With so much going on in the world, it's easy to forget March is Women's History Month. In honor of this month-long celebration, here are some interesting historical facts about women and their relationship with exercise through the years.
Early Years: Women had been exercising well before the 1900's. At home exercise was advised since it wasn't considered lady-like to sweat in public.
1900's: Women participated in many recreational types of fitness. From minimal effort machines, to horse back riding, badminton, tennis and dancing. Physical educational programs and sports began getting introduced in schools by the 1920's after scientific developments began early in the century.
During the flapper years, the 1920's, exercise would lose its momentum and became less popular than partying.
1940's-50's: Not long after the war, the women's athletic revolution began. More women were pursuing athletics in sports and magazines covered fitness topics such as: simple exercises and popular fitness programs. In the 1950's, women sweating during aerobic workouts was not only acceptable, it was recommended.
1960's: During this time, women mainly exercised to maintain a trim figure, increase flexibility and overall health.
1970's-80's: Through the feminist movement, more women were joining the exercise culture. Two former dancers, Jacki Sorensen and Judi Missett, were the first to introduce aerobic exercise combined with dance moves, with Missett introducing Jazzercise to the public. For the first time home video workouts became available. Jane Fonda became the most popular aerobics instructor of that time.
1990's-00's: Buns and thighs were the hot topic of conversation. Buns of Steel and ThighMaster were two of the most popular workouts. Tae Bo soon followed, along with kickboxing, Zumba and Barre with yoga studios gaining popularity by the mid 00's.
Although pilates was developed in the 1920's, it didn't go mainstream until mid-90's when celebrities like Madonna and Oprah began talking about it.
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