23 Photos of What Gym Class Looked Like in the '60s and '70s

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 12/01/2024 in wow

Gym class or physical education as it's known on NPR, is an amalgamation of state administered tests, safety-first dodgeball games, and zero-elimination layup lines, where participation is all but optional.

School systems once took fitness seriously. From difficult calisthenics, to literal boot camps, to lots and lots of ropes, here are 23 photos of gym classes from the '60s and '70s.

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1.
Gym class in the 1970s.
2.
A U.S. public elementary school gym class.
3.
4.
5.
1961, students stretch as they do windmills.
6.
7.
Teacher helps elementary students support each other during movements, 1973.
8.
Smoking in gym class, Long Island, 1977.
9.
A PE class in the 1960s.
10.
Boys and girls exercise together during a co-ed class in 1975.
11.
12.
13.
“The big parachute in gym class was the best thing about elementary school in the ‘70s.”
14.
15.
Students of the La Sierra P.E. system in the 1960s, considered the most difficult in the country, and created in response to World War II and growing Cold War tensions.
16.
17.
High school fitness in the 1960s.
18.
Gym class pull-ups, 1961.
19.
Girls and boys gym, Wyoming Memorial High, PA, 1960.
20.
21.
22.
23.

1.
Gym class in the 1970s.
2.
A U.S. public elementary school gym class.
3.
4.
5.
1961, students stretch as they do windmills.
6.
7.
Teacher helps elementary students support each other during movements, 1973.
8.
Smoking in gym class, Long Island, 1977.
9.
A PE class in the 1960s.
10.
Boys and girls exercise together during a co-ed class in 1975.
11.
12.
13.
“The big parachute in gym class was the best thing about elementary school in the ‘70s.”
14.
15.
Students of the La Sierra P.E. system in the 1960s, considered the most difficult in the country, and created in response to World War II and growing Cold War tensions.
16.
17.
High school fitness in the 1960s.
18.
Gym class pull-ups, 1961.
19.
Girls and boys gym, Wyoming Memorial High, PA, 1960.
20.
21.
22.
23.