1 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,560 Speaker 1: Hi, this is Annie, and you're listening to stuff I've 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: never told you. A few weeks ago, we did an 3 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: episode all around sexism at the gym, and we've heard 4 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: from so many of you sent fin about your experiences 5 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: and tips and I can't wait to share some of 6 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: those in future episodes. And in that episode, we mentioned 7 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: we would rerun a classic episode all about the gem's 8 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: fascinating history. This is that episode. So get out your 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: neon colored ankle warmer's, your Jane fond of workout tapes 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: and enjoy. Welcome to Stuff Mom Never told you from 11 00:00:52,920 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 12 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: I'm Kristen and I'm Caroline. And since it is January, 13 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: one better time than to talk about Jim's working out exercising. 14 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: Because the one thing I feel like I've mentioned this 15 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: before uh in the podcast that a I I take 16 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: yoga regularly and be the worst time to take yoga 17 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: at my studio is in January, because Heavens to Betsy, 18 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: it is flooded with people. Yeah. I noticed that when 19 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: I lived in Augusta, I was a member of the 20 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: y like the whole time I lived there, because I 21 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: liked it was a low key gym. It wasn't like 22 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: meatheads all the time or whatever. Um. And I noticed 23 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: that every year, like in January, I would come in 24 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: and not be able to get a freaking machine yeah 25 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: at all. And I was like, well, you know, maybe 26 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: I'll just wait until February and come back. And it's 27 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: great that people want to exercise. One of those common 28 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: New Year's resolutions, of course, is to get in shape 29 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: loose some weight, and so people tend to go through 30 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: these early January fitness crazes. By Valentine's Day, who knows 31 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: if we're still exercising regularly or not. But I was 32 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: wondering when I was thinking about, like the fact that 33 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: we have to that we go to other buildings outside 34 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: of our home to exercise, and we pay rent essentially 35 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: in spaces to exercise. I wanted to know when did 36 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: Americans in particular start doing this? When did we start 37 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: having to work out? Because wouldn't that be nice? Don't 38 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: you remember? Like when I whenever I go vintage clothing shopping, 39 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: I'm amazed by like how how tiny so many of 40 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: the women's clothes are, and how none of them were 41 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: going to the gym. Yeah, what was what was going on? 42 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,119 Speaker 1: I guess they were walking. They were walking a lot 43 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: more in places. Yeah, Christen and I were just talking 44 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: about how when I was in England for a couple 45 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: of months over a summer one year, even though I 46 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: was eating nothing but like fish and chips and drinking beer, 47 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: I walked everywhere every day, all the time, and so 48 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:09,399 Speaker 1: I actually lost weight and my legs looked fabulous. Um. Yeah, 49 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,679 Speaker 1: And if we go way way back in time, I 50 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: thought this was pretty funny. We found a timeline of 51 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: exercise and fitness from a couple of exercise scientists at 52 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: the University of New Mexico, and they mark the point 53 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: where things really start going down for humans at ten thousand, 54 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: eight thousand BC, during the Neolithic agricultural revolution. So we 55 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: were we've been screwed from the get go, folks. Once 56 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: we started or once we stopped being hunter gatherer nomads, 57 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: we we were just totally screwed. Yeah. They said that 58 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: agricultural developments meant that we had a more sedentary lifestyle, 59 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: And to that, I say, like, are you are you 60 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: kidding me? Like people were still walking, right, they still 61 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: had to like run from sabertooth tigers, right, perhaps, yeah, 62 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: And then moving up on the timeline, I mean there 63 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: are a lot of um not you know, like exercise tips. 64 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: There aren't ancient Jane fond of videos but which there 65 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: are chiseled into stones, little leotard. But I mean there 66 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: are ancient attitudes and in cultures about physical activity and 67 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: how it benefited the body and the spirit. You know, 68 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: Confucious encouraged physical activity. Yoga was developed by Hindu priests. 69 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: And then we get up to ancient Greece, which is 70 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: really what a lot of people site when they talk 71 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: about the history of exercise, Gymnasium's bodybuilding, wrestling, all that stuff, 72 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: because the ancient Greeks and Romans really had an appreciation 73 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: for a beautiful body and considered fitness and health to 74 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: be just as important as mental health and uh fun 75 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: etymology tidbit here, Gymnasium comes from the Greek root gymnos, 76 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: which means naked, because as we know a lot of 77 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:53,040 Speaker 1: male Greeks in the ancient world appreciated nude working out, 78 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: which seems dangerous if you're a guy. I'm just saying 79 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,280 Speaker 1: things swinging around, I mean, what happened, Yeah, you know what, 80 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: We'll just leave it there. Yeah, well we will. But 81 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: there is also an ancient Greek saying of exercise for 82 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: the body, you have music for the soul. I can 83 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: get on board with that ancient Greeks. And then, uh, 84 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: moving way forward to the Renaissance. I know we're taking 85 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: leaps and bounds through history, but we have other things 86 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: to talk we have a lot to talk about. But 87 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: during the Renaissance, for instance, there was this resurgence of 88 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: appreciation for you know, ancient Greek culture and the high 89 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: minds of the day linked fitness, physical fitness to intelligence, 90 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: which is a good thing. I mean like that, that 91 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: is true. There's a major like brain body connection. Absolutely. 92 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: And then if I may take another giant leap forward 93 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: and go to the post industrial revolution era in our history. 94 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: So you know, the industrial revolution happens all of a sudden, 95 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: you have like assembly lines and things like that, and 96 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 1: people are sitting a lot. I'm just gonna make broad 97 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 1: strokes here. Yeah, and um, before before we keep moving forward. 98 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: Speaking of post industrial Revolution, there were a group of 99 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,719 Speaker 1: nineteenth century German political refugees who sparked something in the 100 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 1: US called the turn Variant movement. I hope I'm saying 101 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: that correctly, and they were pro gymnastics and calisinics and 102 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: their goal was to get physical fitness in every American school. 103 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: So they were like a gang of gymnasts, yeah, gang 104 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: of German gymnasts. But they sparked this huge movement and 105 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: this should be something that our podcast pals stuff you 106 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: missed in history class maybe could take a closer look at. 107 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: And they were also um responsible for popularizing bowling in 108 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: the United States, thank you. Yeah, So that's going on 109 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: in the nineteenth century and then really crank things forward 110 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: to the twentieth century and what's going on. Well, so 111 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: I mentioned that we started sitting a lot, right, Yeah, 112 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: and that at honestly, like, without going off on a tangent, 113 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: it's probably are sitting that's going to kill us. Yeah, 114 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: we're sitting down as we record this podcast, and we 115 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: should really be on exercise balls. We should be or 116 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: just or you know, doing bicep curls as we talk. Yeah, 117 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: we'd be ripped. I'm doing squads right now in my mind. 118 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: Um So, in the nineteen fifties and sixties, diseases that 119 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: were spurred by basically sitting around and not having that 120 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: daily physical activity started to really emerge. Things like cardiovascular disease, cancer, 121 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: and type two diabetes became much more prevalent during this period, 122 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: and so that led a lot of physicians and you know, 123 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: health health minded individuals in general to think, what can 124 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: we do about all of this, all these health issues. Yeah, 125 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: I feel like we are living in a time when 126 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: we are constantly being inundated with pretty frightening, almost scared 127 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: tactic like messages about how uh, you know, we are 128 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: all gaining too much weight, we are not moving enough, 129 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: our health, our collective health is just going down the tubes. 130 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: But really, in the nineteen fifties, it was there was 131 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: a massive health panic going on as well, and it 132 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: was related to the development of the minimum muscular fitness 133 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: tests in children by doctors Hans Krauss and Ruth Hirschland, 134 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: who were measuring the muscular strength and flexibility among American kids, 135 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: and they also compared that to kids in Austria, Italy 136 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: and Switzerland. Yeah, it turns out that a lot more 137 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: American kids were failing at least one of the tests. 138 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: And in response, no, parents didn't get angry, children didn't 139 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: go outside and play. No. Eisenhower, the president, created the 140 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: Council on Youth Fitness and the Citizens Advisory Committee on 141 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: the Fitness of American Youth. And it's also during this 142 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: time that several health and fitness groups got their start, 143 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: such as the American Health Association, the American Medical Association, 144 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: and the American College of Sports Medicine. So a lot 145 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: of people were like, well, we've got to do something. 146 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: Our kids are soft well. And the fascinating thing about 147 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 1: this is that a lot of the that fire was fan. 148 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: Those flames were fan the fitness flames. I'll stop with 149 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: these horrible fire analogy. Um. A lot of it was 150 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: undergirded though by Cold War fears, essentially saying too it 151 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: was it was more focused to on on the fitness 152 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: of the boys. And we were coming out of World 153 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:34,439 Speaker 1: War Two and massive militarization um into the Cold War era. 154 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: And John F. Kennedy wrote an article for Sports Illustrated 155 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: in December of nineteen sixty called the Soft American in 156 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: which he bemoans the fact that essentially he's saying that 157 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: that the up and coming American youth are becoming far 158 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: too soft there mentally, morally or physically, and that it's 159 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: going to be are the downfall of the United States 160 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: that the Soviet Union at the time was becoming strong 161 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: and muscular and bench pressing and doing one armed push ups, 162 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: while the United States was just all of the kids 163 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: were just watching TV. Yeah. Well, I mean he's going 164 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: on and on and talking about you know, this is terrible. 165 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: Our kids are soft. You know, a huge amount of 166 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: kids are failing these muscular strength and flexibility tests, where 167 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 1: the European kids are, you know, bouncing off walls and stuff. 168 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: So why is it a big deal? And he finally, 169 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 1: he finally says it. There's that little ahamament where he says, 170 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: if we waste and neglect this resource, if we allow 171 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: it to dwindle and grow soft, then we will destroy 172 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: much of our ability to meet the great and vital 173 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: challenges which confront our people. So there you go. Armed 174 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: conflict has been a major part of our culture leading 175 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: up to now. And while he says it's also vital 176 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 1: you know, health and fitness, or vital to activities of peace. 177 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: Basically it's like, people, we've got to be ready in 178 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 1: case the commies come. But he's also like, I mean 179 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: we don't I mean, don't have to fight. You know, 180 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: we need muscular strength for the activities of peace as well. 181 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: But and then he also makes this great prediction um 182 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,839 Speaker 1: by the nineteen seventies, according to many economists, the man 183 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: who works with his hands will be almost extinct. So 184 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of fear about the rising technology, 185 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: about the threats of the Cold War. I'm sure there 186 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: was still a lots of post World War two jitters 187 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: going on. And so this is the initial spur of 188 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: working out and organized exercise and gym's in the United States. Well, 189 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: one person who didn't wait around for JFK to call 190 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: everybody fat was Jack Lelane, who I mean, he's like 191 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: the most famous outside of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In my mind, 192 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: he's like the most famous fitness guy ever. He he's 193 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: basically referred to as the founder of the modern fitness movement, 194 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: and he died in eleven at the age of ninety six. 195 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: I believe as like the fittest man in existence. And 196 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 1: what inspired Lo Lane was a fitness talk he heard 197 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: at age fifteen, and he immediately goes out and starts 198 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 1: working out with weights, and eventually at age twenty one 199 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty six, he opens a fitness studio with 200 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: a gym, juice bar, and health food store, and I 201 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: can tell you people thought he was absolutely crazy. Yeah, 202 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: oh yeah. In nineteen thirty six, doctors thought that this 203 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: guy who was drinking all this juice and pumping all 204 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: this iron thought that he would be setting himself up 205 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: for heart attacks and loss of sex drive. Yeah, watch 206 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: out for those weights. But yeah, he also like he 207 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: really popularized the whole TV fitness thing. Uh. The Jack 208 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,199 Speaker 1: Lolaine Showed debuted in nineteen fifty one in San Francisco 209 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: and went nationwide a couple of years later, And part 210 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: of his thing was to draw kids in and then 211 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: encourage them to get their parents involved in getting moving well. 212 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: And that's very significant too because the rise of TV 213 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: and and kids being drawn towards more sedentary leisure activities. 214 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: One thing into the JFK talks about in uh the 215 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: Soft American article in Sports Illustrated was about how high 216 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: school parking lots were filled with cars because kids weren't 217 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: walking to school anymore and on the weekends they were 218 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: just sitting in front of the boob tube instead of 219 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: running around. And so it's pretty significant that Jacque Laine 220 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: uh started to spread his message through that medium. And 221 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: it's those boomer children that were largely the targets of 222 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: that first wave of oh no, everyone's getting soft, who 223 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: were the one the adults in the nineteen seventies and 224 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: eighties who really started the like nationalizing the private fitness 225 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: industry as well, who made working out a thing. Yeah, 226 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,520 Speaker 1: and we'll, i'll, we'll backtrack a little bit, but I 227 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,839 Speaker 1: do want to speaking of baby boomers, this quote from 228 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: Time magazine in nineteen two says that most of the 229 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: seventies six million boomers are finished with the drug culture 230 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: and alternative therapies instead had many of them have seized 231 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 1: on fitness ergo older Americans jog in an attempt not 232 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: to be pushed aside by an army of fresh, unlined faces. 233 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: That sounds terrifying. Well, it sounds like today, you know, 234 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: in terms of I mean even back that, like we 235 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: talked today about plastic surgery and how everyone wants to 236 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: keep looking young. Well, the same was going on in 237 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two, and and that quote was coming from 238 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: uh a paper that we found called the Rise of 239 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: the Modern Fitness Industry by Mark Stern that was published 240 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 1: in Business and Economic History in two thousand eight, and 241 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: he cites a statistic that only two of Americans reported 242 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: exercising regularly in nineteen sixty, so working out not so 243 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: much of a thing in nineteen sixty, but then by 244 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: night seven, according to a Gallop Pole, that number jumped 245 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: to sixty nine percent. And h he attributes that that 246 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: leap to a crisis in both hell and identity. Yeah, 247 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: because you know, similarly to what we were talking about 248 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: earlier with health, heart disease, I mean, and things like that. 249 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 1: From you know, sitting um, it finally occurred to people 250 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: that hey, like maybe we should get our heart pumping 251 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: and our lungs expanding to prevent some of these diseases. 252 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: And a big proponent of that was Dr Kim Cooper, 253 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: who was the one I did not know before we 254 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: started this research. He was the one who coined the 255 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: term aerobics in his ninety eight book of the same name, 256 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: and he is a big pioneer of using exercise as 257 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: a preventive measure in health. And yeah, he focused more 258 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: on philosophy over treatment well. And it's also fascinating how 259 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: there is this corporate angle to fitness as well, um 260 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: that you can tie we could have a whole huge 261 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: conversation on more of the masculinity angle of this. But 262 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: it started to be reported on in our magazines like 263 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: Forbes and Fortune in the late seventies and eighties, where 264 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: the thing to do if you wanted to be a 265 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: powerful guy, especially in business, then you worked out like 266 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: you were going to be physically fit in order to 267 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: be to have the appearance, the correct appearance of a CEO, saying, 268 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: and I didn't realize this. I thought the whole in 269 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: house Jim thing was more of a modern thing, you know, 270 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: at like Google offices and stuff, you know, fancy fancy 271 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 1: corporate offices that have giant Jim's installed. But yeah, this 272 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: really started to get underway in the late seventies early 273 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: eighties because fitness was really thought to increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, 274 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: and enable recruitment and attention, not to mention, uh, improve morale. 275 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: H Yeah, and you've got this switch because uh, you know, 276 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: during the going back to Victorian times, dieting became a 277 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: thing which was linked more toward morality. There's always been 278 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: this uh kind of misguided link between um, your physical 279 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: appearance in the state of your your inward appearance and 280 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: you have this made your shift a hundred years later, 281 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: where we just embraced the vanity of it. It's all 282 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 1: about the body image, how you look on the outside. 283 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,440 Speaker 1: Gems that start springing up become new dating hot spots. 284 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: Why do you think all of those leotards were so 285 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: high cut? The fashion, the fitness fashion. Olivia Newton, John Fonda, Yeah, 286 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: in New York Magazine wrote that there's a new class 287 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 1: that devised eliteism an entirely different manner, and that manner 288 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:37,479 Speaker 1: is exercising and working out. Because at the time, working 289 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: out was a thing that was done mostly by more 290 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: highly educated, wealthier white people as a as a fancy 291 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 1: schmancy kind of thing to do. So let's talk about 292 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: the actual, uh, the gyms themselves, and the rise of 293 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: things beyond just going to like a local y m 294 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 1: c A, but actual private fitness clubs and gems. Yeah. There, 295 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: there definitely are still gyms that cater to specific activities 296 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: like boxing or martial arts things like that, but they're 297 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: greatly outnumbered by this modern, clean, sparkling fitness club idea. 298 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: And fitness clubs got their start way back in the day, 299 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: although membership was very low because it was seen as 300 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: kind of a fancy pants thing, right. So back in 301 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: this guy Victanny began began his first club in Santa Monica, 302 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 1: ended up opening dozens more clubs in the fifties and sixties, 303 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: and he wanted these locations to be seen as quote, 304 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: temples of luxury and respectability, which was really a departure 305 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 1: from the whole like, dudes are going to go in 306 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: there and grunt and sweat and pump iron and you know, 307 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: get their muscles all big and stuff. So this whole 308 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:02,400 Speaker 1: idea that you go in there and you're pampered and 309 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: you have all of these fancy machines and stuff was 310 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 1: a was a new development. Yeah, And during the nineteen 311 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: seventies there are two major types of fitness clubs that 312 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,439 Speaker 1: emerged once that were geared towards racket sports that were 313 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: essentially offshoots of country clubs UM, and then you had 314 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,679 Speaker 1: the much more common types of gyms we think of 315 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: these days, which are those storefront gems that focused on 316 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: low cost, high volume service. And I thought it was 317 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: really interesting how Mark Stern points out that there were 318 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: major problems that arose in the gym industry, a lot 319 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 1: of complaints that were filed with the Federal Trade Commission 320 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: because a lot of people were opening all of these 321 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: gyms wanting to capitalize on this new emphasis on exercise 322 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: and working out. Um. But they would do it by 323 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: essentially like hassling people into signing contracts with sketchy membership 324 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:04,199 Speaker 1: deals and perhaps unsanitary locker rooms. Yeah, all sorts of 325 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: shady dealings going on. Because gyms are not are not 326 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: an easy business to get into. It turns out, yeah, 327 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: well they would, I mean they would oversell. Basically, they 328 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,440 Speaker 1: would get all of these members signed up, counting on 329 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: the fact that people would drop out either it would 330 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: be too expensive for them or they just didn't want 331 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: the hassle anymore or things like that. So but it 332 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: I can see why the gym business is so attractive 333 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,879 Speaker 1: because as far as private fitness clubs go. UM in 334 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: n there were only about three thousand of these private clubs. 335 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: That has grown uh to twenty thousand eleven years ago 336 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: in two thousand two. That's a crazy jump. Yeah, as 337 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 1: of a two thousand six or an estimated forty two 338 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:51,920 Speaker 1: point seven million gym members in the United States. And 339 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: one of the big reasons that gym's have become so popular. 340 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:04,679 Speaker 1: Is women essentially exercise and working out being changed from uh, 341 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: you know, more of just a guys going in and 342 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:12,919 Speaker 1: pumping iron to it being something that women do as well. 343 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: And this is something that really takes off in the 344 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies and the eighties, people like Jane Fonda leading 345 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: the way. And when we talk about the rise of 346 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: women in gym's and women in fitness, uh, it starts 347 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:34,440 Speaker 1: off as something that is propelled by more feminist ideology 348 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,119 Speaker 1: of saying, hey, you know what, we can we need 349 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: to go in there, we need to be physically strong 350 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: as well. We can work out alongside men, no big deal. 351 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: But then it becomes this double edged sword where it's like, oh, hey, 352 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: in order to be attractive, I need to be working 353 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 1: out five days a week. And oh god, yeah, there's 354 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:53,959 Speaker 1: definitely I mean we you know, we could go on 355 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: and on about that forever. And that kind of also 356 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:57,880 Speaker 1: goes back to some of the things we talked about 357 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: in our dieting, feminism, shoe all that stuff. Um, but yeah, 358 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:05,159 Speaker 1: I mean you really have this this rise in the 359 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: strong tone body aesthetic, like I'm gonna look all musli 360 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 1: and shiny and tan as opposed to you know, the 361 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: Flower Children, the waves of the sixties and seventies. So 362 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,120 Speaker 1: now you had this whole new aesthetic to worry about. 363 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: Whereas maybe women had gotten interested in fitness because I 364 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: want to be healthy or you know, I wanna whatever 365 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: go to the gym. Now it's like, oh, okay, well 366 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: if I go to the gym, it means I have 367 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: to look like Jane Fonda. Shoot, that would be awesome. Yeah. Well, 368 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 1: I mean I'm just saying like that would be fun 369 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: to like, that's a costume thing. I don't actually want 370 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:40,200 Speaker 1: to have to deal with those high cut leotard's um. 371 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,760 Speaker 1: And beyond that too, there have been some interesting conversations 372 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: around gendered gym's. When I mean by that are women's 373 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: only health spas and gyms that have since opened up, 374 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: which initially like in the nineties seventies when when these 375 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: the Women's World Health Spot open a New England. There 376 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: are places like the Lucille Roberts Health Spot that opened 377 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: in New York and other places that were attributed to 378 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: even more feminism and saying, hey, this is part of 379 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: women's lip We're getting our own spaces to work out 380 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: into exercise. Yeah, and more recently that's actually drawn a 381 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: lot of controversy. Um, sort of sort of unexpectedly, I 382 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 1: would think, because it seems like these women only gyms 383 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: are a positive thing. You know, they provide a quote 384 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: unquote safe space where you can go and not feel intimidated, 385 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: not worry about who's staring at you and all that stuff. 386 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: But thirteen years ago, according to an article on CNN, 387 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: there were actually a couple of lawsuits claiming that these 388 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: clubs illegally discriminated against men, and perhaps also surprisingly UM, 389 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,399 Speaker 1: members of the Massachusetts branch of NOW, which is the 390 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: National organization for Women, lobbied hard to prevent legislation that 391 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,920 Speaker 1: prohibited single sex clubs over the concern that it could 392 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: actually open the door to resea aggregating golf clubs and 393 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: other venues. Yeah, because it need to remind listeners that 394 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: it was only in two thousand twelve at the Augusta 395 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: National Golf Club accepted its first female members, all the 396 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 1: way back in two thousand. Yeah, the long time ago. 397 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:16,560 Speaker 1: So it's kind of interesting to see, how, you know, 398 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 1: you've got the arguments on on both sides of that, 399 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: because obviously, like women's only gyms are very popular. Just 400 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 1: take Curves for example, first Curves women only gym opens 401 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:33,679 Speaker 1: by their franchising by two thousand to their nine thousand locations. 402 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:39,359 Speaker 1: So obviously there is um there, there's a desire for that. 403 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: And if you google gender and gym culture, you will 404 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: get all sorts of headlines such as Mars l Vino 405 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: sad the gym, pink and blue with the gym, you know, 406 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 1: because it is a very gendered space because if you 407 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:58,640 Speaker 1: think about you walk in the freeweights area dudes, the ellipticals, 408 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:03,920 Speaker 1: and the aerobics room gals. And obviously I'm not saying 409 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: that there's no crossing, but by and large those are 410 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 1: in in papers that have looked at the gender space 411 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,439 Speaker 1: of the gym environment, it's usually divided like that. And 412 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: I remember going to the gym in college and it 413 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 1: wasn't my favorite thing to do, not because I didn't 414 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: like exercising, but because there it was a charged atmosphere 415 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: because you are not wearing as many clothes as you 416 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,120 Speaker 1: might in class. You are sweating there, you know, there's 417 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 1: conversation going on. I would go in the morning just 418 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 1: to avoid the whole thing. Uh. And it was also 419 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 1: funny to see how some other women would obviously dress 420 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:52,639 Speaker 1: up a little bit. Oh my god, the makeup at 421 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,480 Speaker 1: the gym. Lots of makeup at the gym. Kristen and I, 422 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: we should remind you went to the same college and 423 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: the same gym, and oh, my good goodness, women's stuff 424 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: with the a full I makeup at the gym, Like, 425 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: how do you. I would sweat one drop and all 426 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: that stuff would just slat off my face and I'd 427 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: break downto a hundred pimples. Yeah, but then again, I 428 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: was actually working out, and that was about well. That 429 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:16,679 Speaker 1: was back in college when I actually I felt like 430 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 1: I had time I would go. I had this great 431 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:20,879 Speaker 1: block of time during the day where I would go 432 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: in the middle of classes and really nobody was there 433 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 1: because it was around lunchtime. I dreaded going at night 434 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 1: after all the classes were over after dinner, around like 435 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,920 Speaker 1: seven or eight. It was crazy town and I would 436 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: never I would not have dreamed of setting foot in 437 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,159 Speaker 1: the in the Freeweights area because it was it was 438 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: swarming with what dudes. I would go in the mornings 439 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,120 Speaker 1: when it was me and the professors and I could 440 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: wear my sweats and no big deal. Um and there 441 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: was a paper that we found on gender at the 442 00:26:55,480 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: gym by Thomas Johansson from University of Gotenburg and Sweden 443 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 1: feed and Swinden, and essentially he says a lot of 444 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 1: the same things in this paper that we have in 445 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: terms of some women feeling discomfort because there is a 446 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: typically a more male dominated atmosphere in the gym. We 447 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: have our gendered spaces. Like Christen was talking about how 448 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: I mean, even if you're a woman who uses the 449 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: free weights, you still kind of know what we're talking about. 450 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: Like even people men who do aerobics, women who use 451 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 1: the free weights, you can still tell that there's that 452 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: weird You get weird looks and and people are like, 453 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: why is that man in an aerobics class? Where what's 454 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: that woman doing in our freeweight space? Yeah, because you 455 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: it's it's crossing those gendered lines a little bit. Like 456 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: he talked about how, you know, the construct of masculinity 457 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: and the male physical ideal that is much more muscular 458 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: driven compared to more of the female idea. It's more 459 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: about toning and shaping. There's even so I don't have 460 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: the direct quote in front of me, but there was 461 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:08,440 Speaker 1: a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about how women can't 462 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: really build get super muscular, you know, it's more about 463 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 1: shaping and molding. And maybe I think there was also 464 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: an attitude of maybe they shouldn't write and because I 465 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: think it was Reebok that didn't sponsor a particular women's 466 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 1: bodybuilding competition because they didn't like the look of some 467 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: of those women. They were way too masculine and scary 468 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: looking for Reebok to handle. Um. But female bodybuilding is 469 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 1: a relatively recent phenomenon when you take all of exercising 470 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: history into account, and it really does freak people out. 471 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: In this paper that Thomas Johansen did, most of the 472 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 1: men that he interviewed expressed one of two things either 473 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: discussed or respect mixed with disgust. And it comes to 474 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 1: female bodybuilders. Yeah, because again I think it's it's because 475 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: of being a transgressive in a way of crossing those 476 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 1: those gendered lines. Now. One thing that Johansson also brings 477 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 1: up about Jim culture is homophobia. He talked about how 478 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: the male sphere is characterized by a more distant relationship 479 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: between the instructures and the population of the gym. How 480 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: you know, it's more likely to you're more likely to 481 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: see a personal trainer with a female client rather than 482 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: a male client. But I'm I'm gonna go ahead and 483 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: say from a personal experience, I don't I think that's 484 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: becoming less and less of a case of the case, 485 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: especially when you think about gay jim culture. There's even 486 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: a book that I found by Eric Alvarez, who is 487 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: a personal trainer in San Francisco, who essentially did like 488 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: a giant ethnographical study of gay jim culture, and he 489 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,440 Speaker 1: wrote a book about it called Muscle Boys Gym Culture 490 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: UM which he breaks down the different types of guys 491 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: at gay gim's or gay men at gym's UM and 492 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 1: talks about how, uh, there is a strong intersection between 493 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: gyms and gay culture because of the pursuit of the 494 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: ideal body image and also social interaction. It has been 495 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: like a major place for gay men to meet each other. 496 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: And I'm not just talking about things like you know, 497 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 1: stereotypes like cruising in the locker rooms, UM, but actually 498 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 1: like meeting, interacting, you're working out together, UM. And he 499 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 1: claims Alvaris does that gay men and the gym culture 500 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: have been largely responsible for creating the overall both the gay, straight, 501 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: whatever male physical ideal, and it challenges that bigoted stereotype 502 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: of gay men as being weak and limp rested. So 503 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 1: working out is important too to a lot of gay men. 504 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: Whereas I hate talking to people at the gym, I 505 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 1: do too. Please please please please leave me a lot. 506 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: That's why I just run by myself. Well, when when 507 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 1: I was at the to jim, um, I was left 508 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: alone for the most part. I mean, it was definitely 509 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: taboo to like try to talk to other people, really 510 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: because you didn't want to come off as a creep 511 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,920 Speaker 1: whatever gender. Um. But I just remember this like elderly man. 512 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: You know, he was wearing the headphones that have the 513 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 1: radio built in and he's wearing his red, white and 514 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: blue sweatband, like I want to be Jack Lolaine. But 515 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: he like he wouldn't stop talking to me. And I 516 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: did the thing where I, you know, frustrated, Lee took 517 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: out my headphones, was like what what? I can't what 518 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 1: and he was just trying to ask me, like what's 519 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: your name? How often do you come to the gym? 520 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 1: And when I told him how much I came to 521 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: the jim, He's like, you should really think about coming more. 522 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,440 Speaker 1: I was like, I'm going to knock you off of 523 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 1: the elliptical, but I actually have Okay, so that's like, 524 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:44,480 Speaker 1: ha ha, funny whatever, old man talking to you. I 525 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: do have a really horrific Jim experienced story about talking 526 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:52,400 Speaker 1: to someone and trainers. I actually I was the last 527 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: gym that I belonged to. Was friends with a trainer. 528 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:56,120 Speaker 1: He was a great guy. He helped me a lot, 529 00:31:56,160 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: you know, really nice guy. But I went with an 530 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: other trainer one time and he was really creepy, crossed, 531 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: acrossed a lot of boundaries, called me at home, um 532 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: email started emailing me, and I had to finally say like, 533 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 1: you've got to stop. You know, I you like, gym 534 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 1: culture can be scary. Yeah. I had an experience with 535 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: a personal trainer where it was it was too close 536 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:27,000 Speaker 1: for comfort and I had to say, see you me 537 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:31,040 Speaker 1: coming to the gym is not me saying I would 538 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 1: like to hang out. Yeah. It was also like just 539 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: on a final side note to it's incredible, like when 540 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: when the personal trader was being too forward with me 541 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 1: mid workout, Like when I when I exercise, I flush, 542 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 1: I excessively sweat. You know, that's half the reason why 543 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: I don't want to talk to you is because I 544 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: kind of look like, you know, a monster. I look 545 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:03,160 Speaker 1: like I have the flu and a sauna. So it 546 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 1: is uh, I mean, and we could go we could 547 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,560 Speaker 1: go on and on and on about gym culture because 548 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: because it is there, there are so many fascinating dynamics 549 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: going on in there in terms of just personal body 550 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: issues and the beauty myth starts to come in there, 551 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,520 Speaker 1: and these physical ideals, and you have sexuality that is 552 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 1: inherently tied into the mix and gender and and and 553 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 1: and and we pay for it. We our money with 554 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: our monies to go to these places. Yeah, so I 555 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 1: guess we should ask people about their gym experiences, Like 556 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: what I'd like to hear about people's experiences with the 557 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,280 Speaker 1: gender spheres gems and do you cross them or do 558 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:47,160 Speaker 1: you feel like you need to stick to one side 559 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:49,480 Speaker 1: or the other right? And what are what are your 560 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,920 Speaker 1: interactions there? I mean, are there people listening who really 561 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: prefer to work out just around guys, just around women? 562 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: Does it feel our gym safe spaces? I feel like 563 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, for a lot of people, 564 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: they are kind of unsafe spaces because it brings out 565 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: all of these insecurities that we have, is we try 566 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: to shape our bodies. Yeah, I just didn't make eye 567 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:13,600 Speaker 1: contact when I went to the gym. I have what 568 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 1: kind of want to see you in a gym? Now 569 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: you sound like a tough cookie. Well, I really I 570 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,480 Speaker 1: really enjoyed that, Jim, Thank you. I guess or why 571 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,360 Speaker 1: I really appreciated it. It was a good place. Um. 572 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,080 Speaker 1: So I think that's that's all we have to talk about. 573 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 1: Like I said, we could go We could go on 574 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:31,719 Speaker 1: and on, um and there are many other topics we 575 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: could branch off into. But in the United States at 576 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:42,239 Speaker 1: least we have Cold war fears to initially thank for 577 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:47,319 Speaker 1: for fueling this. Thanks Russia. Come on, so send us 578 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:51,040 Speaker 1: your thoughts on gym's and working out. Mom's stuff at 579 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:53,880 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com is where you can send your letters. 580 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:56,040 Speaker 1: Oh and if you are working out while you're listening 581 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,160 Speaker 1: to this episode, good for you. You You know a lot 582 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:07,399 Speaker 1: of people exercise and listen. Here is a letter from 583 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:11,479 Speaker 1: Robert about our Pinterest episode. Christy has a little shout 584 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 1: out for you. He says, I would like to nominate 585 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,600 Speaker 1: one of Kristen's line from the show as the funniest 586 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,319 Speaker 1: line I have ever heard on your podcast quote I 587 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,680 Speaker 1: went to man testing to see what men are nailing. Oh, 588 00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 1: I did say that. I know that was my junior 589 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: high self coming out and not my mature forty eight 590 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,600 Speaker 1: year old self, but it was funny. I checked out 591 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:35,560 Speaker 1: manterest ing. I would just like to say that as 592 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 1: a manly man, if a dude has to go to 593 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: a quote manly pinning site, then he is overcompensating. I 594 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,239 Speaker 1: am secure enough in my manhood to not only need 595 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 1: a Pinterest account, and I will pin anything there that 596 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: I like, So thank you, Robert. Keep pinning, keep on pinning, 597 00:35:49,719 --> 00:35:52,439 Speaker 1: or visit just a small little plug. You can visit 598 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:56,480 Speaker 1: our little our little pinboard pinboard over Pinterest search stuff. 599 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: Mom never told you. I've got an email here of 600 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:05,319 Speaker 1: from Julie about our episode on food expiration dates, and 601 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: she says I get made fun of constantly to work 602 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:12,600 Speaker 1: for eating expired products. Nothing too crazy, although I will 603 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:14,799 Speaker 1: drink my milk up to ten days after the cell 604 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,919 Speaker 1: by date. My manager thinks I'm nuts. She is more 605 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: extreme though. I offered her and expired altoid and she 606 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,440 Speaker 1: refused it. But to me, Kenny never expires. Chocolate is 607 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 1: good for years, even if it starts to get a 608 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:29,040 Speaker 1: little white. I might try it if I'm desperate. In 609 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,239 Speaker 1: the case of the altoyd though, my boss was right. 610 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,399 Speaker 1: I found them at my desk over a year old, 611 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 1: and I didn't taste like anything like sugar, but no 612 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:40,279 Speaker 1: meant I didn't get sick. But it was just the 613 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,279 Speaker 1: flavor thing that you mentioned, so I thought I would 614 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: share altoids or no good after a while. Also, one 615 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:48,560 Speaker 1: time I misread the date on my milk IM poured 616 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,200 Speaker 1: it into my cereal. It came out normal looking. The 617 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:53,600 Speaker 1: cat wasn't interested, and that should have been a tip off, 618 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:55,799 Speaker 1: but I got a spoonful in my mouth and then 619 00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:03,919 Speaker 1: ran to the Saint. I doubled check my carton expirestion dates. Now, oh, 620 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:08,120 Speaker 1: expired milk. Hey, let'sen this podcast on a saluried milk. Note. 621 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,759 Speaker 1: Thanks to everyone for writing in Too Mom Stuff at 622 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:14,800 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com. It's where you can send your letters. 623 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,359 Speaker 1: You can also hit us up on Facebook, follow us 624 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:20,799 Speaker 1: on Twitter at moms Stuff podcast, and follow us on 625 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:23,439 Speaker 1: Tumbler as well. Well. We are at stuff Mom Never 626 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: Told You dot tumbler dot com and if you want 627 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:29,960 Speaker 1: to learn more about how to stay fit and healthy 628 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,960 Speaker 1: and very very happy, you should head over to our website, 629 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:38,600 Speaker 1: it's how stuff works dot com for more on this 630 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,280 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works 631 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:46,600 Speaker 1: dot com