Medicine Ball
The medicine ball is not used in games. It's a large, heavy ball whose purpose is strictly for exercise. The name "medicine" merely alludes to the fact that exercise is good for your health.
(German man exercising with medicine ball by Kuni Sturm, 1927)
Although medicine balls were used starting in the late 1800s, they seem to have really become popular in the German FKK movement (Freikörperkultur, or free body culture), which flourished in Germany in the 1920s. Here we see a bunch of German men with medicine balls photographed by Kuni Sturm in 1928.
In this follow-up photo by Sturm, the men are throwing the heavy balls up in the air. The FKK movement advocated nudity, exercise, and healthy living, and it promoted the benefits of exposing the naked body to the sun and air.
Another German photographer of that same era who photographed men exercising with medicine balls was Gerhard Riebicke. Above is Athlete with Ball, 1930.
This Riebicke photo is Man with Ball, 1925.
This 1932 Riebecke photo shows five men with medicine balls.
And this 1932 action shot shows a man running on a beach with a medicine ball. I stole this and the previous photo from my friend Jerry's blog Vintage Muscle Men. Thanks, Jerry!
The photo above is a German bodybuilder c. 1930s, not attributed but possibly by Riebicke.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they Initially banned nudism as degenerate. But the FKK ideas of healthy nudism had become deeply ingrained in Germany. Hans Suren, a major in the SS, promoted these ideas, and his books became popular in Nazi circles. Above is the cover of his 1935 book Kraftgymnastik (Gymnastic Strength) showing Suren himself posing with a medicine ball. By the end of the 1930s, Nazi leaders had been persuaded that FKK ideas were consistent with Nazi ideas of the strong Aryan race, and by 1942 nude swimming was officially permitted again.
The FKK ideals of healthy nudism still resonate in German culture, and to this day, Germany is perhaps the most tolerant country in the world of public nudity.
I have no info on this photo, but I'm guessing that is is also from Germany in the 1920s or 1930s.
I don't know when or where this was taken. The medicine ball looks different from the ones in the German photos.
This photo was dated 1960s. Apparently some people were still throwing medicine balls around in the nude.
The medicine ball is not a common form of exercise any more, but as this recent photo shows, it's not totally extinct.
5 comments:
Thank you for this extensive reporting!
That one photo with the Different" medicine ball...I THINK it was taken somewhere on Long Island in the 40s or 50s. I just can't remember where I've seen it before. Anyway, Larry, it's a great posting, very enjoyable.
Herr Suren has a nice body. Did he show his maleness on the inside of the magazine. Judging from the stretch of that strap, he wasn't cheated in that department.
The book is illustrated with a few photos of clothed females and over a hundred photos of nearly nude males, mostly Herr Suren himself, but he is wearing a posing strap throughout, so no frontal nudity.
You're welcome, Larry! I'm very pleased that you were able to use some of my photos. It's far more typical for the generosity to run in the other direction, lol.
Post a Comment