12 Vintage Gym Classes That Wouldn’t Exist Today
These vanished gym classes reflect the weird, wild, and sometimes reckless side of fitness history.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
Many of these trends were born out of novelty, pseudoscience, or changing cultural norms, and they thrived for a moment before fizzling out. From vibrating belts to nude group workouts, the vintage gym scene pushed boundaries in ways today’s safety codes, lawsuits, and cultural awareness would never allow. Still, they remind us how fitness has always been about more than just exercise — it’s a mirror of society’s quirks, obsessions, and blind spots.
1. Jazzercise with Leotards and Leg Warmers
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Before Zumba or HIIT, there was Jazzercise, where the workout felt more like a Broadway warm-up than exercise. It peaked in the 1980s with women decked out in neon bodysuits, dancing to pop hits in synchrony. Today’s gyms might still offer dance cardio, but the dramatic fashion and theatrical vibe of those original classes would likely seem over-the-top or outdated now.
2. Cigarette-Friendly Fitness Classes
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Yes, this actually happened. In some mid-century European spas and health centers, it wasn’t unusual to see fitness classes where participants smoked casually between reps or during cooldowns. Health standards eventually caught up, and the bizarre fusion of cigarettes and sit-ups went extinct.
3. Passive Slimming Machines (Vibrating Belt Classes)
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These group classes involved standing still while a belt jiggled your belly fat in hopes of slimming it away. Invented in the early 20th century and reaching peak popularity in the ’50s and ’60s, these machines were once a gym staple. Science debunked the effectiveness, and now they’re seen more as retro museum pieces than exercise tools.
4. Nude Co-Ed Fitness Classes
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Some free-spirited 1970s health clubs in California offered nude exercise classes under the belief that it promoted body positivity and freedom. Men and women worked out together, completely unclothed, in dimly lit studios. While it was real and even advertised, it would be an HR nightmare today.
5. Prancercise Sessions
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Created in the 1980s but revived in the early 2010s, Prancercise involved trotting and swinging arms with the flair of a show pony. It was marketed as a “springy, rhythmic way of moving forward,” and while it had brief YouTube fame, it originally began in small group classes. It was eccentric, earnest, and ultimately faded as quickly as it galloped in.
6. High Heel Aerobics
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In the late 1980s and early ’90s, some boutique gyms experimented with aerobics in high heels, aiming to combine fashion and fitness. Participants jumped and lunged in stilettos, thinking it toned different muscle groups. Unsurprisingly, ankle injuries and lawsuits led to its swift disappearance.
7. Co-Ed Body Toning with Electric Muscle Stimulators
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In some 1970s gym chains, group classes featured EMS belts that shocked abdominal and leg muscles while you lay on mats and “relaxed.” Promoted as high-tech and time-saving, these sessions cost a fortune and felt more like mild torture than a fitness breakthrough. Today, EMS is still used in rehab settings, but not like this.
8. Toning Table Circuits
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In the ’60s and ’70s, women’s-only gyms featured circuits of “toning tables,” where machines moved your limbs for you while you sat or lay down. The promise was a full-body sculpt with zero effort or sweat. These passive machines were eventually phased out as exercise science proved that results required actual exertion.
9. Face Yoga Classes with Group Grunting
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Believe it or not, some beauty-centric gyms once offered facial exercise classes involving exaggerated grimaces, cheek lifts, and loud vocalizations. Think lion poses mixed with synchronized jaw movements. While face yoga has online followers today, few gyms offer full classes filled with collective groans and eye-roll drills.
10. Cultural Dance Slim-Downs with Questionable Authenticity
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In the ’80s and ’90s, gyms cashed in on “exotic” dance workouts that borrowed loosely from belly dancing, African tribal rhythms, or Hawaiian hula. These classes often lacked any cultural accuracy and relied on stereotypes for choreography. Today’s fitness world is far more conscious of appropriation, making these old routines relics of a less sensitive era.
11. Calisthenics in Military Formation
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In the 1940s and ’50s, gym classes mimicked boot camp drills, with barked commands, synchronized jumping jacks, and group push-ups done in rhythm. There was little personalization or attention to safety — just a uniform workout that assumed everyone had the same ability. Modern gyms favor individualized pacing and a gentler approach.
12. Co-Ed Sauna Stretch Classes
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Some health clubs in the 1970s ran stretch or yoga-inspired classes inside large communal saunas. The idea was to detoxify while improving flexibility, but the extreme heat combined with minimal clothing and close proximity created awkward situations. Today, infrared yoga might offer a safer version, but the original sweaty, intimate setups are gone for good.