← Dark History
Loading summary
Transcript9 lines
- [00:00]
Bailey Sarian
Expecting heavy downpours all day today.
- [00:02]
FrogTape Advertiser
You're a builder, you build. It's literally in your job title.
- [00:06]
Bailey Sarian
Let's hit it.
- [00:06]
FrogTape Advertiser
A little rain isn't stopping you. Not today, not any day. Shouldn't your flashing tape be working through it all, too? Only frogtape pro grade flashing tapes, high performance acrylic adhesive sticks re sticks and stays stuck even on the roughest surfaces in rain, snow, heat, and more. So you stay in control when it matters most. Show weather. Who's boss with frog tape? Pro grade flashing tape.
- [00:30]
Bailey Sarian
Extreme cold weather advisory in effect this morning.
- [00:33]
FrogTape Advertiser
You're a contractor. You have a contract. All right, guys, come on, let's do this. A little snow and ice isn't stopping you. Not today, not any day. Shouldn't your flashing tape be working through it all too? Only frog tape, Pro grade flashing tapes, high performance acrylic adhesive sticks, resticks and stays stuck even on the roughest surfaces in rain, snow, heat, and more. So you stay in control when it matters most. Show weather. Who's boss with frog tape? Pro grade flashing tape.
- [01:00]
Bailey Sarian
You know, lately I've noticed something strange. It feels like every celebrity these days is, like, super jacked. And I'm not talking just like, good shape. I'm talking veiny bros. I mean, veins I didn't even know existed. I mean, back in the day, you had what, two or three action stars? But now even the comedians are huge. Like, why is Jim from the office looking like he's training for the Olympics? And this got me thinking, like, when did we get so obsessed with muscles? Because I don't remember most celebrities being super jacked, right? They're just kind of like, whatever, it's fine. So where did it all start? And is it even healthy to be so muscular? Today we're taking a little trip back in time to talk about the sweaty, sexy, muscular dark history of bodybuilding. Hi, friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Here we believe history does not have to be boring. It might be tragic. Sometimes it's happy. But either way, it's our dark history. Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe because I'm always posting new content a lot. And let me know what you think down below in the comment section. Cause at the end, we read comments. Did you know that? I didn't remember. So let's get into today's story. Here's the thing. Different types of bodies have been in and out of style for as long as people have been around. And the idea of the quote, unquote, perfect body is always changing. Even in my lifetime, things have changed a lot. Remember the early 2000s, it was all about being, like, real thin, right? A stick, starving yourself, not eating, having a glass of wine for dinner. And like, that was it. And now people, you know, it's kind of gone the opposite direction, where people pay a lot of money to be a little bit more, you know, curvy, juicy, all that good stuff. But now it kind of feels like it's circling back to being thin again. It's a mess, isn't it? But it changes all the time now. That's just me noticing women's bodies. But the quote, unquote ideal male body has shifted a lot over time, too. So the first obsession with muscles started way back in ancient Greece. I mean, they invented the Olympics in 776 BC. So, you know, they were kind of obsessed with working out and, like, lifting and being strong. So obviously, muscles and lifting aren't like a new concept. I mean, not by a long shot, but they did go out of fashion for a really long time. But as society advances and upper class gets more access to education, being smart becomes more important than being strong. I mean, the brain is a muscle, but it was all about working out that. That muscle. You know, according to our expert, people started to believe that focusing too much on your body would actually be bad for your intellect. Mm. I mean, it did take away from studying and all that stuff. So for a long time, like hundreds of years, muscles were seen as brutish and kind of tacky. It's just like something you didn't really. You didn't want and, like, you didn't care about because you were too busy being smart. That is, up until the 1800s, in Europe and America, women, you know, they're completely, like, corseted up and buttoned up to the chin. Men are all, like, wearing top hats and vests. Layers, lots of layers. Fluffy pirate shirts. I mean, you never really saw, like, chest hair. A V cut? No. What's that? No one knew. So again, people really just valued how smart you were versus everything else. How many languages could you speak? Can you play the piano? Can you play the piano and read a book and sing at the same time? Sports like playing polo or riding horses were definitely fashionable, but, like, no one was trying to get super muscular at this time. Muscles were seen as low class, and it meant you had the body of someone who was, like, A laborer. You worked a lot, which was so embarrassing. Like, oh, you work. I read. But when something goes out of style, it never really dies. I mean, it usually, like, circles back around, right? And when it came to, like, muscles, this came back around as kind of like a counterculture or underground movement. And that's exactly what the strongmen were. They were, like, Victorian era bodybuilders. And people saw them as, not my words, freaks. Literally. Usually if you were, like, big and muscular, you were part of, like, of a circus or traveling show. A freak show is what they would call it. And you were seen as, like, just entertainment. Like, let's go look at how big this guy is. Whoa. That's crazy. He's so big. Like, you never see that anywhere. So the strongmen, they would tour around and they would put on these insane performances to show off their strength. They would bend steel bars. They would break chains. They would throw an anvil. Is that what it's called? An anvil? Around, like, it was a Frisbee. And people were like, oh, my God. Wow. Like, that's so crazy because, like, no one's ever seen that before. It's like, toss me next, you know? But then everything changed when a guy named Louis Attila stepped into the spotlight. Now, Attila, he was born in a small town in Germany in July of 1844. And when he was growing up, I guess he went to, like, one of those strongman shows, and he saw a strong man, and I guess he became obsessed. He was like, this is so cool. I want to look like that guy. At 19, he left home to become an apprentice to an Italian strongman and learn everything he could and develop his own axe. So Attila, he was like 5 foot 4, and one of his signature moves was that he would put, like, a platform on his chest and he would. Well, first he would lay on the ground, he would put a platform on his chest, and then they would put a grand piano on the platform, and then a pianist would sit on top of the platform playing the piano and just sit there and perform while Attila is just laying there, like. And people were like, oh, my God, that's crazy. He's not smushed. He was not smushed. But what set Attila apart was that he started treating lifting and getting bigger like a science. Like, he had a formula. He figured it out. So Attila, he ended up developing new training methods, including resistance exercises, pulling machines, and adjustable dumbbells never done before. Iconic. Wow. Pretty soon, Attila became a household name. People across Europe And America started requesting his services. They were like, I kind of want to be strong like that guy. And he became like a personal trainer. Attila became known as Professor Attila and started training some pretty high profile people. For example, the Tsar of Russia. Yeah, I don't know how they got. Okay. The King of Greece. What? Okay. Yeah. And the King of England. So not a bad client roster, you could say, right? Yeah, I think that's pretty good. So all this fame led to Attila opening up his own gym in New York in 1894. And this was not a thing. A gym. What? Huh? What's that? What do you do there? Attila's gym was basically one of the first in America. And he was the first trainer to put a strategy and science into working out. Weights pretty much had to be made by a blacksmith. Before that, you just kind of lifted, you know, the heaviest thing that was around you. So like a rock. Now here's the thing. Professor Attila, he knew that he would never, like, reach the level of fame he wanted. He didn't have a quote unquote, perfect male physique because of his height and because at this point in the late 1880s, he was considered older. He was in his 40s, which isn't old. It's not old. So this is when Attila decides, like, to train someone to be his perfect little protege and change the world of muscle building forever. Okay, let's be real. Shopping is not as easy or fun as it sounds. I want to be that person who just, like, rolls into the store and I find, like, this perfect outfit after trying on one thing, you know, and then I'm like, wow. Oh, my God, that was so fun. Everything fits. It's so incredible. But no, usually when I go shopping, nothing fits right. I'm sweating because it's always so freaking hot. And then, like, they have these awful mirrors that show me angles that I don't. I don't want to see that angle. I didn't ask to see that. Anyways, that's why I started using Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix is a personal styling service that delivers hand picked clothing and accessories straight to your door. But without, like a bad fitting, room lighting, or people pressuring you. Like, do you need help with sizes? You know? No, none of that. All you do is you take a quick style quiz. You tell them your style, your size, your budget, and then a real human stylist will pick out clothes just for. For you. I feel like my stylist gets me, you know, picking out stuff that I'd actually wear. Okay. You know, not sending me like pieces. I'm just like, okay, this is cute, but I would never wear this. My favorite part is that it's totally risk free. So you can try everything on at home. You can keep what you love and then you send back what you don't. There's no subscription pressure either. No. Plus, your first fix is a free try on so you really have like nothing to lose. So you can avoid all the rude hassles of going shopping in a store and start stitch fixing. Get started today@stitchfix.com DarkHistory to get $20 off your first order and they'll waive your styling fee. That's stitchfix.com darkhistory so Louis Attila is in Brussels in the late 1880s and he's keeping his eyes out for someone to basically be his sidekick. And it happens. He meets a young German guy named Eugen. So Sandow. So Eugen was in his early 20s and he was also starting his career by training to be a strongman. But Yujin showed a lot of potential that interested Attila. It wasn't just that Eugene was strong. He had the look, broad shoulders, tiny waist, perfect symmetry. He looked like a Greek statue is what Attila's thinking. He sees this guy and he's like, oh yes, baby. He was thinking that Mulan song, like imma make a man out of you is what he's thinking. So Attila decides to take Eugen under his wing, refine his technique and turn him into a star. So Attila does just that. He helps Eugene going from like, you know, a wannabe strong man into a full on superstar. Yujin was thrilled because he'd always been very ambitious, charismatic and fame was his number one goal. Well, with Attila's training, Yujin rose up the ranks of strongmen competitions. But he wasn't content with just being strong. He wanted to look good while doing it. His performances didn't just involve like lifting heavy things. Yujin wanted to dazzle the audience. So he oiled up his body before flexin for the audience. He started to promote the idea that strength was just as much about looks as it was about power. Yujin Sandow was ahead of his time because he was doing something that no one else was even thinking about. He was branding himself. He sold the idea of the perfect physique based on measurements taken from classical Greek and Roman statues. Weren't those kind of like over exaggerated though, you know, did they really look like that back then? Sometimes I wonder because you look at like Nero did you watch the Nero episode? Have you ever seen a picture of him? It's like, I don't know. I don't know. I just feel like, okay, but whatever. He took measurements. That's great. Well, this idea, this whole, like, thing was very revolutionary because it shifted the focus completely from just like being strong, you know, unfit to looking a specific way. He was the Ken doll. Before the Ken doll, Ken was kind of muscular, wasn't he? I remember this was huge. It was a big turning point. Before Eugen, it was all about just power. Like, how many pounds could you lift? Could you lift a cow? Could you turn your body into a bridge and have 10 people walk across it? But not anymore. Now vanity had entered the picture. From this point on, bodybuilding, which is what we call it now, was all about aesthetics. Yujin's whole motto was essentially, why lift in the shadows when you can flex in the spotlight? I like that. Well, I don't. But like, it's like, that's a good line. T shirts. We should get on it before someone else does. So Eugene is getting more famous, right? So as he's getting more attention, he starts to distance himself from Attila. In fact, he pretty much erases any trace of Attila from his resume. I mean, anything that connected Attila to Eugen's rise to fame, he was like, no, get rid of it. He wanted people to think, like, he was self made. He did this himself. Now, naturally, this pissed Attila off. I mean, he's like, I discovered you, I helped you, I treated you like a son, and this is what you do to me, really. But then Eugene takes it a step further. He started taking Attila's bodybuilding techniques and. And was marketing them as his own. The betrayal to Eugen Caesar. It's a reference. At this point, Eugene was way more famous than Attila. So, you know, they're not gonna. I mean, yeah, they're just gonna believe this Eugen guy. They're not gonna. Who's Attila? We don't know that guy. So Eugen, not only was he strong, he was very attractive. He was charismatic. He and very ambitious. In 1894, he wrote a book called Sandow on physical training. And to be honest, most of these methods were directly inspired by, you can say copied from what, like, Attila had taught him. That's ultimate betrayal. By 1901, Eugene had truly cemented himself as like, the go to guy in the fitness world. And this is when he decides to hold the world's first bodybuilding competition. In 1901, Eugene Sandow hosted the World's first bodybuilding competition at the Royal Albert hall in London. He's like, I got it. He's like, I got the name. I'm gonna call it the Great Competition. I don't know, you guys, it just came to me. It's a great competition. Now this event, it was a huge hit. Over 15,000 people showed up to watch. You know, the bodybuilders, they did some weightlifting. They competed in wrestling, fencing and did even gymnastics. What set Yujin's competition apart from the old school strongmen was that the winners weren't just going to be judged on, like, how much they could lift. They would be judged on their physique, how they looked. Strength. Yes. But also symmetry, muscle definition. Is he giving, I don't know, Greek God vibe? Is he nice to look at? Now, at this point, the majority of people still believe that lifting weights would make you slow, stiff and, you know, weirdly veiny. And it was still seen as like low class. But this new twist of bodybuilding becoming, you know, all about the aesthetic, really, rebranded muscles to be seen as beautiful and art. A guy named William Murray ended up winning the competition. And guess what the prize was. Joan Paul. Rob. Hi. So nice to see you again. You're looking really cute today. Any guesses? We would think money, right? Right. It's gotta be money. No, the grand prize. Winner of the world's first bodybuilding competition. Well, William took home a gold statue of Eugen Sandow. Nice. Put that right up on my shelf and just look at it. It's the recognition, right? Yeah. So Yujin, on top of being like very full of himself and passing off his mentor's ideas as his own, Yoojin Sandow was also a white supremacist. Great. Which makes me even happier to tell you that Yujin was finally publicly defeated and dethroned as the God of bodybuilding by a woman. I love a passion project. Hi. Right now I'm really into making pillows. Yeah, I've been taking classes, sewing classes. But you know, sometimes getting your project out there, your passion, you know, if you want to sell it can be overwhelming. Like, where do you even start? You know, do you build a website? How do you build a website? How do I do anything? Do I need to take a coding class? I don't know. There's so many questions. But never fear because Squarespace has the answers. Squarespace is an all in one platform that lets you build a professional website without needing to know a single line of code. Wow. Whether you're starting a business, launching a portfolio, selling products. Or maybe just want to, like, gorgeous personal blog where you can, you know, post your obsession with haunted Victorian dolls. Squarespace can help. Squarespace will make you look like a tech genius, even if you just learned how to screenshot on your laptop. You can start with their blueprint AI, which asks you a few questions about your vibe and your goals, and then, boom, you're in business. And if you're offering services or selling anything, Squarespace has you covered. It's like running a whole business just out of your laptop. So if you've got an idea you've been sitting on, Squarespace can make it real, make it beautiful, and make it easy. Head to squarespace.com darkhistory for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, use offer code DarkHistory to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. In 1884, a woman named Katie Brombach was born into a family of German circus princess performers. And Katie, you know, growing up in that family, she had really no choice but to be muscular because both of her parents were professional strongmen. So she grew up wrestling with her family. And she was so good that her dad offered a prize of 100 gold marks to any man who could outlift her or beat her in the ring. He's like, come fight my big, beefy daughter. That's how I imagine Germans speak. Anyway. So he's like, come find my daughter. Find my daughter. And then guess what? No one could outlift her. No one could beat her in the ring. So when Katie was 16, there was an acrobat named Max Heyman who took up this challenge to try and beat Katie. I guess he thought it would be, like, good publicity, plus, you know, he can make some money. Well, he fights her, whatever. And Katie crushed him pretty quickly, I guess. She, like, really, she picked him up and she threw him across the ring. You know, she's just like, another day, whatever. But allegedly, while Max was, like, on the ground looking up at her, he was like, oh. From that moment when they locked eyes, he fell in love. He's like, this is the woman of my dreams that is about to pick me up and throw me. And I can't wait. Max ended up marrying Katie, and For the next 50 years, he was basically her personal hypeman. Katie started incorporating Max into her routine right away. She would hoist him over her head in one hand. She would do this whole bit where she pretended to be a soldier. And, like Max, she would pick him up and, like, pretend he was the gun. I Don't know. She would swirl him around, doing tricks. Good for him. He loved it. He's like, toss me, baby. And people just ate this up. It was cute. It was special. It was different, especially because, like, Max was, I guess, 5 6, and Katie was 6 1. And Katie wasn't just strong for a woman. She was strong, period. She could lift more than some of, like, the top male weightlifters of her era, and she wanted to prove it. So it's the year 1902. There was a weightlifting competition in New York City, and Katie decides, I'm gonna go. It seems like it was kind of like a process of elimination, like in the competition. So everyone starts out, like, lifting 50 pounds. They lift it over their heads. I didn't shave my armpits. Don't judge me. So they start £50. Then they go to, like, £100. Then they go to £150. I'm already tired. And then, like, people, you know, start to drop out one by one. So Katie's in there. She's going, whatever. And then they get to £200, and Katie is still in. Yeah, Katie, she had lifted over 200 pounds over her head. And guess who else was still in the competition. Eugen Sandow. That guy. So now it's just them, the two of them. Eugen versus Katie. So they get up there to £300. Now, Katie, she goes first, because. Ladies first. So she takes the barbell, and she hoists it up, and boom, she clears it over her head. £300. So then it's Eugene's turn. So he goes, and he tries to lift that. He's like, he can't do it. He tries to lift it, and he only gets to his chest, and that's it. He's done. Which means that Katie won. Wow. Yep. She officially outlifted Eugen. Now, from that point on, she ended up changing her stage name to Katie Sandwina. And I was like, what? Okay. You know, Yujin's last name was Sandow, so she made it cute and kind of more feminine sounding, and she chose Sandwina. So it's kind of like a diss. Like, mm. Showed him. After this, her career took off. Ringling was calling her, like, come on, please, like, perform with us. So she ended up performing with the Ringling brothers and had this incredible act. She juggled cannonballs, she bent iron bars, and, of course, her husband was there, and she lifted her husband up over her head because it was a fan favorite. But Katie was the exception, not the rule. Most of society was not ready to See a woman deadlift her husband to them, it was just weird, right? Wrong. I don't know. A woman shouldn't do that. I mean, there's a reason she was seen as a circus act. By the turn of the century, men are still very much leading the way in the bodybuilding world. Over in England, they were having a whole weird ass movement. It was called extreme cold weather advisory. In effect this morning.
- [24:28]
FrogTape Advertiser
You're a contractor? You have a contractor? Come on, let's do this. A little snow and ice isn't stopping you. Not today, not any day. Shouldn't your flashing tape be working through it all too? Only frog tape. Pro grade flashing tape. Frogtape's high performance acrylic adhesive sticks, resticks and stays stuck even on the roughest surfaces in rain, snow, heat and more. So you stay in control when it matters most. Show weather. Who's boss with frog tape? Pro grade flashing tape.
- [24:56]
Bailey Sarian
Muscular Christianity. What the hell is Muscular Christianity? You might be thinking. Well, it all started with a guy named Charles Kingsley. So he was a writer and he was also a man of the church. Charles looked around one day and realized that all these British heroes that he really looked up to were muscular. And he was like, hmm, these guys were brave and muscular and good Christians. Coincidence? I think not. So he became a huge proponent of muscular Christianity. Just hyping up dudes to be buff in the name of the Lord. Well, it was kind of like good timing. The Industrial revolution was in full swing and it had a lot of men moving from farms to office jobs. And it turned out sitting at a desk all day just wasn't great for, you know, the body or their biceps. On top of that, women all of a sudden had fricking rights. So they're mad and they're like, oh, man, like, what are we gonna do? Like, if we're not men, what are we, you know, equal to women? No. So in Europe and America, everyone was just losing their mind at the idea that men were turning into weaklings. Especially the upper crust of society who didn't do jobs involving manual labor. I mean, they were all looking for a way to get, you know, jacked up and fast. The solution? Sports and exercise. Yeah, who would have thought? The idea was that discipline, teamwork, and physical strength weren't just good for winning games, they were also good for the soul. Churches and religious schools started promoting athletics as a way to build character. The Young Men's Christian association, the ymca. Ever heard of it? Ymca. That's what it stands for. Yeah, I didn't know that. Well, the YMCA was actually founded in 1844 to help young men stay physically, mentally, and spiritually strong. They built gyms specifically to keep men out of trouble and in top shape, all while keeping the faith, praise God. Another thing muscular Christianity was, like, secretly behind. They created American football. Yeah, I'm not kidding. Because of the fear that men were becoming weak, they needed a sport that, like, knocked them around a little bit, roughed up these boys, you know. And by the 1870s and 80s, the combination of rugby and soccer morphed into something with more tackling, more aggression, and a whole lot more broken bones. The thinking was, like, getting bruises would prove that just because they didn't work a job with physical labor, it didn't mean that they weren't strong. And it sounds crazy, but college administrators and Christian leaders actually encouraged football's brutality. They saw it as these young men being, like, tough, resilient, and manly. President Teddy Roosevelt. I love Teddy. Like, it's such a good name. Teddy. What a cute name. President Teddy Roosevelt was a big supporter of muscular Christianity, and he fricking loved football. And this obsession with strong godly bodies didn't just stop at football. It made its way all the way to giant Jesus himself. Have you ever noticed, like, in certain churches or certain images of Jesus all of a sudden, like, he's super ripped? I mean, it's not always the case, but in a lot of American churches, buff Jesus is lean, he's chiseled. He's like, oily sometimes. And you're like, okay, buff Jesus, here's my buff Jesus meme. I have it saved on my phone just in case of emergencies. It started with muscular Christianity because if being physically strong was a sign of godliness, then obviously Jesus had to have the best physique of all. You can't have the son of God looking like a frail young man when all these Christian men are out here deadlifting for the Lord. And this is where bodybuilding really took off as we know it now. So it could have been seen as, like, self absorbing or, you know, someone just showing off. It now became a symbol of wholesome values, discipline, and apparently divine favor. Thanks to muscular Christianity, America's obsession with fitness wasn't just about sports. Working out wasn't just good for you. It was tied to moral character and wholesome values. So in 1939, there was the first ever Mr. America competition for bodybuilders. The Mr. America contest was like the Triple Crown, the Indy 500, the Oscars, the Olympics, all rolled into one and before you know it, this was followed by competitions like Mr. USA, Mr. World, Mr. Galaxy, Mr. Universe. What else can we claim? Mr. Olympia. And the people who won these competitions could go on to have successful careers based just off that win. And one of these guys was a man named Charles Atlas. He was an American bodybuilder who won a competition. And Charles used his fame to create a bodybuilding empire. He created a workout program that became known as the Atlas Program. And I guess to bodybuilders it was like the Bible. Don't bring Buff Jesus into this. The advertising for his program became pretty iconic. So it was like a comic strip, right? And it would show, like, a skinny guy getting sand kicked in his face at the beach. And because he's getting bullied at the beach, it motivates him to build muscle using the Atlas system. The guy, the skinny guy comes back later and he's totally jacked up, and he stands up to the bully. It sounds cheesy, but the whole, like, underdog approach, it really struck a nerve. Because of these ads. The everyday person was now kind of drawn to these weightlifting gyms, and they were, like, joining bodybuilding competitions. Finally, by the 60s and 70s, weightlifting became mainstream, you know, but of course, like, this was all centered around men. And it's like, well, where did it leave the women? Well, for a long time, it left them out of the picture completely. Before the 50s, women were not allowed to compete in weightlifting competitions, period. You're a woman. Sit down. Sure, there were people in the fitness community who promoted women being strong, too, but that definitely wasn't how most people felt at the time. The idea that women could or should be muscular did not sit well with most of society. I mean, you're a woman. You're supposed to be helpless and frail and be tied up to a railroad and a rail. A train is coming and I need to untie you and save you. That's what a woman's supposed to be, helpless. So women were like, fine, we're just going to do our own. So women's bodybuilding competitions started to pop up, and of course, like, they faced way more criticism than the male ones. You know, people were asking, like, how muscular is too muscular for a woman? And this turned a lot of women off. Like, I don't want to be too big or bulky from lifting weights. And if women did exercise, you know, they mostly. And to this day, it still happens, but they mostly stuck to cardio workouts, thigh master, jazzercise, you know, like, what's aerobics? I don't know, stuff like that cute stuff where you get to wear a little, cute little outfit, not like lifting weights. But the truth was it was just all propaganda because if women could be strong, potentially stronger than a man, it would be just hurt the ego. I mean, the panic of men not being men anymore is what started the whole muscular Christianity movement in the first place. But thankfully, not all women were scared off by this bullcrap. There were some serious female legends in the world of bodybuilding. There was a woman named Lisa Lyon. If you've ever seen a 70s poster of an absolutely shredded babe in an animal print bathing suit with a mullet holding weights, it's probably her, or at least inspired by her. Lisa Lyon was the first woman's world bodybuilding champion in 1979. And she was amused. For famous photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe, she was a fitness icon. Her body inspired comic book characters and honestly just redefined female hotness. You could be strong and hot, but of course, you know, there's still a huge gap between what's historically society views as acceptable workouts for men versus women. Back in the early 2000s, strength training for women, not really a thing. But fast forward to today. There was a 2023 survey that found that nearly 50% of women who exercise now incorporate some form of strength training into their routine, which is progress. Yeah, especially when you compare that to the early 2000s when you'd walk into a gym and only see men in the weight room. And there was like that myth I remember growing up, it was like you didn't want to lift weights because you didn't want to be bulky. And I don't know, I just, you just never really saw it. But it's changing, which is great. And social media is a huge part of like this uptick. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have been flooded with strong female influencers who inspired women to start lifting. And then on top of that, the rise of CrossFit in the early 2000s played a huge role in normalizing women lifting heavy. And it was like making it more about what your body can do rather than just how it looks. Medical research today has consistently shown that strength training does so much good for you. It like improves bone density, it boosts your metabolism and it reduces the risk of injury. I know you're thinking like, Bailey, why didn't you mention steroids at all? Blah, blah. Listen, I just wanted to get into like the bodybuilding itself. If you want an episode about steroids, let me know down below because that could be a Whole nother thing. Okay. The main reason I wanted to do this story is because if you go on social media, well, I don't know about you, but I see it all the time. People are getting beefed up, beefcakes everywhere. And it was like, what is going on? What is this about? And we could have talked about this forever, but it's just interesting and crazy that working out and being strong went from, from like a circus act to a mainstream part of our culture in less than 200 years. And the journey has given us a lot along the way. I mean, football, the ymca, Arnold Planet Fitness, that ugly purple they use, good for them. I mean, working out and lifting weights is definitely. It's not everyone's thing, but it's cool that anyone can do it now. So then I had a little light bulb moment when I was doing the story. I was thinking, okay, remember when the Christian, muscular, buff Jesus thing came along? And like, at the time, women were having a bunch of. They were getting rights, right? And they're men were kind of feeling like, oh, what's our place in the world now? If women are equal to us, like, what's going to make us stand out? And that kind of like sparked men to work out and like, get buff and like, set them apart. And I feel like it's kind of happening again today where men are feeling like they're not really sure what their world, their role is in society right now. And I feel like lifting and getting buff and yeah, it's kind of like coming back in the same way. Does that make sense? Is that fair to say? It's an observation I had right now. Don't come for me. But it's kind of, it's giving me the same vibe, right? That was a light bulb moment I had, but I was like, oh, there might be something there. If anything, it gives, like, people just a sense of belonging, whether you're a man, woman, whatever. Like, working out and taking care of your body is great and I think we should all just support that, right? But at the end of the day, we've come a really long way. I mean, it went from a circus act to, well, liver king, you know, so it's come. Maybe we, we've done a circle, but let me know down below if you want me to do an episode on steroids because we could go there. Anyways, thank you for hanging out with me today. What a journey. Next time on Dark History. Sometimes I kind of miss the old school commercials from like the 90s. They were a little bit more Creative. They had jingles, they were fun. There was characters, commercials. Now they just yell at you, whatever, you know. But back in the 90s, like the cereal commercials. Mm, Cookie Crisp. Cookie Crisp. Back then, I mean, they were always hammering into our heads. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And you know me. Hi. I wondered, is that true? It turns out there's a long and controversial history behind the food we eat in the morning. It has to do with marketing, feminism, the Catholic Church, the government. Well, join us next time for our episode on the dark history of breakfast. I'd love to hear your guys reactions to today's stories. Make sure to leave a comment down below so I can see what you guys are saying. And your comment might even be featured in a future episode. Now let's read a couple of comments you guys have left me. Stacy Wiley7928 left us a comment on our vaping episode, saying, test to see if Bailey reads comment. I have been smoking cowboy killer since I was 14. Now I'm at the age where I need to quit. I'm not vaping. My e cig is just lavender, no nicotine. I have gone from two packs to one, so I guess it works. Bailey looks so hot. That's all that matters to me. Stacy, was that last little sentence. Thank you. I'm just kidding. Listen, Stacy, I know, I read the comments. Hi. I always wanna know what you guys are saying. The vaping episode, Wild. I know. Listen, I understand the struggle. It's very hard to quit. Listen, let me tell you, I was vaping for a long time and that episode kind of scared me straight. I. After trying numerous times, I actually, I haven't vaped for. It's been over a month now. Oh, it's been almost two months. I'm waiting for my applause. My God. But listen, you can do it. Here's my hot, hot tip for you. I got nicotine gum. Yeah, I chewed the crap out of the nicotine gum. But it helped me tremendously with like that nicotine fix. Oh, but you said you're smoking, not nicotine. But it just helped me tremendously. And then just trying, just try, try. That's all you could do is try. But it's possible is what I'm trying to say. It's definitely possible. Thank you for calling me hot. Thank you. Good luck. Take care of yourself, though. I got a comment from Tothestars Shout out to Tom DeLonge and his aliens to the Stars commented on our John Wilkes Booth episode, saying, other than that, how did you like the play Miss Lincoln. Well, I think if miss Lincoln was here, she'd be like, well, it was a good show until my husband got shot in the head and died. Two out of five stars. Thank you. I don't know. I don't know how she would come back from that. That's. Yeah, I know. I wonder if she had a review. Never mind. Anyway, thanks for watching and stay safe out there. Get it. Honey gave us an episode recommendation. We need part two. If you have more momsters, please. Yeah, that was a good episode, huh? Listen, after doing some re research, let me say a lot of these moms are out or momsters are out here doing the most. And that episode was just the tip of the iceberg. So maybe I will have to do a part two. Okay. Thank you. I hope you have a good day. Thank you for watching. I love you guys so much. I appreciate you for hanging out with me and watching and learning. Keep on commenting because maybe you'll be featured in a future episode. And hey, if you don't know, Dark History is an audioboom original. A special thank you to our expert, Natalia Melmond Petruzella, professor of history at the New School. And check out her book, Fit Nation, the Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good day. You make good choices, and I'll be talking to you guys later. Goodbye. Sa.