In the 19th century, two gymnastic methods were mentioned: 1) the fourth, performed by students in the classroom among the desks, composed of local...

In the 19th century, two gymnastic methods were mentioned: 1) the fourth, performed by students in the classroom among the desks, composed of localized exercises aimed at improving health; and 2) German gymnastics (introduced in 1852 for soldiers), which aimed at the physical conditioning of male students, through the use of acrobatic exercises requiring discipline and a certain degree of muscular hypertrophy (ARANTES, 2002).

No século XIX, dois métodos ginásticos foram citados: a de quarto e a ginástica alemã.
A ginástica alemã objetivava o condicionamento físico dos alunos do sexo masculino, pela utilização de exercícios acrobáticos exigindo disciplina e certo grau de hipertrofia muscular.