| Edition |
First edition |
| Phys Descr |
viii, 320 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Note |
Includes bibliographical references ([283]-304) and index |
| Contents |
Into the new frontier -- The inner statue -- But is it good for you? -- Feeling, breathing, going to war -- Bodyweight politics -- Hercules and the athletic Renaissance -- Training for the mirror -- Acrobats and beefcake -- The tyranny of the wheel -- From women's work to the women's movement -- Practicing at life |
| Summary |
"A cultural history of fitness explores the ways in which human exercise has changed over time and what can be learned from our athletic ancestors, evaluating whether today's high-tech exercise machines are actually productive while making recommendations based on early health practices"-- NoveList |
|
"While we humans have been conditioning our bodies for more than 2,500 years, we've done so for a variety of reasons: to imitate gods, to be great warriors, to build nations and create communities, to achieve physical perfection, and, of course, to look good naked. Behind each of these goals is a story and method of exercise that not only illuminates the past but also sheds light on aspects of the widespread, multi-faceted fitness culture of today. Lift begins with the ancient Greeks, who made a cult of the human body--the word "gymnasium" derives from the Greek word for "naked"--and then takes us on an enlightening tour through time, following Asian martial artists, Persian pahlevans, nineteenth-century German gymnasts, and the bronzed bodies of California's Muscle Beach. Kunitz uncovers the seeds of the modern gym in the late nineteenth-century with the invention of the first weightlifting machines, and brings us all the way up to the ultimate game-changer: the feminist movement, which kicked off the exercise boom of the 1970s with aerobics, and ultimately helped create the big-box gyms we know today. Using his own decade-long journey to transform himself from a fast-food junkie into an ultra-fit--if aging--athlete as a jumping off point, Kunitz argues that another exercise revolution is underway now--a new frontier in fitness, in which the ideal of a bikini body is giving way to a focus on mastering the movements of life." -- Publisher's description |
| Subject |
Physical fitness -- Social aspects
|
|
Physical education and training -- Social aspects
|
|
Exercise -- Social aspects
|
| Alt Title |
fitness culture, from naked Greeks and acrobats to jazzercise and ninja warriors |
| Other Form |
Online version: Kunitz, Daniel, author. Lift. New York, NY : Harper Wave, 2016 9780062336200 (DLC) 2016012668 |
| OCLC # |
925497494 |
| ISBN # |
9780062336187 |
|
0062336185 |
| PUBN # |
40026275798 |
|
