Fit Nation: 📖 Don't Miss Natalia Petrzela’s Critically Acclaimed New Book

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In America, there is a longstanding cultural obsession with exercise and physical fitness. This obsession can be traced back to the early 20th century, and by the 1980s, it seemed to have become a permanent fixture in public discourse. From the emergence of aerobics classes, home workout videos, and a proliferation of fitness clubs and gyms, the fitness industry exploded and now has become what we know today as a multi-billion dollar industry.

America is home to some of the most well-known fitness brands and trainers in the world, and we see a constant stream of new fitness trends and fads on every media platform, and in recent years, permeating social media and often at the center of lifestyle influencer culture. And even though we can’t seem to escape imagery of physical fitness, “only twenty percent of Americans work out consistently, over half of gym members don’t even use the facilities, and fewer than three out of ten high school students get an hour of exercise a day.”

How did fitness become inescapable and inaccessible all at the same time? How is it that we seem to be more obsessed with exercise than ever, and yet remain unhealthy? Are we overdue for a revolution in exercise culture? In her most recent book, Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession, Outspoken speaker Natalia Petrzela takes on these questions and many more. Spanning over a century of American history, Fit Nation includes original interviews, archival research, and a rich cultural narrative. As a leading political and intellectual historian and a certified fitness instructor herself, Natalia confronts “the complex and far-reaching implications of how our contemporary exercise culture took shape. She explores the work of working out not just as consumers experienced it, but as it was created by performers, physical educators, trainers, instructors, and many others.”

Natalia’s work unpacks the politics and culture of the modern United States, especially when it comes to issues of gender, race, identity, and class. In a recent interview published by TIME Magazine, Natalia share the roots of exercise, explaining its origins in white supremacy and other surprising facts that many have overlooked. “It was super interesting reading the reflections of fitness enthusiasts in the early 20th century. They said we should get rid of corsets, corsets are an assault on women’s form, and that women should be lifting weights and gaining strength. At first, you feel like this is so progressive, “ she explains. “Then you keep reading, and they’re saying white women should start building up their strength because we need more white babies. They’re writing during an incredible amount of immigration, soon after enslaved people have been emancipated. This is totally part of a white supremacy project.”

Fit Nation presents fitness as a social justice issue, pointing out that this culture continues to marginalize many, all while others profit endlessly. Natalia’s writing ultimately points out that “the fight for a more equitable exercise culture will be won only by revolutionizing fitness culture at its core, making it truly inclusive for all bodies in a way it has never been.” Fit Nation is available today on Kindle and other digital readers! Be sure to pre-order your hardcover copy, set to release on Feb. 2.