The 24 Biggest Fitness Trends Through the Decades

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

Unconventional (and not always effective) workouts date back decades and have included everything from Hula Hooping to wearing toning shoes. Here are 24 of the biggest and weirdest fitness trends over the years; some have thankfully been left behind, and others have aged as well as Jane Fonda herself.

(Photos via ullstein bild/Getty, Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty, Getty, Waring Abbott/Getty)

1950s: Hula Hooping: Hula Hoops exploded in popularity in the late '50s, when California toy Wham-O company made and successfully marketed a plastic version. The hoop's history goes way back though: It has been a pastime for adults and children since the time of ancient Greeks and Egyptians. (Photo via ullstein bild/Getty)

1960s: Crazy Machines: The '60s were a dream come true for lazy exercisers. There was the vibrating belt, which promised maximum workout benefits with minimal effort. The user would put a thick band around their targeted body part and simply "massage" their fat away. One ad even claimed "the light action of the belt is pleasant and refreshing." Another machine was the Trim Twist, which was a rotating board you stood on to twist and trim down your waist. Note to self: If it's too good to be true, it probably is. (Photo via Three Lions/Getty)

1970s: Jazzercise: The OG dance workout, Jazzercise was created by Judi Sheppard Missett in 1969 as a fitness class disguised as fun. The workout is a combination of dance, cardio, strength, and kickboxing, all set to heart-pumping jams. Missett still runs the Jazzercise company as CEO and teaches weekly classes. (Photo via Bob Riha Jr/Getty)

1970s: Roller Skating: Roller skates were first patented in 1760, but plastic wheels and disco music helped create a new boom in the '70s. It was also popularized in Hollywood movies such as Patrick Swayze's Skatetown USA, Linda Blair's Roller Boogie, and Olivia Newton-John's Xanadu. (Photo via Waring Abbott/Getty)

1980s: Jane Fonda's Workout: The '80s were a time of big hair, leg warmers, and aerobics. Developed by Dr. Kenneth Cooper in the '60s as a way to improve the cardiovascular system, aerobics took off when Jane Fonda released her 1982 exercise video, which became the best-selling VHS tape of all time. Clearly, the cardio class has worked for Fonda — the 79-year-old still looks amazing.

1980s: Nordic Track: The Nordic Track cardio machine was created by Edward and Florence Pauls in 1975, primarily as a way for engineer Edward to train for and beat a friend in a cross country ski race. The once-mail-order company was bought by CML Corporation in 1986, and the Nordic Track was then mass-marketed via infomercials, becoming an iconic home fitness machine. The company eventually went bankrupt and closed all their retail stores, but it has since changed owners again and still sells a few exercise machines.

1980s: Sweatin' to the Oldies: Richard Simmon's exercise routine — along with his signature curly locks, bedazzled tank tops, and short-shorts — debuted in 1988. As described in the name, the workout was a dance routine set to oldies music, but the true draw was the high-energy, genuinely positive Simmons himself. (Photo via Harry Langdon/Getty)

1990s: 8-Minute Abs: Don't have a lot of time but still want ripped abs? This '90s VHS workout video starred its creator and encouraging trainer Jamie Brenkus (along with a couple of other spandex-clad people) doing a series of nine different ab exercises, 45 seconds each, with an eight-minute counter on the lower-left screen. If you had another extra eight minutes here and there, later you could also target other parts of the body with 8-Minute Buns or 8-Minute Legs. Brenkus, at age 55 and under 10 percent body fat, is still doing personal training. (Photo via Amazon)

1990s: Ab Roller: The Ab Roller was a curved rocking contraption with a headrest, invented in 1994 by Don Brown, designed to help people do crunches without straining their neck or back (so... for people who are terrible at doing crunches?). It became a staple of living rooms and inspired other core-targeting tools like the Ab Glider and Ab Rocket. You can still get an updated version of the original, the Ab Roller Evolution.

1990s: Boot Camp Classes: Camouflage fatigues not required, boot-camp-style exercise classes gained popularity in the '90s. Loosely inspired by military training, the classes were designed to encourage teamwork, allow for few breaks, and produce results. Studios like Barry's Bootcamp have taken the idea mainstream, combining treadmill runs with strength training in a 60-minute sweat-inducing session (and the instructors are more motivating and less drill-sergeant-y). (Photo via Barry's Bootcamp)

1990s: Bowflex: If you were watching TV in the '90s, you most likely saw countless Bowflex commercials. Created in 1986, the machine was designed to bring a premium but compact gym experience right to your home. Instead of bulky weights and pulleys, the Bowflex used a combination of polymer rods to create tension and resistance. The machines were extremely popular in the '90s but had a number of recalls in the 2000s.

1990s: Buns of Steel: Inspired by some of the lower body strengthening exercises he used as a former world class pole vaulter, Greg Smithey developed a workout video with 50 different exercises to tone and tighten your booty into catchphrase-worthy "buns of steel." The original VHS version has since been upgraded to a DVD format, if you want to try this throwback workout.

1990s: Tae Bo:Tae Bo, a full-body cardio workout that combined tae kwon do with boxing and set the routine to hip hop music, was developed by fitness guru and martial artist Billy Blanks. He began teaching the classes in a fitness center in Los Angeles, which attracted celebrity clients like Paula Abdul and Brooke Shields. Blanks later released his super-popular workout videos, selling 1.5 million copies his first year, and spent a week in the Bahamas with Oprah. He still makes workout videos and teaches classes. (Photo via Billy Blanks)

1990s: ThighMaster: The at-home workout device was designed to be squeezed in between your thighs to create toned, lean legs like those of its celebrity endorser Suzanne Somers. Although Somers has since expanded the product line to include a ButtMaster, written diet books, and done a stint on Dancing With the Stars, she'll forever be associated with the original ThighMaster. (Photo via Suzanne Somers)

2000s: Cross Fit:Cross Fit was founded in 2000 in Santa Cruz by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai. It's a high-intensity workout combining aerobic exercise, body weight exercises, and Olympic weightlifting. Cross Fit gyms are called boxes, and the sport is competitive and communal — people track their performances on a whiteboard. Love it or hate it, Cross Fit's popularity is undeniable, with competitions held all over the world. (Photo via Cross Fit)

2000s: Shake Weight: The Shake Weight, originally marketed to women who wanted Michelle Obama arms, is a weighted dumbbell that vibrates to actively engage your arm muscles (the secret was called "dynamic inertia"). The slightly NSFW and suggestive movement of the exercise became more buzzworthy than the actual effectiveness of the tool — it was parodied on Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and South Park, and it made appearances on talk shows with Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Kimmel. A version for men was also released, because shaking is an equal-opportunity exercise.

2000s: Sauna Suits: These waterproof suits look like giant trash bags, so they are definitely not here to make a fashion statement. They're designed to trap your body's heat to make you sweat profusely and drop several pounds of water weight after a workout session. Unless you're a boxer trying to make a certain weight class, there's no reason to wear one, especially since they can cause heat stroke, dehydration, and fainting. Plus, if you consume anything afterward, you're likely to put those pounds back on faster than you sweat them off.

2000s: Spinning: In 1989, South African Johnny Goldberg created the first stationary bike as a way to get the hundreds of hours of training required for a long long distance cycling race from his home. He opened the first Spin Centre in Santa Monica, CA in 1990 and trademarked the name "spinning," and we've never stopped tapping it back. Countless studios have popped up since and developed near cult-like followings; if you haven't heard of SoulCycle, let alone been to at least one class, you're not a true millennial. (Photo via SoulCycle)

2000s: Strip Aerobics: In 2001, celebrity trainer Jeff Costa created a Cardio Striptease class (tagline: "Warning: Cardio Striptease may also improve your (private) life"), basically an aerobic class for women to get some exercise in a PG-rated Showgirls type of way. From there, other similar sexy workouts took off, including pole dancing classes and Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease DVD collection. (Photo via Scott Gries/Getty)

2000s: Video Games: Leave it to Nintendo to get an entire population of video game players off the couch. With the Nintendo Wii Fit, you could do yoga, strength training, and aerobics using a balance board. The game sold 20 million copies worldwide and was used in nursing homes as a form of gentle exercise. The video game fitness trend resurged in the 2010s with the 2016 release of Pokemon Go, causing players to increase their walking mileage in order to find and catch more Pokemon. While certain sources claimed it did burn additional calories, Pokemon Go was also blamed for disastrous outcomes like breaking up relationships and walking off cliffs. (Photo via Nintendo Wii Fit)

2000s: Zumba: Created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in the '90s, Zumba is essentially a dancing fitness party combining hip-hop and moves from Latin dance styles like salsa, samba, and merengue. It became a worldwide phenomenon in the 2000s and now has classes in over 180 countries. There's even a five-day Zumba Cruise set in the Caribbean. (Photo via Zumba Fitness)

2010s: Prancercise: In 1989, Joanna Rohrback was walking down the boardwalk in Florida listening to Motown music on her Walkman, and she was inspired to get her body moving. What resulted was Prancercise, an aerobic workout that encourages carefree galloping, prancing, and movements that generally draw from a horse's gait. Rohrback's workout was unknown until a YouTube video she made went viral in 2013 (13M views and counting). Prancercise never took off as a major fitness trend, but Rohrback became an internet sensation and even starred in a John Mayer music video. (Photo via YouTube)

2010s: Toning Shoes: Because we needed to make the simple act of walking more challenging, toning shoes were designed with unstable curved soles. The idea behind them was that walking around like a wobbly newborn giraffe would burn more calories and tone your legs and butt. In 2011, Kim Kardashian (pre-West) became a celeb endorser for Skechers Shake-Ups and famously starred in their sexy 2011 Super Bowl commercial. Skechers later lost a class-action lawsuit for falsely claiming the shoes could help people lose more weight than regular sneakers, but Kardashian's shapely behind remained unaffected. (Photo via Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty)

2010s: Treadmill Bikes: If you've ever felt like running on a treadmill would be more satisfying if you were outside and actually went somewhere, there is a solution for you. Meet the the Lopifit, an electric bicycle powered by a treadmill developed by Bruin Bergmeester in Holland. It can go 42 miles on one charge and will cost you a cool $2,495. Elliptical machine users, fear not — there's also an EllipticGo. (Photo via Lopifit)

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

Unconventional (and not always effective) workouts date back decades and have included everything from Hula Hooping to wearing toning shoes. Here are 24 of the biggest and weirdest fitness trends over the years; some have thankfully been left behind, and others have aged as well as Jane Fonda herself.

What’s your favorite fitness craze? Share it with us @BritandCo!

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

Unconventional (and not always effective) workouts date back decades and have included everything from Hula Hooping to wearing toning shoes. Here are 24 of the biggest and weirdest fitness trends over the years; some have thankfully been left behind, and others have aged as well as Jane Fonda herself.

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

For as long as people have been working out, we’ve been trying to find ways to exercise that don’t seem like, well, work. Case in point: every type of yoga imaginable (beer, color, goat, cat, aerial, Harry Potter), dance parties, and even mermaid classes.

Unconventional (and not always effective) workouts date back decades and have included everything from Hula Hooping to wearing toning shoes. Here are 24 of the biggest and weirdest fitness trends over the years; some have thankfully been left behind, and others have aged as well as Jane Fonda herself.

What’s your favorite fitness craze? Share it with us @BritandCo!

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