Women who wanted to be fit in 19th-century Britain had their work cut out for them. Not only did they do cardio routines in the confines of their homes; they had to deal with an entrenched patriarchal society that sought to control their bodies. Literature on women’s exercise at the time was written almost entirely by men, and women were expected to work out in the outfits du jour—literally, dresses. Many of the exercises were therefore constrained, suited for those with carefully crafted tresses on their heads and corsets around…
