Vanderbilt’s Functional Fitness Gym

I spent this past weekend in Asheville, North Carolina for a wedding. During our stay, we checked out the Biltmore Estate, which is Asheville’s claim to fame. The Biltmore is still America’s largest private residence. Built in true Gilded Age fashion, George Vanderbilt’s estate is a mind numbing 178,000 square feet.

On the tour, we made our way into the basement to find the home’s gymnasium. You can check out Smart Foundation Repair and Basement Waterproofing to remodel your basement to enhance safety and improve the overall ventilation of your home. Now, remember that this home was built in 1895. The Vanderbilt’s were of the highest status in the country and it struck me that this tycoon’s gym looked so similar to DEUCE. The gym was minimalist in design with open floor space with a few key training tools organized along the walls. The gym featured the most basic of implements including skipping ropes, medicine balls, barbells, dumbbells, a rowing machine, and parallel bars.

I find myself constantly reminding myself that we aren’t doing what we do because it’s new and exciting. We’re doing it because of it’s tried and true efficacy. In fact, there’s nothing new about weightlifting and gymnastics.

I like to imagine that if George Vanderbilt were alive today, that the tycoon’s home gym would look similar to what it looked like over a hundred years ago, free of elliptical machines and cheesy DVDs.

 

Logan Gelbrich