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