Napoleon and Gen Z weightlifting obsession: A history of modern fitness trends

Napoleon and Gen Z weightlifting: a brief introduction

BBC’s article traces how lifting predates Gen Z and how Napoléon helped spark a social and cultural shift in exercise. From Jahn’s Turnplatz in 1811 to the modern gym, the piece tracks how strength training has become central to fitness, appearance, and health, while also noting the role of influencers and media in shaping current trends.

• Gen Z shifts toward gym and strength training over running or classes
• Historical arc from Turnplatz to modern bodybuilding and CrossFit
• Influence of public figures and media on fitness culture

Introduction: Gen Z’s fitness shift

The article begins with Sport England data showing that Gen Z in Britain increasingly values gym memberships and strength training, with weightlifting seen as the best route to strength, appearance, and health. It notes a broader shift away from traditional activities like running or swimming toward weight training and gym-based routines. The piece situates these contemporary trends within a long arc of fitness history, arguing that while the motives for exercise have varied, the social and cultural power of lifting endures. It also references the role of influencers in accelerating and amplifying these trends, suggesting that the algorithmic age has reshaped how people move their bodies just as earlier eras reshaped why people moved them.

Napoleon and the Turnplatz: the birth of modern fitness

In 1806 Napoleon’s campaigns helped catalyze a shift in thinking about physical fitness as a national asset. Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, outraged by Prussian military weakness, opened the Turnplatz in 1811, an open-air gym where young men ran, climbed, wrestled, and used equipment that Jahn is believed to have invented, including the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. The Turnplatz concept spread across Europe and beyond, laying the groundwork for gymnastic and calisthenic systems designed to produce physically strong troops. The underlying logic, as the Britannica entry cited in the article suggests, was that strong nations demanded strong bodies, which in turn supported military strength. This period marks the emergence of organized physical culture as a national project, a theme that would echo through the centuries to come.

The birth of bodybuilding: from strongmen to Sandow

Victorian strongmen shows remained popular as entertainment, but the late 19th century introduced Eugen Sandow, a lean and sculpted physique that set a new standard for the ideal body. Sandow’s rise coincided with the rise of mass communication through mail-order courses, magazines, and a health enterprise that expanded across the British Empire, the Americas, and Australasia. Sandow’s notoriety culminated in the first major bodybuilding contest in London in 1901, signaling a shift from simply building health to building an aesthetic. Those who trained to look like Sandow began to be described as “physical culturists,” a label that linked body culture to broader health and social goals. The article notes that Sandow’s legacy lived on through the mid-20th century, with figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger later shaping popular culture’s muscular ideal. The narrative emphasizes how bodybuilding reframed lifting as a path to personal and social improvement, not just military preparedness.

The post-war aerobics boom: from running to rhythmic movement

The post-war era brought a new health anxiety: people sat too much, elevating cardiovascular risk. Jerry Morris’ 1953 work highlighted higher heart disease rates among bus drivers who sat most of the day, while conductors who climbed stairs fared better. This catalyzed a public health push toward running and later aerobics. In the United States, jogging emerged as a simple, scalable solution, quickly blossoming into a broader aerobics movement. Jacki Sorensen popularized aerobic dance in 1969 by choreographing routines to popular music. The trend exploded through the 1980s with Jane Fonda’s best-selling workout videos, which helped bring aerobics into living rooms and mass gyms alike. The shift from weight-focused culture to a broader fitness paradigm that included rhythmic movement and group exercise is a key hinge in the article’s historical arc.

The muscle builders: lifting as mainstream culture

The late 20th century saw lifting go from a fringe activity to a mainstream pursuit. The 1977 documentary Pumping Iron introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger to a global audience, with Joe Weider playing a pivotal role in promoting bodybuilding as a cultural phenomenon. New gym equipment and accessible lifting routines further democratized strength training, expanding participation beyond men to women as well. Lisa Lyon’s 1979 world title and the Olympic inclusion of women’s weightlifting two decades later illustrate the growth of female participation. By the 2000s, lifting had become a staple in fitness culture, with programs like CrossFit and powerlifting attracting diverse participants. The article notes how social media and celebrity influences helped propel weightlifting into a central place in popular culture, culminating in today’s “strong not skinny” ethos and the continued influence of public figures on fitness identities.

Influencers and the algorithm: the current moment

The concluding threads connect historical shifts to contemporary dynamics. Exercise scientists like Andrew Scott argue that influencers have significantly shaped the modern fitness landscape, turning body culture into a curated, image-driven practice. The piece reminds readers that Sandow distributed his image with postcards and cocoa tins, while Jane Fonda and Schwarzenegger sold fitness through film and video. In the modern era, the same forces—media, branding, and algorithmic curation—shape what counts as credible, aspirational, and accessible fitness. The article closes with a provocative observation: two centuries ago fitness served the country, but today it serves the algorithm, highlighting a shift in the forces that drive movement, motivation, and health in society.

Conclusion: a long arc in a short space

Throughout its survey, the article ties the Gen Z weightlifting obsession to a long, transhistorical story about how societies mobilize bodies for health, appearance, work, and identity. The British case study underscores a broader pattern: trends in fitness reflect the interplay of public health, culture, technology, and media. The piece leaves readers with a framing that emphasizes continuity and change, showing how Napoleonic military thinking about strength gave way to Victorian bodybuilding, mid-century aerobics, and today’s AI-influenced fitness culture. The final line—fitness serving the algorithm—offers a sharp prompt for reflection on how movement and movement narratives are shaped in the 21st century.