In Pandemic Health and Fitness, Sabina M. Perrino and Joshua O. Reno conceptualize gyms as spaces for self-discipline during the Covid-19 pandemic. Blending methodologies from linguistic anthropology, sociocultural ethnography, and autoethnography, the authors construct a vivid and multi-dimensional portrait, encompassing reshaped fitness culture, redefined notions of wellness, safety risks, and identity renegotiation by fitness rituals.
This book first examines how fitness practices are shaped by—and reshape—physical and virtual spaces, tracing their evolution through the Covid-19 pandemic. Chapter 2 analyzes the Riverwalk Athletic Club as a choreographed environment, where spatial design embeds bodily movements within a regimented social order. However, the pandemic disrupted these spatial norms, as explored in chapter 6, forcing a shift to virtual platforms like Zoom, where instructors recreated communal energy through digital classes. The concluding chapter contextualizes this transformation historically, contrasting twentieth-century fitness icons emphasizing individual muscle-building with today’s hybridized, technology-driven practices. This historical lens underscores how sociotechnological shifts and crises continually redefine the spaces and meanings of fitness, transitioning from collective, gym-based rituals to individualized, screen-mediated endeavors.
The second overarching theme is related to how fitness culture reinforces and challenges hierarchies of identity through embodied power dynamics. Chapter 3 dissects the ideological role of gym mirrors that encapsulate oppressive beauty standards—particularly for women like Irene, whose anxieties about body image intensified under relentless self-surveillance. This critique extends to chapter 4, where trainers take a micro-celebrity stance. Through curated social media personas and motivating verbal cues, they shape clients’ aspirations, blurring mentorship with performative self-branding. Chapter 5 exposes the darker consequences of these power structures: gendered risks and pandemic-era injuries from unsupervised home workouts reveal how the neoliberal mantra of ‘no pain, no gain’ glorifies risk-taking behavior, framing self-harm as a badge of discipline. By juxtaposing the hypervisibility of ideal bodies, both mirrored and Instagrammed, with marginalized gym experiences, the authors dismantle the myth of fitness as a neutral, apolitical pursuit, arguing instead that it is a contested terrain where identity, discipline, and resistance collide.
The vital role of communal ties in sustaining fitness culture serves as the third topic explored. Chapter 6 highlights how pre-pandemic group classes forged familial bonds through shared exertion, synchronized movements, and post-workout social activities. These intimate connections persisted virtually during lockdowns, as Zoom classes transformed living rooms into collective sweat zones. Chapter 5 further explores adaptive resilience: gym-goers navigated pandemic risks by improvising garage workouts, sharing scarce equipment, and embracing hybrid routines, revealing both individual ingenuity and grassroots mutual aid. Chapter 7 critiques neoliberal narratives framing health as a solitary pursuit, arguing instead for a socially embedded vision of wellness. A reclamation of fitness as a public good rooted in interdependence rather than hyper-individualism challenges the myth of ‘self-made’ health.
In summary, this book offers an interdisciplinary exploration of fitness culture, interrogating how gym practices—shaped by space, power, and community—were transformed during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is highly recommended to scholars in public health and cultural studies, as well as practitioners reimagining inclusive futures for wellness.
