The Lost History of Co-operative Gyms The Good Gym Guide

The first episode of this special series of the Good Gym Guide is with Conor Heffernan, a historian of strength currently based at Ulster University whose blog Physical Culture Study is the best resource I know of for learning about the origins of many of the characteristics of gyms nowadays, as well as some of the fascinating things that have been lost to history.

Learning about the history of these common gym features can help us see how recently they occurred, and this in turn can hopefully help us feel more confident in challenging them and imagining alternatives.

Similarly, knowing that there have been many co-operative gyms in the past, and that this was in fact the dominant form of governance for a while, can give us confidence that what we're doing is not impossible.