I thought this was so interesting because of the way women exercise and body shapes have changed throughout the years. This was an easy read, but the analysis and conclusions didn't feel super... conclusive ore well communicated.

Friedman paints a detailed and intimate portrait of the history of women and their physical fitness. I especially liked the chapter discussing the history of barre (sounds like an intense workout and founder). As a female athlete, I was drawn to this book by the premise and stayed for the excellent writing.

Friedman reports on the women who pioneered women’s fitness movements in this book. She covers barre, dance, yoga, running, and lifting. She doesn’t shy away from sharing the hardships that women, especially women of color, have faced from pursuing fitness. Societal norms and misogyny are behind many of this hardships, but in a matter of fact, at times sarcastic, tone, Friedman lays out the history of women exercising.

Super interesting and absolutely packed with fun history! This book is definitely a bit longer and denser, but as someone who is obsessed with fitness/the fitness industry, it was fascinating.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this exploration of the evolution of women's fitness, particularly because of how much context about larger society Friedman gave throughout each section. I learned a lot from this book, even though I grew up as a female presenting jock in the 90s who devoured information on female athletes. A great read for anyone who has a even passing interest in fitness and sports.

I really enjoyed this book! It presents an interesting overview of the history women exercising and a deep dive into the popular women’s fitness trends throughout the decades. As a woman who enjoys many forms of exercise, it was extremely interesting to read about where fitness trends of today originated and the women who have played a role in the fitness industry.

Fascinating history and well written explanation of the history of women’s exercise from the ‘50s to the present day.

I was honestly expecting this to be an overly fluffy and easily forgotten pop-history book that was full of sugar-coated girl power. Instead, I found myself in tears reading about the first women involved in bringing running and weightlifting into mainstream women's fitness. It is absolutely mindboggling how few years are between these events and the present day.

Let's Get Physical is a thoughtfully written book, and I highly recommend it if you're interested in the history of the fitness industry and popular culture. Kudos to the author for frequently mentioning how the exercise trends described were often available only to white and upper class women and wrapping up the book with the body positivity movement.

This is a history of women’s exercise, starting with the days of people thinking women’s bodies were too delicate to actually exercise, to the development of things like the barre workout and jazzercize and of course, Jane Fonda.

As someone who regularly reads and writes about women in sports, it was fascinating reading about the evolution of women’s exercise. It’s well-researched, beautifully presented, and really motivating, actually! I don’t think you’ll come out of this book without a desire to get up and move around - quite the bonus!

This is a riveting look at the history of the women's fitness industry. Friedman not only gives great background but she also personalizes the narrative in an entertaining way (the Zumba description is priceless!). I loved reading about female pioneers who pushed back on the sexism in exercise and how working out tied into women's liberation. This book is so much more than it might appear and is well worth your time!

This journalistic account of the development of the women’s fitness industry in America is interesting, entertaining, and has enough surprising revelations that it kept me turning pages. I appreciate how candid the author is in her assessment of the various programs that emerged over the years and of the women who founded them. The sections addressing differences in how this movement has been unavailable (and perhaps even undesirable) to different groups of women was clunky and felt tacked on as an afterthought. A more thorough consideration of this, looking at a wider variety of women, would have added a lot. But overall, a really good read!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

Let's Get Physical is a fascinating look into the history of women's fitness and the extraordinary female pioneers who made the industry what it is today. It wasn't a surprise to me to learn of the sexism in exercise (doctors actually told women not to run or exert too much energy for fear of their uterus falling out. Umm... what?!), but I had no idea just how many women (and years) it would take for fitness to truly become a staple in so many of our lives.

Danielle Friedman is a journalist—this book is actually a deep dive into an article she wrote for The Cut that went viral a couple years ago—and Let's Get Physical reads like some of the best long-form journalism I've read. It's well researched and all-encompassing in its look back at the last 70-plus years of fitness innovation. Each chapter features the most impactful movements by decade and a close look at how they came to be, as well as the women behind them.

Bonnie Prudden, Lotte Berk Judi Sheppard Missett—these are just a few of the women who changed the world of fitness in their time, and I was astounded to read about so many of them for the first time in this book. These women introduced fitness as we know it today, beginning in a time when women weren't even allowed to play sports in school and eventually earning them a place in the Olympics. How are these not all household names?

I took pages of notes while reading Let's Get Physical, and I haven't been able to stop thinking or talking about it since I picked it up. I've been interested in fitness since I was a teenager so I thought learning a little about its history would be fun. I had no idea how impactful it would be and just how much I would learn from it. I can't recommend it enough.

Thoroughly engaging recap of the 20th Century history of women’s personal exercise options, once middle American lives became decidedly ‘unphysical.’ After WWII, with the a growing middle class, American lives became more sedentary, just as women were encouraged to leave the workplace and make room for returning soldiers. A combination of frustration, vanity and encouragement caused a succession of enterprising women to break norms and introduce new forms of personal exercise. These pathbreaking stories are fascinating and well-worth knowing. I enjoyed this book very much. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Absolutely fantastic read for anyone interested in feminism, the progression of american culture, or, of course, fitness. Totally unputdownable. At times had to talk to the book out loud.

This book was fascinating. It chronicles the journey from the time when women were warned not exercise at all lest their uterus fall out to the boutique fitness classes of today. The book primarily focuses on American women. It was very interesting to see how the culture of a specific tied in with exercise culture.

I was lucky enough to win a review copy of LET'S GET PHYSICAL by Danielle Friedman in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and have a safe and happy weekend!

A fun and fascinating exploration of the evolution of women’s fitness, and all that encompasses. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you: Want a hugely entertaining, revealing, and inspiring look at how women created/influenced the workout revolution, from the 1950s to today. Some names will be familiar (like Jane Fonda), while others will likely be new to the reader. Everything from how exercise became an important aspect of the Cold War, to the development of the barre routine, the enduring popularity of Jazzercise, the origin story of Jane Fonda's workout, athleisure wear for women, the rise of yoga as an antidote to the pressure produced by high-energy regular workouts, Cross Fit, and much more. The "whitewashing"/cultural appropriation of yoga, the exclusion experienced by women of color in gyms and the fitness industry, and the growing acceptance of varioius body shapes in fitness and magazine covers is also sensitively detailed. This is fun and entertaining nonfiction at its best, with depth to boot.

Librarians/booksellers: This is a fantastic example of accessible and entertaining narrative nonfiction. Fitness-especially women and fitness--is an important subject for many. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are lightly discussed (understandably, since we are still in the middle of it!).

Many thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.