As a new year begins – with best intentions to be fitter and healthier – we look back at how ‘keep fit’ in Tayside has changed through the years.
While smart watches, virtual personal trainers and on-demand classes are now the go-to for fitness, it’s clear from these old photos we’ve come a long way!
From jazzercise to gym training, weightlifting and roller skating to toning tables and even Lolobal, Taysiders have tried it all…
The 1960s
This scene from Dundee’s Lawside Academy girls gym class in May 1966 will bring back memories for many.
Long before the days of PE in school being a multitude of choice from swimming to track sports, we had the high bars or ‘the apparatus’ as many called it.
Folding flat against the walls, these climbing bars, with attachments, were wheeled out and ‘snibbed’ into the gym hall floor. Glory usually went to whoever could climb the ropes!
Meanwhile, weekends were spent at ice rinks in Perth, Dundee or, in cold weather, a nearby frozen pond.
1970s
The decade saw an explosion of women’s exercise classes.
This group of Dundee mums, in May 1971, use hoops in their keep-fit class while their children play in the crèche with nursery nurse Helen Hamilton.
And leader Janet Martin shows pupils how it’s done in September 1977 at the first night of the Scottish Women’s Keep Fit Association in Park Place Primary, Dundee.
While the image below that shows tutor Doreen Winer providing tap dancing classes at Fintry Community Centre on November 1, 1978.
1980s
Community centres and all kinds of gym equipment for the home became all the rage in the 1980s.
This photo shows gym-goers in action at Ancrum Karate School and Gymnasium, Seagate, Dundee in May 1985.
And Ardler Weight Training Club were getting set for the Northern Championships in August 1986.
Lycra, leggings and leotards became the must-have item for exercising in – as seen in this Dundee YMCA yoga class from February 16, 1982.
While leg-warmers were essential for any self-respecting roller skater at Dundee’s Rollerama in North Lindsay Street. That image was taken in November 1981.
And Dundee didn’t miss out on the keep fit craze sweeping Europe in March 1986 – the Loloball.
The air-filled ball with a rim round it large enough for a person to stand on – if their balance is good enough – promises to ‘strengthen legs and flatten tummies’.
1990s
Dance keep fit of all types – from jazzercise to zumba – were the ‘in’ classes during the ’90s. And Dorothy Dobson’s over-60s exercise sessions became a local hit.
Yoga, pilates, celebrity aerobics videos and fitness bootcamps also continued to grow in popularity.
And those with less energy opted for the Aqua Sana in Dundee’s old Olympia leisure centre. Toning tables – where the machine took the strain – were the latest trend.
If you liked this piece you’ll also enjoy: A nostalgic look back at nursing in Dundee and Winter wonderland: Dundee under a blanket of snow in winters of yesteryear.
