AskHistorians AMA: The History of Fitness

On Monday 24 August 2026, I’ll be joining the moderators and community at r/AskHistorians for a live Ask Me Anything on the history of fitness and physical culture.

The AMA follows the publication of my latest book, When Fitness Went Global: The Rise of Physical Culture in the Nineteenth Century, and will begin at 9am Eastern / 2pm Irish time.

I’ll be answering questions on the history of gyms, bodybuilding, weightlifting, strongmen and strongwomen, exercise systems, fitness entrepreneurs, health culture and the development of modern ideas about physical fitness.

Questions beyond the book are very welcome.

I’ll add the direct link here when the AMA goes live on Monday.

AMA: I’m Dr. Conor Heffernan, historian of fitness and bodybuilding and author of When Fitness Went Global
byu/Garrud inAskHistorians