The purpose of this essay is to explain how people looked on physical and athletic ideals in two athletic associations in Karlstad during the 1930´s; BK25 and Karlstads Gymnastik-förening. The purpose is also to examine if there were any differences between the two associations, considering the fact that BK25 (a boxing club) represents a working class sport and Karlstads Gymnastikförening (a gymnastic club) represents a more middle class sport. In order to examine the mentality during the 1930´s of these associations, the essay is both thematically and chronological defined. In the boxing club, the athletes practised for competition, while the athletes in the gymnastic club saw there practise as a way of achieving balance between physical and mental health. The members of the boxing club were most working class men, while the members of the gymnastic club all had a middle class or a more “upper class” background. Because boxing is a sport characterised by facial injuries, it wasn’t a proper sport for the middle class or upper class people to practise. The workers on the other hand, perhaps didn’t care about this. A major difference between the two associations is that the leaders of the gymnastic club wanted to make their members “good citizens” through physical training. In the boxing club, the members and leaders sighted for competition, and were anxious to look after their club’s reputation. My opinion is that by looking in the archive material, one can see that the mood and the atmosphere in the gymnastic club were very bombastic and pompous. In the boxing club, on the other hand, the atmosphere was more based on brotherhood and companionship.