Staying Fit

I know folks who are extremely conscientious about fitness. For most it takes the form a steady fitness routine at a gym, a relative minority among them incorporate it into their day and have no specific time or budget allocated to fitness. B is one of those women. She lives in a city with good metro access but chooses to walk everywhere. If she tells you something is a few blocks away, count on it being between ten to twenty. You will regret agreeing to join her on the little errand. She does not notice such details being so habituated. L runs about ten miles each day instead of commuting and that's all the exercise he needs. As much as I admire B and L, its an example I find hard to emulate. I am more the mainstream type with a routine that I try my best to follow. 

This article critiques America’s modern fitness culture, arguing that our obsession with exercise, tracking, and wellness has become performative, competitive, and disconnected from true health. Fitness is now a status symbol, with expensive gyms, gadgets, and supplements turning health into a luxury pursuit. The rise of gym culture and fitness tracking is contrasted with the reality that, in healthier societies, wellness is built into daily life through walkable cities and accessible food, not through individual, costly routines.

Exercise has become a mass obsession in America, the organizing axis around which everything else — clothing, food, even work — revolves. Last year in the United States, fitness memberships reached an all-time high of 72.9 million; cookie and pretzel sales fell while workout-friendly alternatives like beef jerky and nutrition bars flew off the shelf. Normal people have developed “protein anxiety”: If Rule 34 of the internet dictates that every topic has a porn equivalent, then Rule 34 of contemporary nutrition is that every recipe has a sad cottage-cheese knockoff. Gen Z is purportedly the “swolest generation.” Gyms have become the new bars, offices, and hotels. At Chelsea Piers, where membership starts at $220/month, you can access state-of-the-art equipment, but also co-working lounges, day care, nutrition coaches, and exclusive social events.