IF you think your Movement Director is cool, how so? What gave them the runway to direct your fitness more so than a Personal Trainer? What ever happened to an aerobics class once a week being enough to satisfy your ‘gym guilt’? Well, as with all things in life, fitness has a long-storied history behind it and how we consume the trends of getting fitter, better, and stronger have evolved along with societal norms. What is super fascinating is how these worldwide shifts have happened as a result of female empowerment and women’s undeniable consumer power, which unsuspectedly led to rising fitness trends. This year alone the fitness industry is estimated to be worth $257 billion. The wearable devices market was already worth over $178.72 billion worldwide in 2024, and is projected to rise to more than $572 billion by 2033 - quite a jump from its $5.8 billion value back in 2000. One must take note that wellness is a way of being that is here to stay. So, when did it get so hot to work-out?

Elevate your knowledge of the jazzercise-energy history with this Deenathe1st 60-second read (that equates to about 80 reps on a 1kg dumbbell, people!), so your conversation in the ‘movement studio’ is primetime topical and informed…

1960s | Personal Fitness Firms Up

Vibrating belts - remember those? No apologies needed if you don’t. These contraptions promised to shake away fat, reflecting a period of minimal physical effort for maximum results. Questionable? Yes, of course. But it signalled a shift in how tech could aid wellness. Then came yoga’s early days, which began gaining traction in suburban homes thanks to the PBS show Lilias, Yoga, and You, which aired before Sesame Street in the USA. Although invented in 1958, Spandex started to be more widely available and included in high street offerings.

1970s | The Global Revolution Begins

Dubbed "The Decade that Changed Fitness Forever," the ’70s introduced foundational movements still relevant today. Jogging went mainstream in the form of the first women’s road race in 1972, and the creation of the first sports bra, “Jogbra”, in 1978. Celebrities like Farrah Fawcett made the sports bra cool and relevant. Running shoes and tracksuits became a thing, largely led by sporting powerhouse Adidas who introduced lightweight running shoes, and its sport-to-street tracksuits (circa 1963) that gained widespread popularity. No less, aerobics emerged. Although it was invented in the ’60s, aerobics skyrocketed after Jane Fonda’s 1981 workout tapes, laying the groundwork for group fitness classes. Let us not forget bodybuilding thanks to icons like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who featured in 1977 documentary Pumping Iron. We still wish this was fully available on YouTube! Oh, and yoga & leotards became an early thing in this decade. Leotards paired with tights became the unofficial uniform for fitness enthusiasts irrespective of how they were getting the adrenaline rising; this combo was not always well put together but the effort was noted.

1980s | The Aerobics Boom

The ’80s made fitness loud, colorful, and unapologetically fun. A Whamming and blinding neon era of high-energy workouts performed to a backdrop of power ballads. The ’80s really was an era of aerobics mania. Think bright spandex, leg warmers, and headbands. Let’s not forget the Jazzercise movement too which was a dance-based aerobics set to pop music which became a cultural phenomenon. At this point, stars wearing leotards graced the covers of many fashion and lifestyle magazines, such as TIME, projecting a new image of wellness. This is where the lines between high-fashion and fitness started to merge.

Home and DIY fitness products started to take over. If you watch a notable ’80s movie, you might spot in the backdrop of the set a “ThighMaster”. Anyone born in the ’70s and ’80s reading this will likely be nodding and smiling while proceeding to read on. The ThighMaster was a comical piece of equipment made of steel springs covered in a foam - it may have caused more accidents that it toned thighs but TBC on that fact. Then there was a subculture cool workout regime called Tae Bo, which was a blend of martial arts and cardio. This gave some people an option that didn’t fall into the neon headband category. What a decade!