Vintage Photos of People Working Out Through the Years

Here's proof that cycling has been popular for a very long time: This is a photo from March 1921 featuring a woman on a stationary bike. Her outfit might look odd now, but back then, it was pretty standard for women to wear outfits of "leisure," and heels or loafers (Adidas sneakers weren't exactly a thing yet).

Boxing was a huge and popular sport in America in the 1920s. This is a photo of Harry Wills training at Grupp's Gym for a big match.

Multi-tasking as a mom looked slightly different in the 1920s. In this photo, a mom gets some exercise with an innovative cycle pram that allows her to ride a bike and take baby for a walk at the same time. A little bulky, but it gets the job done!

Overall, the 1920s wasn't a huge time for exercise. There was an emphasis on stretching and using machines like this one instead of being overly athletic. This is like a Vibo-Slim, a vibrating machine that was used to "slim" the body.

This photo from New York City in 1928 shows chorus girls from the "Lady, Be Good" show in a gym on "reducing" tables. Back then, if you wanted to lose weight, you said you wanted to "reduce" weight, or that you were on a "reduction diet."

While dance may not have been thought of as a workout, exactly, it was always a popular way to be active. This photo shows the Isalde and Alexis dancing group practicing outside on a sunny day in June back in 1929.

This photo from 1930 shows women exercising in the gym area of the Victoria Transatlantic, which was a popular passenger ship at the time. As you can see, the exercise machines were very different from what we're used to today.

This Fitness-Parade from 1930 promotes physical education in London. It was in the 1930s that boutique fitness classes started to become popular as famous women began to make working out seem trendy.

Taken in September 1936, this photo shows a fitness instructor teaching a class of female teachers in a "keep fit" class at Loughborough College. Note the dresses!

Keep Fit was part of a large national fitness initiative in England. This photo shows a group of women training to become Keep Fit leaders at Milton Mount College in Crawley.

Regular exercise was definitely more popular in the 1940s, but that didn't mean you should look like you were exerting yourself. Stretching was still a huge exercise trend, mainly because women were advised not to look sweaty while working out. A lot of images, like this one, show women luxuriously stretching in their homes.

This photo from 1942 shows a gymnast on rings at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The gymnastics rings were popular in the '40s.

Women were still wearing dresses to exercise, even in the 1940s. This image shows a woman with perfect hair and makeup, exercising on a workout machine typical of the times in a dress.

Women weren't interested in defining or growing their muscles through fitness in the 1940s. This image of Ziegfeld dancer and actress Susanne Remos stretching to stay slim shows the biggest fitness trend of the decade.

In the 1950s, yoga became more popular in the US when Walt and Magana Baptiste opened a West Coast yoga studio. Yogi Indra Devi also opened a popular yoga studio in Hollywood that attracted a lot of attention, which is where this photo was taken.

The 1950s was also a decade when women became more interested in more active forms of exercise as opposed to just stretching. This photo from 1952 features Clem Folkman's "Health Studio" in Cleveland, Ohio, where women were taught various exercises, including ones that involved light weights.

As exercise became more active, it makes sense that workout clothes changed too. Wearing dresses while working out started to become a thing of the past, and women began wearing more short one-piece outfits, like this romper shown here.

Women also began wearing comfortable clothes like leggings and leotards while in fitness classes. This image shows a group of women in a class in New York taught by Bonnie Prudeen, director of the Institute of Physical Fitness in White Plains.

According to Harper's Bazaar, the 1960s was when "sweat became sexy." Exercise became much more popular and it became more acceptable to get sweaty during a workout.