Let's get physical! Tour this 1983 fitness club full of big hair and short shorts

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Let's get physical! Tour this 1983 fitness club full of big hair and short shorts

Our Eyewitness News reporter checked out the Biofitness Institute in Manhattan back on September 12, 1983, an experience today's gym users wouldn't understand.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Get ready for big hair, short shorts, and tight headbands.

Before there was Crossfit or Crunch, there was Biofitness. Who needs a pool when you can immerse yourself in a flotation tank at the Biofitness Institute in Manhattan?

We're opening up the Eyewitness News Vault to show you this fitness center that anticipated the gym membership craze.

It was so different, you had to get your doctor's permission to attend, and you had to undergo tests before starting, including being fully dunked in a vat of water to determine your body fat.

This report, a cool time capsule of 1980s fitness and fashion trends, aired on Sept. 12, 1983, exactly 36 years ago.

For more vintage WABC-TV news coverage, CLICK HERE to check out our Eyewitness News Vault on YouTube.

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