Lift: Fitness Culture, from Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors
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A fascinating cultural history of fitness, from Greek antiquity to the era of the "big-box gym" and beyond, exploring the ways in which human exercise has changed over time—and what we can learn from our ancestors. We humans have been conditioning our bodies for more than 2,500 years, yet it's only recently that treadmills and weight machines have become the gold standard of fitness. For all this new technology, are we really healthier, stronger, and more flexible than our ancestors? Where Born to Run began with an aching foot, Lift begins with a broken gym system—one founded on high-tech machinery and isolation techniques that aren't necessarily as productive as we think. Looking to the past for context, Daniel Kunitz crafts an insightful cultural history of the human drive for exercise, concluding that we need to get back to basics to be truly healthy. Lift takes us on an enlightening tour through time, beginning with the ancient Greeks, who made a cult of the human body—the word gymnasium derives from the Greek word for "naked"—and following Roman legions, medieval knights, Persian pahlevans, and eighteenth-century German gymnasts. Kunitz discovers the seeds of the modern gym in nineteenth-century Paris, where weight lifting machines were first employed, and takes us all the way up to the game-changer: the feminist movement of the 1960s, which popularized aerobics and calisthenics classes. This ignited the first true global fitness revolution, and Kunitz explores how it brought us to where we are today. Once a fast-food inhaler and substance abuser, Kunitz reveals his own decade-long journey to becoming ultra-fit using ancient principals of strengthening and conditioning. With Lift, he argues that, as a culture, we are finally returning to this natural ideal—and that it's to our great benefit to do so.
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Daniel Kunitz. (2016). Lift: Fitness Culture, from Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors. Unabridged Novel Audio.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Daniel Kunitz. 2016. Lift: Fitness Culture, From Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors. Novel Audio.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Daniel Kunitz, Lift: Fitness Culture, From Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors. Novel Audio, 2016.
MLA Citation (style guide)Daniel Kunitz. Lift: Fitness Culture, From Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors. Unabridged Novel Audio, 2016.
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A fascinating cultural history of fitness, from Greek antiquity to the era of the "big-box gym" and beyond, exploring the ways in which human exercise has changed over time—and what we can learn from our ancestors. We humans have been conditioning our bodies for more than 2,500 years, yet it's only recently that treadmills and weight machines have become the gold standard of fitness. For all this new technology, are we really healthier, stronger, and more flexible than our ancestors? Where Born to Run began with an aching foot, Lift begins with a broken gym system—one founded on high-tech machinery and isolation techniques that aren't necessarily as productive as we think. Looking to the past for context, Daniel Kunitz crafts an insightful cultural history of the human drive for exercise, concluding that we need to get back to basics to be truly healthy. Lift takes us on an enlightening tour through time, beginning with the ancient Greeks, who made a cult of the human body—the word gymnasium derives from the Greek word for "naked"—and following Roman legions, medieval knights, Persian pahlevans, and eighteenth-century German gymnasts. Kunitz discovers the seeds of the modern gym in nineteenth-century Paris, where weight lifting machines were first employed, and takes us all the way up to the game-changer: the feminist movement of the 1960s, which popularized aerobics and calisthenics classes. This ignited the first true global fitness revolution, and Kunitz explores how it brought us to where we are today. Once a fast-food inhaler and substance abuser, Kunitz reveals his own decade-long journey to becoming ultra-fit using ancient principals of strengthening and conditioning. With Lift, he argues that, as a culture, we are finally returning to this natural ideal—and that it's to our great benefit to do so.
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June 6, 2016
Kunitz, editor-in-chief of Modern Painters magazine, carries out an inquiry into the evolution of fitness and gym culture in this illuminating compendium. The author traces the cultural processes that led to current ideas about fitness, discovering along the way its impact on politics and technology. Writing in lucid anecdotal prose, Kunitz is a master at creating a compelling narrative. This book is divided into 10 substantial chapters on foundational topics, which include ancient ideals of the human form and the idea of making art out of one’s own body. Also included is a key segment on the women’s movement, which Kunitz credits as “the first mass culture of fitness”; he details the prominent women who revolted against strictures in the 1960s, such as by entering marathons from which they were barred. As we are guided through this timeline, Kunitz includes his own challenges with fitness along the way, making this a book not just for those interested in the roots of fitness, but for anyone who struggles to live healthily. Agent: Edward Orloff, McCormick & Williams Literary Agency.
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A fascinating cultural history of fitness, from Greek antiquity to the era of the "big-box gym" and beyond, exploring the ways in which human exercise has changed over time—and what we can learn from our ancestors. We humans have been conditioning our bodies for more than 2,500 years, yet it's only recently that treadmills and weight machines have become the gold standard of fitness. For all this new technology, are we really healthier, stronger, and more flexible than our ancestors? Where Born to Run began with an aching foot, Lift begins with a broken gym system—one founded on high-tech machinery and isolation techniques that aren't necessarily as productive as we think. Looking to the past for context, Daniel Kunitz crafts an insightful cultural history of the human drive for exercise, concluding that we need to get back to basics to be truly healthy...
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