Finding fun in the fatigue: Exploring healthism among group fitness instructors

The concept of health is culturally contingent, and fitness practices provide a venue to gain insights into the construction of health. In this case study–based article, I focus on group fitness instructors’ narratives on healthiness and fitness rituals. By combining Foucault’s notion of the ‘microphysics of power’ and the socio-cultural phenomenon healthism, I employ a genealogical approach that reveals how healthism renders a discursive space for group fitness instructors (‘local fitness experts’) to navigate their understanding of health norms. A qualitative method consisting of 22 semi-structured interviews was used. Group fitness instructors teaching in Austria for a global group fitness distributor (Les Mills) were interviewed. The results show that eliminating risks to health is the highest imperative to the instructors, which is traced back to a dichotomy between ‘disciplined training’ and ‘fun training’, where fun training is seen as feminine and risky. Furthermore, instructors underline their health literacy through skeptical consumerism – choosing health for the sacrifice of fun or finding fun in the fatigue.