Gym, a shortened form of gymnasium, refers to facilities intended for indoor sports or exercise.
Etymology and history
The word is derived from the Greek gymnos which means naked. 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 (exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as bathing, and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered at least as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek gymnasia had libraries that could be utilized after relaxing in the baths.
Gymnasiums in Germany were an outgrowth of the Turnplatz, an outdoor area for gymnastics, promoted by German educator Friedrich Jahn and the Turners, a nineteenth-century political and gymnastic movement. The first indoor gymnasium in Germany was probably the one built in Hesse in 1852 by Adolph Spiess, an enthusiast for boys' and girls' gymnastics in the schools. In the United States, the Turner movement thrived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first Turners group was formed in Cincinnati in 1848. The Turners built gymnasiums in several cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis which had large German American populations. These gyms were utilized by adults and youth. For example, a young Lou Gehrig would frequent the Turner gym in New York City with his father.
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