The Origins of Fitness Culture and the Definition of Exercise

Society’s view on fitness swings wildly from era to era throughout history. There were times when caring about your body was considered feminine, times when it was masculine, times when it was patriotic, and times when that was too close to how ideologies we don’t like behave - so not caring about your body was patriotic, but there have been many shifts in the last hundred years alone.

Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture, an Associate Professor of History at The New School, and the author of two books, the latest of which is titled Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession. 

Natalia and Greg discuss how fitness has become part of a broader wellness movement. They discuss how access to fitness and attitudes around it has become reserved for the wealthy or privileged. Natalia details how PE offerings in schools have changed over the years to line up with different political attitudes and the fine line between professionalizing fitness instruction and limiting access to the profession.

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Episode Quotes:

The imperative of certification and licensing for health and fitness instructors

56:57: One of the biggest impediments to protecting people, both instructors and students, would be certification, real professional guidelines, and licensing. Because right now, fitness instructors and trainers are assuming this outsized role in people's lives with basically no guardrails, no instruction, or no laws governing that. You can sue if you hurt your neck in class, etc. But it's a wild west. And there's a lot of incentives for fitness professionals to actually be really zany and cross boundaries, because that creates this rapport in this very intimate relationship. You want that role in people's lives, but that can go wrong. And so, licensing and professional standards would help with that.

The fitness industry and the dimension of inclusivity

21:33: The gym evolves in how intimidating it becomes over time, but that remains a hallmark of a lot of people's gym experiences. And I should point out that in some ways, that's what the fitness industry is selling—a dimension of exclusivity.

The interplay between American lifestyle and exercise trends

05:58: One of the things that has really happened, that's emerged, that's helped propel this industry and this pressure to exercise, is that so many aspects of American life have become more sedentary. One of the reasons that we do have this class divide and who's thought to participate in exercise regularly is that the big moments when you have the expansion of the fitness industry always have to do with the expansion of the white-collar workforce.

Fitness and community should go hand in hand

51:15: We both know, coming out of the pandemic, that exercise is really good for you, but we know it was a big help with comorbidities and it's so important. But on the other hand, unfortunately, I think we hastened some of this privatization because we shut down parks and recreation centers. And we were like, "Oh, go do Peloton in your home; good luck with that," and that really isolated us and got rid of the community aspect, which is never perfectly inclusive, but I think it's really important.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• Katie Sandwina
• Charles Atlas
• Richard Simmons
• Muscle Beach
• Vic Tanny
• Jim Fixx
• Jane Fonda

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at New School
• Natalia Mehlman Petrzela's Website
• Natalia Mehlman Petrzela on LinkedIn
• Natalia Mehlman Petrzela on X

Her Work:

• Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession
• Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture 
• NBC News Articles

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