Before Fitbits and fancy bikes

So let’s start here…
​
Long before Fitbits.
Long before Peloton screens.
Long before step counts and heart rate zones.
​
Technology was already shaping how we moved.
​
About 150 years ago, one of the most revolutionary pieces of movement technology was… a bicycle.
​
In the late 1800s, the “safety bicycle” changed everything. It wasn’t just transportation. It was independence. Especially for women. For many, it was the first time their bodies could move freely beyond walking distance.
​
And yet — not everyone rode.

​My grandmother was introduced to the bicycle in her lifetime. It was new. It was modern. It was a big shift.
​
She never learned to ride.
​
And that’s important.
​
Because technology doesn’t automatically change behaviour. It only creates possibility.
​
In the early 1900s, pulley systems and spring resistance machines began appearing in gymnasiums.
​
After World War I, Joseph Pilates refined spring-based equipment while working with injured soldiers — using resistance to restore function. Springs allowed people to load the body in a controlled way. It was structured. Intentional.
​
Later came vibration belt machines — the kind that wrapped around your hips and “shook” you into fitness. There was a belief that technology could do the work for you. I can't tell you how many people have told me their grandparent or parent used a vibration belt machine!

Here’s what I see all the time…
​
Every generation believes their version of exercise technology is revolutionary.
​
And in some ways, it is.
​
But what’s important to understand here is this:
Technology doesn’t replace awareness.
​
It doesn’t replace dosage.
​
And it doesn’t replace the relationship you have with your body.
​
From a movement perspective, technology has always been a tool.
​
A dial — not a switch.
It can turn intensity up.
It can make movement more accessible.
It can make it more engaging.
But it cannot decide for you what your body needs today.
​
So I’m curious…
What was the first piece of “exercise technology” you remember?
Was it a bicycle?
A home gym machine in the basement?
One of those shaking belts?
A VHS tape?
​

Comment below and tell me. I’d genuinely love to hear your story.
​
Next week, we’ll move into the era when music changed everything.
​
Because once exercise became portable…
It became personal.
​
And that changed the game entirely.
​
Stay well and happy moving,
Lisa