Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In an age that doesn't think too much about history, you might be forgiven for thinking that a culture of exercise only emerged in the 20th century. But the idea of purposefully exercising to change one's body — what folks used to call "physical culture" — likely goes back to the very beginnings of time.
Here to unpack the origins, evolution, and future of fitness is Dr. Conor Heffernan, a Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Ulster University and the author of The History of Physical Culture (amzn.to/4ehTnTE) . Today on the show, Conor takes us on a fascinating and wide-ranging tour of physical culture, from the ancient Egyptians, who made their pharaohs run around a pyramid to test their fitness to rule, to the ancient Greeks who used their gymnasiums for both bodily training and intellectual philosophizing, to modern strongmen who became proto fitness influencers, and many periods and societies in between. We discuss how training practices changed over time, where they may be going next, and the evergreen principles from past eras that we could still learn from today.
Resources Related to the Podcast
• AoM Podcast #988: Of Strength and Soul — Exploring the Philosophy of Physical Fitness (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/podcast-988-of-strength-and-soul-exploring-the-philosophy-of-physical-fitness/)
• AoM Podcast #939: What Lifting Ancient Stones Can Teach You About Being a Man (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/podcast-939-what-lifting-ancient-stones-can-teach-you-about-being-a-man/)
• Rogue documentaries on stone lifting in Scotland (youtube.com/watch?v=MhQlNwxn5oo) , Iceland (youtube.com/watch?v=79Tcsg2Yac8) , and Spain (youtube.com/watch?v=vck32S27RmM)
• AoM Podcast #39: Eugen Sandow, Victorian Strongman (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/the-art-of-manliness-podcast-39-eugen-sandow-victorian-strongman-with-david-waller/)
• AoM Podcast #624: The Crazy, Forgotten Story of America’s First Fitness Influencer, Bernarr MacFadden (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/bernarr-macfadden-fitness-guru/)
• AoM Article: An Introduction to Indian Club Training (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/an-introduction-to-indian-club-training/)
• AoM Video: Intro to Indian Club Training (youtube.com/watch?v=JkFtaw9LB6I)
• De Arte Gymnastica (https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/exhibits/show/flaxcollectionofphysiatry/highlights-from-the-flax-lib/de-arte-gymnastica)
• Johann GutsMuths (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Christoph_Friedrich_GutsMuths)
• Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ludwig_Jahn)
• Turnvereine gymnastic system (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turners)
• The Strongman Project (strongmanproject.com/)
Connect With Conor Heffernan
• Physical Culture Study website (physicalculturestudy.com/)
• Conor's faculty page (ulster.ac.uk/staff/c-heffernan)
In an age that doesn't think too much about history, you might be forgiven for thinking that a culture of exercise only emerged in the 20th century. But the idea of purposefully exercising to change one's body — what folks used to call "physical culture" — likely goes back to the very beginnings of time.
Here to unpack the origins, evolution, and future of fitness is Dr. Conor Heffernan, a Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Ulster University and the author of The History of Physical Culture (amzn.to/4ehTnTE) . Today on the show, Conor takes us on a fascinating and wide-ranging tour of physical culture, from the ancient Egyptians, who made their pharaohs run around a pyramid to test their fitness to rule, to the ancient Greeks who used their gymnasiums for both bodily training and intellectual philosophizing, to modern strongmen who became proto fitness influencers, and many periods and societies in between. We discuss how training practices changed over time, where they may be going next, and the evergreen principles from past eras that we could still learn from today.
Resources Related to the Podcast
• AoM Podcast #988: Of Strength and Soul — Exploring the Philosophy of Physical Fitness (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/podcast-988-of-strength-and-soul-exploring-the-philosophy-of-physical-fitness/)
• AoM Podcast #939: What Lifting Ancient Stones Can Teach You About Being a Man (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/podcast-939-what-lifting-ancient-stones-can-teach-you-about-being-a-man/)
• Rogue documentaries on stone lifting in Scotland (youtube.com/watch?v=MhQlNwxn5oo) , Iceland (youtube.com/watch?v=79Tcsg2Yac8) , and Spain (youtube.com/watch?v=vck32S27RmM)
• AoM Podcast #39: Eugen Sandow, Victorian Strongman (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/the-art-of-manliness-podcast-39-eugen-sandow-victorian-strongman-with-david-waller/)
• AoM Podcast #624: The Crazy, Forgotten Story of America’s First Fitness Influencer, Bernarr MacFadden (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/bernarr-macfadden-fitness-guru/)
• AoM Article: An Introduction to Indian Club Training (artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/an-introduction-to-indian-club-training/)
• AoM Video: Intro to Indian Club Training (youtube.com/watch?v=JkFtaw9LB6I)
• De Arte Gymnastica (https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/exhibits/show/flaxcollectionofphysiatry/highlights-from-the-flax-lib/de-arte-gymnastica)
• Johann GutsMuths (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Christoph_Friedrich_GutsMuths)
• Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ludwig_Jahn)
• Turnvereine gymnastic system (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turners)
• The Strongman Project (strongmanproject.com/)
Connect With Conor Heffernan
• Physical Culture Study website (physicalculturestudy.com/)
• Conor's faculty page (ulster.ac.uk/staff/c-heffernan)
