Measurement, morality, and the display of bodily perfection: @physcstudy.bsky.social on the origins of the 'gym selfie' @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

How the Victorians invented the gym selfie. British and Irish men in the 1890s mailed their portraits to fitness guru Eugen Sandow, who created a global business with gyms, books and training kits, writes @physcstudy.bsky.social @ulsteruni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

How the Victorians invented the gym selfie. British and Irish men in the 1890s mailed their portraits to fitness guru Eugen Sandow, who created a global business with gyms, books and training kits, writes @physcstudy.bsky.social @ulsteruni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Today marks publication day for my book When Fitness Went Global! It explores how physical culture travelled the world, how ideas about health circulated across continents, and how we arrived at today’s global landscape. Bloomsbury have it at 10% off today: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/when-fitn...

Taking a break from The Devil's Dancefloor tonight to work on pinning down Miss Juno May for a forthcoming international essay collection on women's wrestling, past and present-ish. Out 2026 (I don't know how, when, where) edited by @physcstudy.bsky.social & US colleagues! AMAZONS OF THE ARENA! 🤼‍♀️

On Let's Talk with Giles Brown, from 10.00CET - @physcstudy.bsky.social with 'The Years of the Wizard: The Strange History and Home Life of Renaissance Magicians', and Conor Heffernan (@physcstudy.bsky.social) on 'When Fitness Went Global: The Rise of Physical Culture in the Nineteenth Century'

Just out now — I joined the History in Focus podcast from the AHR to talk about my article Mistakes I Carried: Building Strength in a Time of Crisis. Listen here: www.historians.org/podcast/mist...

For UK academic folk, in case you don’t know about this service, the AHRC does publish all panel outcomes, with figures for numbers of applicants, numbers of successful awards etc. There is a lag, though, so the most recent info is from January 2025.

Great news! JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month www.jstor.org/action/showL...

Was proud to be part of Made of Stone on RTÉ — a brilliant doc on David Keohan and the revival of Irish stone lifting. Huge credit to David, director Will Hutchby, and @ulsteruni.bsky.social for backing my madness. Still on RTÉ Player. www.rte.ie/player/movie...

Hooray! 😁 I'm far from an expert, but whenever I've read about early strongmen it's been a delight. I also have a persistent double take reaction when I see this picture of George Hackenschmidt: "Those are very modern-looking boots! No, wait..."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review 😆🙏🏻 #AThousandBlows www.grapplingwithhistory.com

How Fitness Conquered the World (and What It Still Teaches Us) open.substack.com/pub/physical...

New article out today 🎉 Gymnastics and childhood in early-19th-century Dublin — how foreign instructors, Irish medics & schools shaped kids’ bodies, health, and national ideals. Open Access (CC BY) — free to read & share. bit.ly/4onFCYp #skyhistorians @iaphistorians.bsky.social

Brilliant stuff from Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social on “expertise creep” and platform authority physicalculture.substack.com/p/when-fitne...

Does 1880s boxers whacking down a glass of sherry and an egg for breakfast count? 💪🏻🥚🥃

One for the physical culture historians and enthusiasts in my network! I’ve already got a copy and would highly recommend such an amazing book!!

gotta be the world’s traditions of lifting heavy rocks. specifically i love the dritvík stones in iceland, primarily because they are ones i’ve visited and lifted 3/4 classifying myself as “half a man” lol

Throwing this into the #skystorians feed - chance to win what is sure to be an excellent book.

Does bicycling count? Love to see big guys balancing on bikes.

I really hope this includes Muscular Christianity, which gave us a legacy of a lot of 19th century beefcake photographs. 😌

To mark the release of my new book, When Fitness Went Global: The Rise of Physical Culture in the Nineteenth Century (Bloomsbury, 2025), I’m giving away a copy. To enter: 💪 Repost 🌍 Comment with your favorite strength tradition I’ll pick a winner next week. #StrengthHeritage #SportHistory

Great read

🚨Published in the American Historical Review!🚨 My article argues that historians can treat the body as an archive. Using my own training alongside J.C. Hise’s 1930s squat experiments, I explore how fitness culture reshapes bodies, identities & anxieties. 👉 bit.ly/46xlcVw

'Myth, music and muscle': @physcstudy.bsky.social on sport, Irish identity, and the (re)invention of tradition @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

The Tailteann Games return this Saturday at Kells Priory. I wrote for RTÉ Brainstorm about why this revival matters for Irish identity, heritage and mythology in 2025. 👉 www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Why the Tailteann Games are returning this month. The story of the Tailteann Games reveals how Irish identity is made, remade and sometimes forgotten, writes @physcstudy.bsky.social @ulsteruni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Thank you so much to @physcstudy.bsky.social for hosting us in Belfast. #BSSH2025 has, as always, been a brilliant few days - stimulating and fun. See you all next year, BSSH-ers ❤️

The shortlist for this year's Lord Aberdare Prize has just been announced and features authors such as Conor Murray, Matt McDowell, Conor Heffernan, as well as Matthew Llewellyn & Toby Rider, best of luck guys...

We are delighted to announce that Mariam Kass Azmin from The Alice Smith School of Kuala Lumpur won the 2025 British Society of Sports History EPQ Prize. www.sportinhistory.org/articles/epq...

The @bssh.bsky.social conference is underway with the PhD/ECR workshop taking place today! Up first at #BSSH25 is @rafnicholson.bsky.social, Katie Holmes & Hayley Kilgallon discussing publishing for both academic & public audiences with their recently published or soon-to-be publications

We’re underway here at @ulsteruni.bsky.social for the 2025 @bssh.bsky.social conference with Matthew Brown of Bristol University discussing South American Sports History and his book as part of the #BSSH25 Lord Aberdare lecture.

Enjoyed chairing this session, great papers from all three presenters Mat - Reframing Local Heritage through the Drehberg Games Jim - Rufus Harris’s Failed Attempt at Reform during World War II Sam - ‘Don’t worry!’: The rise of netball & international governance 1926-63 #BSSH25 @bssh.bsky.social

Pleasure to chair the panel 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 at #BSSH25 with Mateusz Rozmiarek, Jim Watkins and Sam Oldfield @bssh.bsky.social #SportHistory

I’ve just chaired a fab session on Irish sport, with papers on the history of ladies Gaelic football (Hayley Kilgallon), mountaineering (Kevin Higgins), and Lady Florence Dixie (Stuart Gibbs). Interesting theme of the tensions between “recreation” and professionalism present in all 3. #BSSH2025

Panel 1 on Irish Sporting Legacies opened with Hayley Kilgallon on Women's Gaelic Football

The Lord Aberdare lecture by Matthew Brown on sports in South America...

#BSSH25 World's Friendliest Conference 💚 in beautiful city #Belfast 💚 with Old Friends 💚 @bssh.bsky.social @whuhistorian.bsky.social @fionaskillen.bsky.social @justaballgame.bsky.social @kelceyervick.bsky.social @playingpasts.bsky.social

This paper from Conor Meyler at #BSSH2025 was right up my alley! Conor showed how mergers between male & female sporting organisations ALWAYS seem to lead to underrepesentation of women in governance. A very live issue because the 3 Gaelic games associations in Ireland are considering a merger...

Conor's going away pres and prize winner at BSSH dinner ending a successful first day at conference

Getting started @bssh.bsky.social #BSSH2025 - welcomed by @physcstudy.bsky.social 👋 It’s so wonderful to be back amongst this community of scholars again!

We’re underway for day 2 of the @bssh.bsky.social conference at @ulsteruni.bsky.social with Sofie Remijsen of the University of Amsterdam discussing the decline of sport in the Ancient world and in particular, perspectives from the ancient Mediterranean.

Sofie Remijsen opens day two of the BSSH conference with the Derek Birley Memorial Lecture on Mediterranean sports

Our Autumn Winter 2025 catalogue is here! Browse exciting upcoming titles ➡️📚 bit.ly/CatAW25 Featuring books from @drtimrideout.bsky.social @madelinepotter.bsky.social @physcstudy.bsky.social @maireadcasey.bsky.social @nickalito.bsky.social @profgaryb.bsky.social @andrewjamdavies.bsky.social & more!

💪 Where can you learn about the history of fitness — for free? From digitised magazines and archived strongman manuals, there’s a ton of strength history online… if you know where to look. I’ve pulled together a guide below! bit.ly/4534hJI

Why did Bronze Era lifters have flat chests? No, it wasn’t because big pecs were "too feminine." No, Greek statues aren’t the full answer either. Here’s the real history — equipment, goals, and myths debunked: 🧵👇 physicalculture.substack.com/p/why-did-br...

🏋️‍♂️ Bethnal Green Gym is under threat, but its legacy matters. I was proud to help draft a Historic England application, under consideration, to protect this space. Credit to Will Tennyson for showing how much this gym means to lifters, locals & history www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcOA...

Physical Culture Study physicalculture.substack.com?r=8aryw&utm_...

🗣️ I did a thing. I’ve launched a Substack: Physical Culture Study – stories from the strange, sweaty, and strong corners of history. If you like muscle lore, vintage fitness, or oddball strength feats… come along Link: bit.ly/4kJwHy7

Most read on #RTEBrainstorm: how Ireland's ancient sport of road bowling has taken off from Cork and Armagh to TikTok and Instagram. By @physcstudy.bsky.social @ulsteruni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...