Vintage exercise equipment
Giant indoor training rollers, circa 1930
Wooden rollers from the 40’s
Riding rollers in the winter
Vintage trainer
Fred Lauer trainer
Public perception of exercising just for the sake of improving ones’ health has changed over the years. Exercise for the sake of fitness was a weird concept to our ancestors. It took influential (but admittedly strange) public figures like William Kellogg, Charles Atlas and Jack Lalanne to popularize the notion that exercise was good for you.
The machines that contestants use today on reality shows like “The Biggest Loser” would have once been reserved for “sporting fanatics”, or worse yet, “lunatics”.
We have a fun collection of old exercise equipment in the collection. One of the vintage indoor bikes is a cast-iron model that was one used in the Western State Mental Hospital.
1890’s stationary bike
Built to last
From the mental hospital near Sedro Wooley
Everlast machine, 1920’s or 30’s
Exercycle, 1950’s. Lucille Ball got stuck on one in an episode of her show
We have a giant set of wooden rollers that can be paired with a second set for head-to-head indoor racing. There’s the classic exercycle machine, which was a common prop for early television sitcom mishaps. There’s the coil-spring tensioned folding trainer from the 1940’s that was perfect for the traveling bike racer or “exercise buff”.
You don’t have to be Charles Atlas to appreciate this old exercise equipment. You know the phrase “They just don’t build ’em like they used to”? Well, that’s the case for this stuff.
Hardwood, iron and steel make up most of the component parts, and it would take a hurricane to move some of these pieces. Come in and take a look.