Club-Swinging for a New You!

How are your resolutions faring since we rang in the new year? On January 1st many of us find health and exercise somewhere near the top of our list, but, come springtime, we may discover that our inspiration is flagging. Luckily, there are countless ways to get in shape. While our collective societal obsession with health and fitness feels modern in many ways, some exercise practices have withstood the test of time.

Take, for instance, the unswerving popularity of weighted clubs and dumbbells for workout routines. Both forms of equipment trace their origins to the ancient civilizations of Greece and India where these tools were employed for aerobics and strength-training. Later adopted by British colonists for military training, clubs and dumbbells were brought back to the West, where their popularity spread.

The term “dumbbell” is thought to have originated in England in the early 17^th century, when bellringing was a popular pastime and form of exercise. To practice (and not create an infuriating racket while so doing) the bell ringer would use a weight attached to a short bar; this would approximate the resistance of the bell rope without the sonorous clang at the end. This silent, or “dumb,” bell developed into the dumbbell we are familiar with today. In North America, the use of clubs and dumbbells was also popular as both a form of entertainment and diversion as well as a healthful exercise practice. The American statesman, publisher, scientist, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was known to have used dumbbells for physical fitness and to have suggested that his son do the same.

Later, during the early-to-mid-19^th century in both England and America, physical fitness became an important aspect of structured health and education programs. Interestingly, at a time when a woman’s place as the “weaker sex” was largely restricted to the home, and her body both at home and in public was confined by a Victorian sense of propriety, clubs and dumbbells were deemed acceptable exercise for girls and women. By the 1830s, “gymnastics” had become popular in schools, and many of these programs incorporated the use of weighted clubs or dumbbells.

Throughout the 19^th century, strongmen were frequently featured in circus sideshows and vaudeville attractions, advertised holding enormous dumbbells as proof of their incredible fitness and strength.

One such champion strongman was Gus Hill. Born in New York City in 1858, Hill showed an early aptitude for wrestling, boxing, and juggling and eventually became interested in clubs and dumbbells. At the age of 18 Hill began performing feats of strength on the vaudeville circuit, challenging and defeating locals who could not lift his heavy clubs, gaining himself the title “Champion Clubman of the World.”

In 1880, recognizing the public’s growing interest in the use of dumbbells and clubs, Hill made his publishing debut with an early exercise book called, Gus Hill’s Champion Club-swinging and Dumb-bell Manual. Hill opens his work with the following statement: “The fact that no complete work treating on this popular exercise has ever been published…together with the constantly increasing demand for such work, induced the publication of the present volume.” Hill also critiques fellow exercise writer, Donald Walker, whose “Manly Exercises” and “Exercises for Ladies” were at the time the most well-known works covering the subject. Hill accuses Walker of writing “vaguely and unsatisfactorily explained” descriptions of the exercise routines. Hill’s work, on the other hand, provides readers with a step-by-step illustrated guide: how to hold your clubs, the correct standing position, the basic movements required, and the more advanced exercises.

Beyond the exercises themselves, Hill recommends a specific diet for those who are actively in training, suggests proper clothing to be worn for exercise, and provides specifications and requirements for the construction of a gymnasium in which to train.

Finding success in vaudeville performance, Hill soon made the move to show business management, where he produced musical comedies, burlesques, cartoon theatricals, and variety shows. He even ventured into film production in 1914, though it was a short-lived enterprise. While Hill was immensely successful in these other endeavors, his love of performing with weighted clubs outlasted them all. Hill continued to perform his club swinging feats for charitable causes well into the 1930s before passing away in 1937 at the age of 79.

So, as we reassess our resolutions for the year ahead, perhaps we can gain renewed inspiration to commit to our health through the delightful routines outlined by a champion club-swinger of days gone by.

 

Sources and Further Reading

Hill, Gus, 1858-1937. Gus Hill’s champion club-swinging and dumb-bell manual: a complete guide by which any one can learn these healthy exercises, as it contains instructions in everything appertaining to these useful and beneficial accomplishments, together with the requirements and construction of the gymnasium. New York: New York Popular Pub. Co., [1880?].

Walker, Donald. Exercises for ladies. London, T. Hurst, 1836.

Walker, Donald. Walker’s manly exercises; containing rowing, sailing, riding, driving, and other manly sports. 7th ed. London, W. S. Orr & co., 1843.

 

 

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