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{{short description|Building designed and equipped for athletics and fitness}}
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{{about|the indoor sports facility|the fitness club|Health club|the school class known as "gym"|Physical education|text=For other uses, see [[Gym (disambiguation)]] and [[Gymnasium (disambiguation)]]}}

[[File:Amsterdam - Gymnasium - 0591.jpg|thumb|Inside a gymnasium in Amsterdam]]
A '''gym''', short for '''gymnasium''' ({{plural form}}: '''gymnasiums''' or '''gymnasia'''), is an indoor venue for [[exercise]] and [[sports]]. The word is derived from the [[ancient Greek]] term "[[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasion]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Partridge|1984|p=517}}</ref> They are commonly found in athletic and [[Physical fitness|fitness]] centres, and as activity and [[learning space]]s in educational institutions. "Gym" is also the commonly used name for a "[[fitness centre]]" or health club, which is often an area for indoor recreation. A "gym" may include or describe adjacent open air areas as well. In Western countries, "gyms" often describe places with indoor or outdoor courts for basketball, hockey, tennis, boxing or wrestling, and with [[Exercise equipment|equipment]] and [[Weight machine|machines]] used for physical development training, or to do exercises. In many European countries, ''Gymnasium'' (and [[Gymnasium (school)#By country|variations]] of the word) also can describe a secondary school that prepares students for [[higher education]] at a [[university]], with or without the presence of athletic courts, fields, or equipment.

==Overview==
[[File:TWU Gymnastics (Floor) Floor Warm Up (5694074973).jpg|thumb|Students of [[Texas Woman's University]] practicing in their university gymnasium, 2011]]
[[File:Varpaisjärven liikuntahalli - Kirjastontie 4, Varpaisjärvi - Lapinlahti.jpg|thumb|The Varpaisjärvi Sports Hall in [[Lapinlahti]], [[Finland]]]]
In Gymnasiums, apparatus such as barbells, bumper plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands, jumping boards, running paths, tennis balls, cricket fields, and fencing areas are used for exercises. Outdoor settings are healthiest when the weather is safe.<ref>{{harvnb|Ravenstein|Hulley|1867}}</ref> Gyms were popular in ancient Greece. Their curricula included self-defense, gymnastics medica, or physical therapy to help the sick and injured, and for physical fitness and sports, from boxing to dancing to skipping rope.<ref>{{harvnb|Partington|1838|p=627}}</ref>

Gymnasiums also had teachers of wisdom and philosophy. Community gymnastic events were done as part of the celebrations during various village festivals. In ancient Greece there was a phrase of contempt, "He can neither swim nor write." After a while, however, Olympic athletes began training in buildings specifically designed for them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Olympic Games|url=https://www.history.com/topics/sports/olympic-games|access-date=2020-09-30|website=HISTORY|language=en}}</ref> Community sports never became as popular among ancient Romans as it had among the [[ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]]. Gyms were used more as a preparation for military service or spectator sports. During the [[Roman Empire]], the gymnastic art was forgotten. In the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] there were sword fighting tournaments and of [[chivalry]]; and after [[gunpowder]] was invented sword fighting began to be replaced by the sport of [[fencing]], as well as schools of dagger fighting and wrestling and boxing.<ref>{{harvnb|Partington|1838|p=628}}</ref>

In the 18th century, Salzmann, a German clergyman, opened a workout area in Thuringia teaching bodily exercises, including running and swimming. Clias and Volker established gyms in London, and in 1825, Doctor [[Charles Beck]], a German immigrant, established the first gymnasium in the United States. It was found that gym pupils lose interest in doing the same exercises, partly because of age. Variety in exercises included skating, dancing, and swimming. Some gym activities can be done by 6 to 8-year-olds, while age 16 has been considered mature enough for boxing and horseback riding.<ref>{{harvnb|Partington|1838|p=629}}</ref>

In [[ancient Greece]], the ''[[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasion]]'' (γυμνάσιον) was a locality for both physical and intellectual [[education]] of young men. The latter meaning of intellectual education persisted in [[Greek language|Greek]], [[German language|German]] and other languages to denote a certain type of school providing [[secondary education]], the [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]], whereas in [[English language|English]] the meaning of physical education pertained to the word 'gym'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gymnasium (Greek) |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Gymnasium/ |website=Ancient Encyclopedia |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref>
The Greek word ''gymnasion'', which means "school for naked exercise," was used to designate a locality for the [[education]] of young men, including physical education (''[[gymnastics]]'', for example, exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as [[bathing]], and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek ''gymnasia'' had libraries for use after relaxing in the baths.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

== History ==
[[File:1831 Roper's Gymnasium 274 Market St Philadelphia.jpg |thumb |Roper's Gymnasium in Philadelphia, 1831]]
[[File:Children's outdoor gymnasium circa 19th Century.jpg|thumb|Children's outdoor gymnasium, circa 19th century. The equipment, which was standard for the time, includes ladders, gymnastic horses, and parallel bars.]]
The first recorded gymnasiums date back to over 3000 years ago in ancient [[Persia]], where they were known as ''[[Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals|zurkhaneh]]'', areas that encouraged physical fitness. The larger [[Thermae|Roman Baths]] often had attached fitness facilities, the baths themselves sometimes being decorated with [[mosaic]]s of local champions of sport. Gyms in [[Germany]] were an outgrowth of the ''Turnplatz'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-turnplatz-open-air-gymnasium-in-the-hasenheide-1811-48390278.html |title=Stock Photo – Turnplatz (open-air gymnasium) in the Hasenheide, 1811 |last=Limited |first=Alamy |website=Alamy |language=en |access-date=2018-10-06}}</ref> an outdoor space for gymnastics founded by German educator [[Friedrich Jahn]] in 1811<ref>{{cite book |last=Goodbody |first=John |title=The Illustrated History of Gymnastics |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto0000good |url-access=registration |publisher=Stanley Paul & Co. |location=London |year=1982 |isbn=0-09-143350-9}}</ref> and later promoted by the [[Turners]], a nineteenth-century political and gymnastic movement. The first American to open a public gym in the United States using Jahn's model was [[John Neal]] of [[Portland, Maine]] in 1827.<ref>{{cite book | last = Leonard | first = Fred Eugene | title = A Guide to the History of Physical Education | publisher = Lea & Febiger | location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York | year = 1923 | url = https://archive.org/details/guidetohistoryof00leon/ | pages = 227–250}}</ref> The first indoor gymnasium in Germany was probably the one built in [[Hesse]] in 1852 by Adolph Spiess.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZy2BgAAQBAJ&q=first+indoor+gymnasium+in+germany&pg=PT9 |title=INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION |last=Dalvi |first=Rajani |date=3 May 2014 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781312161344 |access-date=2019-04-05}}</ref>

Through worldwide colonization, Great Britain expanded its national interest in sports and games to many countries. In the 1800s, programs were added to schools and college curricula that emphasized health, strength, and bodily measure. Sports drawn from European and British cultures thrived as college students and upper-class clubs financed competition. As a result, towns began building playgrounds that furthered interest in sports and physical activity.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Introduction to physical education, exercise science, and sport studies |last=Lumpkin |first=Angela |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education; 9 edition |date=January 29, 2013 |isbn=978-0-07-802266-1 |page=226 }}</ref> Early efforts to establish gyms in the United States in the 1820s were documented and promoted by John Neal in the ''American Journal of Education''<ref>{{cite book | last = Leonard | first = Fred Eugene | title = A Guide to the History of Physical Education | publisher = Lea & Febiger | location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York | year = 1923 | url = https://archive.org/details/guidetohistoryof00leon/ | oclc = 561890463 | pages = 235–250}}</ref> and ''[[The Yankee]]'', helping to establish the American branch of the movement.<ref>{{cite news | last = Barry | first = William D. | date = May 20, 1979 | title = State's Father of Athletics a Multi-Faceted Figure | work = Maine Sunday Telegram | location = Portland, Maine | pages = 1D–2D}}</ref> Later in the century, the Turner movement was founded and continued to thrive into the early twentieth century. The first Turners group was formed in London 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The German Turnverein |url=https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/rz/turnvere.htm |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=www.ohio.edu}}</ref>
[[File:ErfgoedLeiden LEI001015553 Gymnastiekzaal van de Gymnastiekschool aan de Pieterskerkgracht in Leiden.jpeg|thumb|220x220px|Interior of a gym in the Netherlands, around 1900]]
The [[Boston Young Men's Christian Union]] claims to be "America's First Gym". The [[YMCA]] first organized in [[Boston]] in 1851 and a smaller branch opened in Rangasville in 1852.<ref name="Mouheb 2012 p. 177">{{cite book |last=Mouheb |first=R.B. |title=Yale Under God |publisher=Xulon Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-61996-884-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8V_Hws1hbXEC&pg=PA177 |language=it |access-date=April 1, 2019 |page=177}}</ref> Ten years later there were some two hundred YMCAs across the country, most of which provided gyms for exercise, games, and social interaction.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

The 1920s was a decade of prosperity that witnessed the building of large numbers of public high schools with a gymnasium, an idea founded by Nicolas Isaranga.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

Today, gymnasiums are commonplace in the United States. They are in virtually all U.S. [[colleges]] and [[high school]]s, as well as almost all [[middle school]]s and [[elementary school]]s. These facilities are used for [[physical education]], [[intramural sports]], and school gatherings. The number of gyms in the U.S. has more than doubled since the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Scope of the U.S. Health Club Industry (industry estimates). |journal=International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). 2003. }}</ref> Today, fitness gyms and private health clubs are a huge global business.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Andreasson |first1=Jesper |last2=Johansson |first2=Thomas |date=2014-01-01 |title=The Fitness Revolution. Historical Transformations in the Global Gym and Fitness Culture |url=https://content.sciendo.com/doi/10.2478/ssr-2014-0006 |journal=Sport Science Review |volume=23 |issue=3–4 |doi=10.2478/ssr-2014-0006 |s2cid=73636110 |issn=2069-7244}}</ref>
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== See also ==
* [[Aerobic exercise]] 
* [[Bodybuilding]]
* [[Exercise trends]]
* [[Gym floor cover]]
* [[Gymkhana]]
* [[Largest high school gyms in the United States]]
* [[Outdoor gym]]
* [[Physical exercise]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}{{Commons category|Gymnasiums}}
;Bibliography
*{{wikicite |ref={{harvid|Ravenstein|Hulley|1867}} |reference=Ravenstein and Hulley. 1867. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=njgCAAAAQAAJ The gymnasium and its fittings]'' London, UK: N. Trubner and Company }}
*{{wikicite |ref={{harvid|Partington|1838}} |reference=[[Charles Frederick Partington|Partington, Charles F.]], Editor. 1838. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=syZdAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA627 The British Cyclopaedia of the Arts, Sciences, History, Geography, Literature, Natural History, and Biography Volume 1 ABA to OPI]'' London, UK: Wm. S. Orr and Co. }}
*{{wikicite |ref={{harvid|Partridge|1984}} |reference=Partridge, Eric. 1984. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VPBMA1ciCNgC&pg=PA517 A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English.]'' Milton Park, Abingdon: [[Routledge Taylor & Francis Group|Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group]] {{ISBN|0415065682}} }}

{{Gym games}}
{{Strength training exercises}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Educational environment]]
[[Category:Gyms| ]]
[[Category:Physical education]]
[[Category:Physical exercise]]
[[Category:Sports venues by type]]
[[Category:Strength training]]
[[Category:Recreation]]