Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Conor Heffernan

@physcstudy.bsky.social

1.2K followers 740 following 65 posts

Lecturer At Ulster University. Historian of health, fitness and physical culture. Co-host of Boys We've Seen podcast. I also run history of fitness website, physicalculturestudy.com

Videos

Sociology 24%

Political science 24%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 4d

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

6 10 25

Reposted by Paul Bowman

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

How Fitness Conquered the World (and What It Still Teaches Us)

open.substack.com/pub/physical...

How Fitness Conquered the World (and What It Still Teaches Us)

open.substack.com

3 5

Substack

How Fitness Conquered the World (and What It Still Teaches Us)

Ever wondered why gyms look the same in Dublin, Delhi, and Detroit? My new book When Fitness Went Global (Bloomsbury, out next month) traces how nineteenth-century ideas about strength, health, and discipline spread across empires and into our lives today. From Indian clubs to mail-order muscles, it shows how the global body was built—and sold.This post looks at the key lessons: that fitness has never been neutral, that it’s always been commercial, and that our bodies still carry the weight of history.Read the story behind the book and why muscles matter more than we think.#FitnessHistory #GlobalHealth #PhysicalCulture #WhenFitnessWentGlobal

Reposts 0 1d

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

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

a black and white photo of a person riding a bicycle with the words retro exercise written below them

ALT: a black and white photo of a person riding a bicycle with the words retro exercise written below them

media.tenor.com

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks Paul! Oddly the internet turned on him soon after (no correlation) but not because of expert creep, but rather his PhD credentials. My concern would be the unquestioning race science on his philosophy blog...

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Haha always Sarah! C'mere how is your book coming along? We just finished a Thousand Blows on Disney and my poor wife had to suffer through me continually looking up your website!

1 1

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

I have many many questions. I am hoping to go to Iceland in the next year or two and these are absolutely on my list. Husafell would likely kill me but I think I could end up somewhere on the manhood spectrum!

1 1

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Well that means a huge amount. I genuinely assume no one reads my work!

a cartoon character , peter griffin , is sitting on a couch next to a dog .

ALT: a cartoon character , peter griffin , is sitting on a couch next to a dog .

media.tenor.com

1 2

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

That is awesome, thank you! Also for implicitly teaching me how to Bluesky. I'm still learning!

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely.!

www.oldtimestrongman.com/blog/2015/07...

Paul Anderson's Bike - www.oldtimestrongman.com

When you’re strong, all the world is your gym. Here Paul Anderson does a one arm press with his bicycle. Big Paul enjoyed bike riding, problem was, most bikes of the day were built for “normal” sized ...

www.oldtimestrongman.com

1 1 3

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Haha while I didn't frame it as explicitly as that... there is plenty of it added in! And some early beefcake photos

1 1

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Likewise thank you. This is awesome!

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

With their teeth! In the snow! Walking uphill! Barefoot!

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Haha the universal symbol!

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

😂 What? Wrestlers can't be scholars?!

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks Martin. VERY much a labour of love... and cursing

1 2

Reposted by Conor Heffernan

beelzebubbrubb @gunlaigse.bsky.social · 4d

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

sign at the dritvík lifting stones in iceland

1 1 2

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 4d

@bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @sportinhistory.bsky.social @ulsteruni.bsky.social @irishhistorians.bsky.social @iaphistorians.bsky.social @icshc.bsky.social

Substack

All Muscle and No Brains? What Makes a Fitness Entrepreneur

💪 All Muscle and No Brains?For over a century, fitness has been sold as salvation. From Eugen Sandow’s “curative” dumbbells to today’s influencer detox teas, the same figure stands behind it all — the fitness entrepreneur.This essay digs into what makes that type tick: the body as brand, the myth as marketing, and the belief that transformation itself can be monetised.Sandow’s powdered torso under gaslight became today’s influencer body under ring light. The stage hasn’t changed — only the lighting.

Reposts 0 6d

Substack

How Steroids and Supplements Became Inseparable

Walk into any gym today and you’ll see two things that define modern strength culture: the shaker bottle and the whisper of suspicion. Every supplement promises transformation, and every transformation invites the same question—natural or not?

Reposts 0 8d

Substack

Henry Downs, How I Trained to Win the Mr. Britain Title (1957)

Or... How a Natty Lifter Trained How far can a natural lifter progress? In 1957, Harry Downs detailed the routine that nearly won him the Mr. Britain title—built on squats, presses, curls, and an old-school 5x5 system. No gimmicks, no shortcuts, just progressive overload and grit.His program gives us a rare snapshot of bodybuilding right before steroids began to reshape expectations. Heavy front squats, cheat curls, French presses—this is how naturals trained when "strong" still meant iron on the bar.

Reposts 0 13d

Reposted by Conor Heffernan

Paul Bowman @paulbowman.bsky.social · 15d

Brilliant stuff from Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social on “expertise creep” and platform authority

physicalculture.substack.com/p/when-fitne...

2 1 1

Substack

When Fitness Gurus Become Public Intellectuals

Mike Israetel is brilliant on hypertrophy. But when he turns to race, politics, and AI, his confidence outpaces the evidence. This isn’t about one man, it’s about expert creep. From Eugen Sandow to today’s influencers, fitness figures have consistently used their physical prowess into medicine, politics, and philosophy. The risk? Audiences mistake opinion for science.

Reposts 0 15d

Substack

What is your Favorite Feat of Strength?

This year Rayno Nel won the World Strongest Man for the first time. This is an incredible feat, given that it was his first WSM show. For those who don’t religiously follow the sport, and shame on you, Mariusz Pudzianowski currently holds the most victories with 5 titles. There is a very good chance that his record will never be overtaken given how com…

Reposts 0 20d

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 22d

Thanks so much Nicholas. The editors were very... very.. patient with me!

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 22d

Rachel that means so much thank you! Governing Bodies was an absolute godsend when I used to teach PC history in the US so I am thrilled to hear that, as it remains one of the works I continue to refer grad students to when citing good fitness studies

Substack

Old School Reads: John McCallum, 'Training for Gaining', The Keys to Progress

This week I’m sharing a gem from the golden age of muscle writing: John McCallum’s account of watching Reg Park train. First published in the 1960s, it’s a reminder of how old-school lifters thought about size, power, and the squat as the king of all exercises.

Reposts 0 22d

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 22d

@historians.org @ulsteruni.bsky.social @iaphistorians.bsky.social

Conor Heffernan @physcstudy.bsky.social · 22d

🚨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

Mistakes I Carried: Building Strength in a Time of Crisis

Abstract. My critical mistake as a historian was ignoring the physical body as a site of knowledge production. For years, I analyzed fitness history in arc

bit.ly

2 5 19

Substack

Lee Moran And the Thousand Pound Squat

"The first official 1000lb squat nearly killed the man who did it.Lee Moran - Hell's Angel, powerlifter, legend - passed out mid-lift, cracked his head on the bar, bit through his tongue... then got up and finished the lift anyway. Then the bar exploded and sent 100lb plates flying like missiles.This is powerlifting history at its most insane."

Reposts 0 27d