What did George Vanderbilt know about fitness in 1895 that many of today’s gyms STILL haven’t figured out?

Last week I spent a few days with my family in Asheville.  On Thursday we toured the Biltmore house which is still today, America’s largest private residence.  Being the fitness fanatic I am, I spent a disproportionate amount of time touring the basement which included a swimming pool, bowling alley, and most importantly, a gymnasium!

What struck me first was a shear amazement that anyone in 1895 would have needed a gym to stay fit.  After all, the average person spent so much time on their feet lifting, working, and moving from place to place, treadmills and extra weights seem rather redundant.  However, the shear wealth of the Vanderbilt family allowed them a lifestyle that excluded excessive manual labor.  As a result, these fortunate millionaires had the luxury of spending time using dumbbells, parallel bars, and rowing machines to stay in shape. 

Today, a huge chunk of the population has the capacity to live without too much manual labor.  One of the primary reasons for the epidemic of obesity in our country is because many of us get to live the manual work free life the millionaire Vanderbilts did in 1895.  Rather than moving hay bales, plowing fields by horse, or walking 3 miles to get back and forth from work, we sit in cars, sit at desks, and eat Lean Cuisine in our offices.  We are not the calorie burning machines we once were.

The second thing that struck me was that the very equipment Vanderbilt had in the facility was exactly what is being used by us trainers today!  Everything in the gym was functional training equipment.  The wooden dumbbells, the parallel bars, the rope ladder, the rowing machine, the barbells, and the Indian clubs are ALL the same kinds of equipment YOU should be using right now in your workouts.  Though in 1895 they did not know this, the best exercise equipment for staying fit and strong for ANY person should simulate real life three dimensional movements. 

So the question is; why are so many people still plugging away on elliptical machines and pushing and pulling fancy Nautilus equipment in their gyms when Vanderbilt knew what the best equipment was in 118 years ago?  The answer is a little complex and revolves around a strategy from the 1970’s and 80’s to get more people into fitness (especially women) by simplifying the equipment and making it less intimidating.   The idea was you could reduce the chances of injury, maximize muscle strength gains, and shrink the learning curve with single axis equipment like leg and arm extension machines.  (The thought of boosting profits in gyms with more members didn’t hurt either).  The problem is these machines do very little for strengthening REAL LIFE movement patterns.  As a result, more people than ever go to their local gyms and more people than ever waste their precious time doing exercises and using equipment that is not conducive to their goals.

Here is the bottom line for you and your fitness goals.  If you want to develop a long, lean, strong body and reduce your chances of chronic injury including low back and neck pain, you need to train like a Vanderbilt, or perhaps like one of their servants.  During your next workout, get off the Nautilus machines and elliptical and get over to the medicine ball and dumbbell rack.  The other option is to start bailing some hay over your lunch hour.  Either way, the functional movement is going to be just what you need to reach your goals.