“The prescription [of exercise] is methodically composed according to the needs and condition of the patient.”
– Dr Gustav Zander, 1894
“Increase the circulation of blood to tired and cold feet with a foot massage.”
The fitted suits and body-sculpting corsets are optional when it comes to getting in shape. The key part is movement using the machines designed by Doctor Gustaf Zander (29 March 1835 in Stockholm – 17 June 1920) more than 150 years ago. We commend to your attention the vibrating horse-rider.
In 1857 Dr. Zander was employed as a physician and gymnastics teacher. With time short and the class large, he realised that one-on-one tuition was impossible. The solution was to devise apparatus to help. His wooden machines featured weights, levers and springs to provide a force of resistance. Initially operated by muscle power, from 1868, steam engines were added and, in the 1890s, these were replaced by electric motors.
Word spread about Dr. Zander’s tools for mechanotherapy (“the employment of mechanical means for the cure of disease”). In 1865, the first Zander Institute opened in Stockholm. In 1911, there were 300 Zander Institutes around the world. The ill-fated Titanic featured an exercise room with Zander’s famous gymnastic apparatus.
These images, from his 1892 book Dr. G. Zander’s medico-mechanische Gymnastik, feature a wide variety of exercise apparatus, as demonstrated by well-dressed Victorian models.
“Has the day at school left you a little tired and stiff? With a little torso-stretching, you’ll soon feel revitalized.”
“Your sides will get a thorough stretching in this diagonal-suspension apparatus.”
“Are you nervous, or do you struggle with constipation? You’ll find that this vibrating massage machine will work wonders!”
“Step into the trunk-measuring apparatus and map the contours of your torso and the bends of your spine.”
“In this elegant chest-expanding machine, you can raise your pulse by increasing the flow of blood to the lungs.”
“It may look like a velvet-topped dining room table, but you can realign imbalances in your muscles, skeleton and joints with this side-pressing apparatus.”
“Is this something from Count Dracula’s torture chamber? No, it’s just a device for realigning your ribcage.”
“Come and get your stomach kneaded!”
“This boy isn’t sitting on a bar stool – it is a torso-twisting machine that is strengthening his stomach.”
“This boy in high-laced boots is benefiting from some arm-stretching while working on the balance of his torso.”
“This arm-bending apparatus is good for the arms, shoulders and back.”
“For those who are unable – or who don’t dare – to get up on horseback, this apparatus vibrates the rider’s body.”
A cross-sectional measuring device to track changes to the body.
“Lean back and feel the benefits of a circular massage to the lower abdomen.”
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