, a Canadian bodybuilding champion who owned a small gym at the time.


Dissatisfied with the equipment options available, he started to produce his own equipment and shortly thereaſter a demand for these products de- veloped. With a focus on creating equipment that was durable and had the right feel, Atlantis was able to steadily grow both the gym and the manu- facturing arms of its business. Today it operates a 71,000 square foot man- ufacturing plant and a 50,000 square foot gym). With his unique perspec- tive as a user, designer and business owner, Mr. Sansoucy has been able to constantly add to and improve the Atlantis product line.


works out on the D-124 Low Row, circa 1981.


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