Dublin Core
Title
Exercise Wheel
Subject
Social Cultural
Description
Health and exercise equipment fads, like this wheel, have come and gone for decades, all to help people achieve better fitness. During the 1960’s, the “Reduce a Wheel” was created, produced by the Baruch Manufacturing Company. Although a simple design, it promised to give people “health and happiness” while flattening the stomach and strengthening the abs.
During the 1970’s and the 1980’s, fitness celebrities, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jane Fonda, and Richard Simmons made exercise more fun, appealing, and mainstream. Home equipment such as stationary bicycles, weights, and treadmills were used. By the 1990’s, ab rollers and other abdominal workouts became popular. Don Brown created a more modern version of the Ab Wheel in 1994, which was used to help people strengthen their core muscles, but the product itself did not guarantee the user better abs.
In addition to home fitness, wellness trends led to a boom of membership-gyms opening. Planet Fitness on East Main Street became the most recent addition to the city’s fitness landscape. Waukesha’s Park Recreation and Forestry Department also offer fitness and wellness classes throughout the year.
Donor: Ruth Zimmerman
During the 1970’s and the 1980’s, fitness celebrities, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jane Fonda, and Richard Simmons made exercise more fun, appealing, and mainstream. Home equipment such as stationary bicycles, weights, and treadmills were used. By the 1990’s, ab rollers and other abdominal workouts became popular. Don Brown created a more modern version of the Ab Wheel in 1994, which was used to help people strengthen their core muscles, but the product itself did not guarantee the user better abs.
In addition to home fitness, wellness trends led to a boom of membership-gyms opening. Planet Fitness on East Main Street became the most recent addition to the city’s fitness landscape. Waukesha’s Park Recreation and Forestry Department also offer fitness and wellness classes throughout the year.
Donor: Ruth Zimmerman
Publisher
Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum
Date
1960’s
Rights
Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum