Bibliograph

Sweat, a history of exercise, Bill Hayes

Type

Label

Sweat, a history of exercise, Bill Hayes

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Illustrations

illustrationsplates

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Sweat

Nature of contents

bibliography

Responsibility statement

Bill Hayes

Sub title

a history of exercise

Summary

From the author of Insomniac City 'who can tackle just about any subject in book form, and make you glad he did' (San Francisco Chronicle)- a cultural, scientific, literary, and personal history of exercise. Exercise is our modern obsession, and we have the fancy workout gear and fads to prove it. Exercise - a form of physical activity distinct from sports, play, or athletics - was an ancient obsession, too, but as a chapter in human history, it's been largely overlooked. In Sweat, Bill Hayes runs, jogs, swims, spins, walks, bikes, boxes, lifts, sweats, and downward-dogs his way through the origins of different forms of exercise, chronicling how they have evolved over time, and dissecting the dynamics of human movement. Hippocrates, Plato, Galen, Susan B. Anthony, Jack LaLanne, and Jane Fonda, among many others, make appearances in Sweat, but chief among the historical figures is Girolamo Mercuriale, a Renaissance-era Italian physician who aimed singlehandedly to revive the ancient Greek "art of exercising" through his 1569 book De arte gymnastica. In the pages of Sweat, Mercuriale and his illustrated treatise are vividly brought back to life. As Hayes ties his own personal experience to the cultural and scientific history of exercise, from ancient times to the present day, he gives us a new way to understand its place in our lives in the 21st century

Table Of Contents

Plunge -- Finding mercuriale -- Gym rats -- No athlete -- A boxer's diary -- Library rats -- A duel -- On the nature of running -- Mercuriale in Kansas -- The art of swimming -- Inside the archive -- A refutation of those who think everyone should exercise -- The rest principle -- Esercivip a Roma -- A physical education -- A practice -- The proof -- The seventies -- The men in the mirrors -- A break -- On the road to Olympia

Classification