gym

thumb|Inside a gymnasium in Amsterdam A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term "gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational institutions. "Gym" is also the commonly used name for a "fitness centre" or health club, which is often an area for indoor recreation. A "gym" may include or describe adjacent open air areas as well. In Western countries, "gyms" often describe places with indoor or outdoor courts for basketball, hockey, tennis, boxing or wrestling, and with equipment and machines used for physical development training, or to do exercises. In many European countries, Gymnasium (and variations of the word) also can describe a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university, with or without the presence of athletic courts, fields, or equipment.

==Overview== thumb|Students of Texas Woman's University practicing in their university gymnasium, 2011 thumb|The Varpaisjärvi Sports Hall in Lapinlahti, [[Finland]] In Gymnasiums, apparatus such as barbells, bumper plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands, jumping boards, running paths, tennis balls, cricket fields, and fencing areas are used for exercises. Outdoor settings are healthiest when the weather is safe. Gyms were popular in ancient Greece. Their curricula included self-defense, gymnastics medica, or physical therapy to help the sick and injured, and for physical fitness and sports, from boxing to dancing to skipping rope.