Let's Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World

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This engaging blend of reportage and personal narrative delves into the untold history of women's exercise culture, from jogging and Jazzercise to Jane Fonda, highlighting how women have transformed physical strength into various forms of power. For American women today, working out is both accepted and expected, driving a multibillion-dollar fitness industry. However, this acceptance is a recent development; seven decades ago, sweating was deemed "unladylike," and many girls believed physical exertion could harm them. It wasn’t until the Sixties, driven by pioneering fitness advocates, that women began to embrace exercise en masse. Journalist Danielle Friedman argues this movement was subversive, representing a quest for physical strength and personal autonomy. In her exploration, Friedman chronicles how exercise evolved from a beauty tool focused on "reduction" to a means of achieving mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Inspired by her viral article in New York Magazine, she takes readers into the workout studios of 20th-century America, reclaiming the forgotten origins of various exercise movements. Each chapter reveals the evolution of fitness trends, from the post-war push for women to sweat to the rise of weight training and yoga, ultimately portraying how late 20th-century feminism allowed women to embrace physical competence and foster a more inclusive fitness culture.