When fitness went global : the rise of physical culture in the nineteenth century / Conor Heffernan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heffernan, Conor, author.

Contributor:

Bloomsbury (Firm), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Physical fitness--History--19th century.

Physical fitness.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2025.

Summary:

"Fitness, exercise and physical culture is a key part of our modern lives, but has this always been the case? In this book, Conor Heffernan shows how the 19th century was critical for the development of the modern fitness industry, and how the globalization of physical culture was entangled in, and spread by, concepts of nationalism, gender, race, empire and medicine. From yoga and gymnastics to Indian club swinging and Jiujitsu, When Fitness Went Global follows some of the most popular fitness practices from around the world as they were exported on a global scale during the long 19th century. Showing how this came about through imperial networks, military education, new print culture, faster trade networks and changing ideas about the body, it shows how beautiful bodies were linked to notions of national strength and imperial might. Exploring how both local and international understandings of exercise were negotiated, it asks why some practices became global while others did not, and shows how fitness was revolutionised during the 19th century"-- Bloomsbury Collections.

Contents:

The long durée of fitness

Globalizing local practices

Institutional and international gymnastics

Physical culture and selling fitness

Protected practices.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Online resource; title from home page (Bloomsbury Collections, viewed October 31, 2025).

Other Format:

Print version: Heffernan, Conor. When fitness went global

ISBN:

9781350511514

135051151X

9781350500792

1350500798

9781350500808

1350500801

OCLC:

1520506575

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license