Inflatable ball

The notion of a light, inflatable and round object first took hold in medieval Europe, when the bladders of pigs would be kept, dried, blown up and feature in a game in which the participants would keep the object in the air using hands and feet.

By the mid-19th century, the rules of various sports were being made more uniform, and the equipment along with it.  But a standardised ball wasn’t possible until Charles Goodyear, of tyre fame, patented vulcanised rubber in 1836. The rubber ball, designed by Goodyear in 1855, eliminated the element of unpredictability caused by irregularly shaped balls.

However, it wasn’t until 1862 that the first inflatable bladder for insertion into the ball was developed by H.J. Lindon, who, legend has it, invented the India rubber version after his wife died of lung disease from blowing up infected pig bladders; the Lindons were involved in the manufacture of early rugby balls using the pig bladders.

Weights

Eugen Sandow has been dubbed the “father” of modern bodybuilding. He amazed audiences in the late 19th century with his perfect physique. But Sandow was also a key figure in synthesising ideas about weight training that modern CrossFitters would recognise – he was probably more strength athlete than bodybuilder. He took part in a strongman contest in London at 21, and beat the reigning champion easily. He achieved victories over champion wrestlers as well, in the days when wrestling was solely an authentic sporting pursuit.

Sandow was a scholar of physical development, and as with many of them, he delved into ancient Greece, and the “gymnasium”, studying its methods. He’d visit museums for his own, very specific, reasons. He invented his own apparatus for physical development, going beyond the dead weights that were the current trend. These novel devices included weights with spring grips that targeted wrist strength, and rubber bands for stretching exercises.