The fitness pioneer known for opening the first modern health club in the United States in 1936 was Jack LaLanne.
At age 21, LaLanne opened the Jack LaLanne Physical Culture Studio in Oakland, California. The club offered supervised weight training, exercise instruction, and nutrition advice at a time when weightlifting was often viewed with suspicion. Doctors sometimes warned patients that lifting weights could make them muscle-bound or cause health problems.
LaLanne helped make organized fitness more accessible, including for women, whom he encouraged to train with weights. He designed or popularized equipment such as pulley systems, leg-extension machines, and an early version of the Smith machine. His clubs later expanded widely and were eventually licensed to Bally.
His influence reached far beyond gyms. The Jack LaLanne Show ran nationally from 1951 to 1985, demonstrating simple exercises for home audiences. Richard Simmons became a prominent fitness personality decades later, while Joe Weider was chiefly associated with bodybuilding publishing and competitions.