It’s hard to imagine working out without music – whether you are working with your personal trainer, in a group fitness class or putting in the miles on a long run – without tunes, it’s hard to get and stay in the groove (and ignore the discomfort). But music wasn’t always part of the world of fitness. One key figure in the evolution of bringing music into the gym was Don Wildman, a fitness enthusiast and innovator who recognized the power of music in energizing workouts. In the 1960s and 70s, Wildman, founder of the health club chain Bally Total Fitness and began incorporating music into fitness classes to enhance the atmosphere and make exercise more appealing. This innovation helped set the stage for the aerobics boom of the 1980s, making fitness feel less like a chore and more like a social activity.
The rise of aerobics classes, in particular, marked a significant shift in how fitness was viewed, especially by women. Fitness icons like Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons popularized workout videos set to upbeat music, encouraging women to participate in fitness routines that felt more like dancing than exercising. This combination of rhythmic movement and popular music made workouts accessible and fun, helping to break down barriers and stereotypes about who belonged in the gym. Women who might have felt intimidated by traditional weight training found a welcoming environment in group fitness classes, where the music-driven energy fostered a sense of community and motivation.
As aerobics and dance-inspired workouts became mainstream, fitness culture expanded beyond traditional strength and conditioning to include a wider variety of exercise formats, from dance cardio to spinning, all centered around music. This paved the way for trends like Zumba and hip-hop dance classes, which further diversified fitness options and continued to attract more women to the world of exercise. Today, the legacy of using music to energize fitness lives on, with streaming services offering curated workout playlists, virtual fitness classes set to high-energy tunes, and even entire boutique fitness brands centered around music-driven experiences.