My Retro Fitness Secret… (guest post)

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My name is Retro Mimi, and if you read my blog, 1972: The Retro WW Experiment – you know that I like to write about my adventures in retro dieting. Sometimes the food can be a little scary, but it is ALWAYS fun.

So when the wonderful and generous Carla asked for a guest post, I thought it would be interesting to explore the concept of retro fitness & exercise. I looked at it as a mini-challenge since this is something I have not yet explored on my blog.

As I began pouring through my vast collection of cookbooks and magazines about dieting in the 1970’s and looking for retro fitness inspiration – I had a huge realization. There is nothing. Nada. Zilch. No real mention of exercise anywhere! Well, unless you count the creepy ads in the back of the magazines that urge you to send $2.99 and a self addressed stamped envelope for your very own “chin gym” to help you eliminate that double chin! Apparently, exercise was not necessarily encouraged as part of a regular weight loss plan for women in the 70’s! Wow. Weird.

This got me thinking. When did exercise start to catch on? When did we really start to embrace it? Then it hit me.

Leg warmers. Leotards. Headbands. The 80’s.

I was a child of the 70’s and 80’s – and lived in a household of chronic dieters. So you can imagine the litany of fitness fads we voraciously attacked. Just to name a few of the things you might have found in our house at any given time when I was growing up:

  • Dr. Scholl’s Exercise Sandals (pink, of course)
  • Sauna Suits
  • ThighMaster
  • Jane Fonda Workout Video
  • Nordic Track
  • Abdominal Wheels
  • Elaine Powers Figure Salon Membership Card
  • Pumping Iron: The Book

As a kid, I was lucky enough to have parents who taught me that fitness should be fun. One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting on the living room floor with my mom each day waiting for The Richard Simmons Show to start, so we could do our leg lifts together. We jogged, we swam, we roller skated and we were one of the first families to sign up at the new racquetball club when it opened. I proudly wore my shiny red satin gym shorts and matching tube socks through it all.

To this day, I guess you could say I am pretty “retro” when it comes to my fitness routine. The most hi-tech piece of equipment I own is a pedometer, and I much prefer a nature hike over a trip to the gym. A good old fashioned exercise video every morning really does the trick for me, so please don’t laugh when I tell you I still own “Buns of Steel” – parts 1 and 2.

 

For me, fitness is not about gadgets and glamorous gyms. It’s about getting off the couch, having fun and shaking my booty–whenever and however I can. But that’s just me. I’m old school.

So this post leaves me wondering. What about the rest of the MizFit world? I know I’m not the only one with leg warmers and a ThighMaster stashed away in the closet!

What’s your Retro Fitness Secret?

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Comments

  1. Just bookmarked your blog and checked out some of the posts. Oh, my! The Frankfurter Spectacular and Tomato Ketchup Aspic are hilarious! I remember those good-old-days when we went to pot-lucks and never knew what we’d see encased in molded gelatin.

  2. The girl accross the hall from me in my freshman college dorm had a Jane Fonda Workout LP!!!! I remember doing leg lifts, but I have blissflly forgotten whether we wore leg warmers. 🙂 More recently, I’ve added leg lifts back into my routine to strengthen my muscles and help my ITB issues and you know what? They really work!

  3. Great post and lots of fun to read. I was a late bloomer to organized fitness, I got all the working out I needed on the family farm. I didn’t start researching strength training until after the Jane Fonda craze, I missed buns of steel craze.

    You are lucky to have bonded with your mother over fitness and have carried that forward into your adult years. The one thing I recognize from your fitness list is the abdominal wheel, I remember going to grandmothers house and playing with hers.

    Thanks for the look back in time, always a fun trip.

  4. Fitness and exercise was never a topic growing up. However, I owned the Jane Fonda and the Buns of Steel – hated them both. Running and Jogging was my exercise choice back then. Now, I prefer the gym and weights, walks with my husband and hula hooping with my daughter. Fun is a must!

  5. Why, ohh, why didn’t I keep all my old leg warmers!! I am still a sucker for the good ‘ole 1980’s leg workouts on the floor. You know those booty and thighs workouts I’m talking ’bout. “Legs of Steel” and “Buns of Steel” VHS type stuff. I love those workouts. They are freaking EFFECTIVE!!

  7. Yeah, I remember all those wonderful 80’s workouts. I was in college at the time. 😛 Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, etc., but who could ever forget the borderline porn-tastic 20 Minute Workout on TV? I think more guys at my college watched it than girls worked out to it. 😉

  8. The first image to come to mind when reading your post was Olivia Newton John in the video “Let’s Get Physical”. I was a teenager in the 80’s. I loved Body Electric on PBS and doing “freestyle” aerobics to Kool and the Gang, Miami Sound Machine, and Michael Jackson. I’m not sure if the 90’s would be considered retro, but I was very attached to my step and free weights in the nineties.

  9. I’ve never really considered Richard Simmons to be retro because he’s still so relevant now, but you’re so right…he was around when I was a little girl, and I still do his workout! In fact, I did one today, and I’ll be working out with him in person next Tuesday. I’m going to request a retro day. =0) Awesome post!

  10. HI Mimi, how fun to see you over there!!! Great post. I think you and I are about the same age, so I remember all of these. I owned exercise sandals, did Jane Fonda workouts, and wished that I could carry off an Olivia Newton John headband. Alas…I just looked stupid….so I didn’t wear it in public. All the best Mimi, see you over on your site soon.

  11. It’s about getting off the couch, having fun and shaking my booty–whenever and however I can. But that’s just me. I’m old school.

    Love that statement! OH, the leg warmers & leotards! I still have leos in my closet. I did stop wearing them a couple years ago – yes, I was wearing them up to then – I KNOW!!! What was I thinking!

    Love the post!

  12. I love my workouts DVDs and simply going out for a run or bike ride. I do admit to having Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda stashed somewhere.

  13. It’s so cool to hear about others that are into the “RetroFitness” scene! I found a very cool gym to work out at in my area, it’s actually called RetroFitness. Yes, it’s true, in NJ where I live, Retro is a very “big deal” in terms of a cool place to work out. No kidding, check in your area to see if you have a RetroFitness gym. They have cool 80’s movies that play all day in a large theater; and they play lots of 80’s and 90’s MTV videos! Let’s all Go Retro!

  14. I love Buns of Steel and Abs of Steel. I love how the girls explains each move and what muscle it is working. Transverse Abdominals anyone? I completely agree with your whole guest post!

  15. These are very nice tips for lossing weigth i want to try some of them, I do a lot of exercise but when i go into my vacations or the hollydays hit i tend to go lazzy and burnning down that extra weigth is always an issue.

  18. Exercise should be fun, but the method to lose weight, get stronger, leaner, etc. are the same mechanisms, however, its motivation and keeping that up thats the hard part, thus fun ways to exercise will keep up the fun. Exercise is hardwork, so the more fun it is made, then the better.

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