The Semi-Recent History of Exercise

# Stuff You Should Know: The History of Exercise

This episode traces how exercise went from being considered weird and potentially dangerous to a mainstream cultural phenomenon in just a few decades. Josh and Chuck explore how a British epidemiologist's clever bus conductor study helped prove that exercise was actually good for your heart, and then follow the wild journey of how jogging, aerobics, and fitness culture exploded in America from the 1960s onward, with fascinating detours into Jane Fonda's workout empire, Richard Simmons' infectious energy, and how women found empowerment through the fitness movement of the 1980s.