Your fitness resolution is 200 years old
Summary
Host Meghna Chakrabarti interviews historian Connor Heffernan about his book on the 19th-century origins of global fitness culture. They discuss how industrialization, military training, and figures like Eugene Sandow standardized exercise and created commercial trends. The conversation explores historical class and gender dynamics, including early strongwomen, and critiques modern fitness industry marketing.
Topics discussed
Sponsors and show introduction
Host's personal fitness journey and guest introduction
Historic lifting stones and utilitarian vs playful fitness
The 19th-century origins of global fitness culture
Eugene Sandow and the rise of fitness influencers
Eugenics, race, and the standardization of the body
Katie Sandwina and the history of strongwomen
Listener questions on modern fitness and wellness
Closing remarks and final sponsors
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