Getting Back in Shape with 19th century Calisthenics: Eleven Swedish Free Gymnastic Exercises - E05

In this video, for the first time, we begin a number of Swedish "free" gymnastic exercises as part of a new workout routine, taken from the classic 19th Century calisthenics method developed by Pehr Henrik Ling (1776-1839), who influenced countless aspects of 19th century physical culture in both Europe and America, as well as other physical culture methods and the use of dumbbells, wands, and Indian clubs.

This represents Day 3 of the "Getting Back in Shape" experimental series in which we use a variety of historical physical fitness methods from the past to get back into shape. The previous video in the series, containing a brief history of the 19th century Swedish method, can be viewed here:

   • What are 19th Century Calisthenics and Swe...  

If you want to know how and why we’re doing this whole series, I encourage you to watch the first introductory video about it here:

   • Do 19th Century Historical Physical Fitnes...  

If you're interested in historical (non-Swedish) calisthenic exercises, check out this other series on our channel, from 1914 and 1922:
   • Old Timey Workout from 1922  
   • 1914 Home Workout - Edwardian Era Calisthe...  

Stay tuned for the next episode on historical dumbbells!

DISCLAIMER:

This series is for historical interest only. It is not intended to be instructional, and is not a replacement for a qualified instructor or therapist who can guide, observe and correct you in person. The original historical directions for these exercises, which are not fully quoted and explored in the video, are very precise—the positioning, alignment of the joints, feet, hands, etc.. And if you get that wrong, it’s definitely possible to injure yourself.

This video is an EXPERIMENT, and many of these historical methods are as of yet untested in modern times. I don’t even know if I’m going to recommend them myself after practicing them for weeks or months. It is possible they could lead to injury.

I have and will be using the actual antique apparatus intended for these methods. I can tell you that if you swap out the light wooden historical apparatus that you see me use in the videos with heavy modern mass-produced apparatus, such as modern clubs or dumbbells, it is definitely possible (if not probable) to injure yourself.

For all of these reasons I caution you not to try to follow along and do these exercises at home, but to perform such exercises only under the supervision of a qualified and experienced instructor or master. For the benefit of viewers, I will be linking to such instructors and masters in some of these videos.