Gymnastik, idrott och fysisk fostran i värnpliktsarmén 1901–2010 : Gymnastik- och idrottsutbildningens roll sett ur handböcker, instruktioner och reglementen inom ramen för arméns värnpliktsutbildning

Swedish conscription has been extensively discussed in research. Despite this, there remain gaps in knowledge, particularly with respect to how the army utilized physical training and gymnastics to prepare servicemen. This bachelor’s thesis examines how the Swedish Army’s gymnastics and physical training program has changed, been used, and described in its training of conscripts from 1901 to 2010, through a qualitative text and image analysis. The purpose of the study is to investigate how gymnastics and sports education have been used, described, and transformed within the Swedish Army’s conscription training during this period. To analyze and organize the source material, this study uses James D. Campbell’s thesis “The Army Isn't All Work”: Physical Culture in the Evolution of the British Army, 1860–1920 as a theoretical framework. Campbell’s work provides insight into the broader context of military physical culture, which is instrumental in understanding the Swedish Army’s evolving approach to physical education. The study shows that Ling’s gymnastics system dominated the physical training program until the 1960s and 1970s, after which there was a shift towards strength training and work techniques with the introduction of the BRAK training program. Additionally, the study shows that prophylaxis was gradually incorporated from the 1960s and became a central component of physical education by the 1990s. However, prophylaxis remained a part of the physical training program throughout the entire study period. Despite these changes, the overarching purpose of the Army’s gymnastics and physical training program, to enhance soldiers combat readiness, remained consistent throughout the century.