I loved this book. I learned so much from it. I have read it twice in the past year and am sharing it with everyone I know--both those who love exercise and those who detest it. Great read!

As with the author, it had really never occurred to me to consider the history of exercise. Aside from sport, I always considered deliberate exercise to be a relatively modern invention due to our movement toward an information-based society lousy with labor-saving devices. In a thorough exploration that included lots of travel and many ancient texts, the author investigates that premise and looks to the past to see what the physicians and thinkers of the time thought about exercise. He then considers his own experiences with exercise in that context.

The draw here is really the author's skill as a storyteller. The book covers a wide range of topics (everything from Title IX, AIDS, Jane Fonda, and a truly revolting ancient use for sweat) and it's really a testament to his abilities that I got so invested in his story of trying to get a library card in France. That was a recurring experience while reading this--I cared about things that, objectively, I had no real reason to, simply because they were written so well.

I was troubled by one bit of fairly harsh fat shaming. It was a direct quote from the classical texts he was reviewing, but it went entirely unchallenged in the author's commentary, which I think was a missed opportunity. People come in all shapes and sizes, plenty of fat people exercise, and no one deserves to have their body written off as inherently ugly.

This book would definitely be of interest to exercise enthusiasts, but also anyone interested in public health, renaissance and humanist thought, or just anyone looking for a well-written non-fiction book to expand their general knowledge base. This is an interesting text that goes down easy.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I’d never thought about where the habit of exercising came from, so Sweat was an eye-opening read. You don’t need to have a gym membership to find this fascinating. After a personal loss, Hayes, an avid exercise enthusiast, found an old Renaissance book about the practice and it made him consider where the obsession with working out came from. This took him to different countries around the world, from Greece to India, and to talk to many different experts. I particularly enjoyed his account of a yoga class he took with a real yogi. He discusses not only historical fact, but the philosophy behind exercise and its distinction from labor. The book is written in an easy to follow way and even couch potatoes can learn from it.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/#Bloomsbury Publishing!