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Sweat
- A History of Exercise
- Narrated by: Bill Hayes
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
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Publisher's summary
Bloomsbury presents Sweat written and read by Bill Hayes.
A New Yorker Best Book of the year
An Esquire Best Nonfiction Book of 2022
From Insomniac City author Bill Hayes, "who can tackle just about any subject in book form, and make you glad he did" (SF Chronicle)—a cultural, scientific, literary, and personal history of exercise.
Exercise is our modern obsession, and we have the fancy workout gear and fads from HIIT to spin classes to hot yoga to prove it. Exercise—a form of physical activity distinct from sports, play, or athletics—was an ancient obsession, too, but as a chapter in human history, it's been largely overlooked. In Sweat, Bill Hayes runs, jogs, swims, spins, walks, bikes, boxes, lifts, sweats, and downward-dogs his way through the origins of different forms of exercise, chronicling how they have evolved over time, dissecting the dynamics of human movement.
Hippocrates, Plato, Galen, Susan B. Anthony, Jack LaLanne, and Jane Fonda, among many others, make appearances in Sweat, but chief among the historical figures is Girolamo Mercuriale, a Renaissance-era Italian physician who aimed singlehandedly to revive the ancient Greek “art of exercising” through his 1569 book De arte gymnastica. Though largely forgotten over the past five centuries, Mercuriale and his illustrated treatise were pioneering, and are brought back to life in the pages of Sweat. Hayes ties his own personal experience—and ours—to the cultural and scientific history of exercise, from ancient times to the present day, giving us a new way to understand its place in our lives in the 21st century.
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Story
In the early evening on October 1, 2003, Christina Crosby was three miles into a 17 mile bicycle ride, intent on reaching her goal of 1,000 miles for the riding season. She was a respected senior professor of English who had celebrated her 50th birthday a month before. As she crested a hill, she caught a branch in the spokes of her bicycle, which instantly pitched her to the pavement. Her chin took the full force of the blow, and her head snapped back. In that instant, she was paralyzed.
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Extraordinary writer
- By Professor on 01-20-24
By: Christina Crosby
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To Be a Runner
- How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking On a 5-K Makes You a Better Person (and the World a Better Place)
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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With an exuberant mix of passion, insight, instruction, and humor, best-selling author - and lifelong runner - Martin Dugard takes a journey through the world of running to illustrate how the sport helps us fulfill that universal desire to be the best possible version of ourselves each and every time we lace up our shoes. To Be a Runner represents a new way to write about running by bridging the chasm between the two categories of running books: how-to and personal narrative.
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Feels like a great run does
- By Aleksandar on 05-11-15
By: Martin Dugard
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Going Om
- Real Life Stories On and Off the Yoga Mat
- By: Melissa Carroll - editor
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky, Luke Daniels, Allyson Johnson, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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With candid, witty, and compelling experiences of yoga from renowned memoirists, including Cheryl Strayed (author of the number one New York Times best-seller Wild), Claire Dederer (author of national best-seller Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses), Dinty W. Moore (author of The Accidental Buddhist), Neal Pollack (author of Stretch: The Making of a Yoga Dude) and many others, Going Om shares a range of observations about this popular practice.
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a couple of good stories, but overall just eh
- By Melissa on 05-31-16
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed contains a dozen short works by John Irving, beginning with three memoirs, including an account of Mr. Irving’s dinner with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The longest of the memoirs, The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is the core of this collection.
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Unabridged?
- By K. Stiffler on 02-11-22
By: John Irving
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What Makes Olga Run?
- The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us about Living Longer, Happier Lives
- By: Bruce Grierson
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In What Makes Olga Run? Bruce Grierson explores what the wild success of a 94-year-old track star can tell us about how our bodies and minds age. Olga Kotelko is not your average 94-year-old. She not only looks and acts like a much younger woman, she holds over 23 world records in track and field, 17 in her current 90 to 95 category. Convinced that this remarkable woman could help unlock many of the mysteries of aging, Grierson set out to uncover what it is that's driving Olga.
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I can't stop talking about this book
- By David Shear on 05-27-14
By: Bruce Grierson
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One Breath
- Freediving, Death, and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits
- By: Adam Skolnick
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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One Breath is a gripping and powerful exploration of the strange and fascinating sport of freediving, and of the tragic, untimely death of America's greatest freediver Competitive freediving - a sport built on diving as deep as possible on a single breath - tests the limits of human ability in the most hostile environment on earth.
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It just drags
- By Jesse Mecham on 06-17-16
By: Adam Skolnick
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JFK's Secret Doctor
- The Remarkable Life of Medical Pioneer and Legendary Rock Climber Hans Kraus
- By: E.B. Schwartz
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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JFK's Secret Doctor tells a thrilling story of adventure and a historic medical career. Set against the grand panorama of 20th century world events, it captures the remarkable life and spirit of climber and medical visionary Hans Kraus (1905–1996). Kraus was taught English by writer James Joyce, escaped Nazi-dominated Europe, and was JFK's secret back specialist.
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Fascinating story about a fascinating man
- By Pigaroo on 06-02-24
By: E.B. Schwartz
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Course Correction
- A Story of Rowing and Resilience in the Wake of Title IX
- By: Ginny Gilder
- Narrated by: Janis Ian
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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From her first strokes as a novice, Ginny Gilder found herself in a new world, training with Olympic rowers and participating in the famous Title IX naked protest, which helped define the movement for equality in college sports. Short, asthmatic, and stubborn, Gilder made the team against all odds and for the next 10 years devoted herself to answering a seemingly simple question: how badly do you want to go fast?
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Every young woman should read this book
- By BCE on 11-13-17
By: Ginny Gilder
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14 Minutes
- A Running Legend's Life and Death and Life
- By: Alberto Salazar, John Brant
- Narrated by: Danny Pardo
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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14 Minutes is the memoir of Alberto Salazar, the most accomplished, charismatic, and controversial marathoner in history. The narrative follows Alberto's boyhood in New England, his rise to stardom at the University of Oregon, his dramatic victories in the New York City and Boston Marathons, his long malaise due to injuries, which resulted in a near-suicidal depression; his resurgence due to intense spiritual experiences and discipline; his close alliance with Phil Knight and the Nike corporation; and describes his numerous near-death experiences.
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Terrible and Distracting Narration
- By Mark on 06-04-14
By: Alberto Salazar, and others
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A Life Without Limits
- A World Champion's Journey
- By: Chrissie Wellington, Lance Armstrong - foreward
- Narrated by: Polly Lee, Chrissie Wellington
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007, Chrissie Wellington shocked the triathlon world by winning the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. As a newcomer to the sport and a complete unknown to the press, Chrissie's win shook up the sport. A LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS is the story of her rise to the top, a journey that has taken her around the world, from a childhood in England, to the mountains of Nepal, to the oceans of New Zealand, and the trails of Argentina, and first across the finish line.
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Chrissie winning, on repeat
- By Mona on 03-13-13
By: Chrissie Wellington, and others
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On My Own Two Feet
- From Losing My Legs to Learning the Dance of Life
- By: Amy Purdy, Michelle Burford
- Narrated by: Amy Purdy, Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In this poignant and uplifting memoir, Dancing with the Stars sensation Amy Purdy reveals the story of how losing her legs led her to find a spiritual path. When the Las Vegas native was just nineteen, she came down with bacterial meningitis and was given less than a two percent chance of survival. In a near-death experience, she saw three figures who told her: “You can come with us, or you can stay. No matter what happens in your life, it's all going to make sense in the end." In that moment, Amy chose to live.
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A Powerful Memoir of Truimph over Tragedy
- By ElizOF on 01-31-22
By: Amy Purdy, and others
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The Three-Year Swim Club
- The Untold Story of Maui's Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory
- By: Julie Checkoway
- Narrated by: Alex Chadwick
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1937, a schoolteacher on the island of Maui challenged a group of poverty-stricken sugar plantation kids to swim upstream against the current of their circumstance. The goal? To become Olympians. They faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The children were Japanese-American, were malnourished and barefoot, and had no pool; they trained in the filthy irrigation ditches that snaked down from the mountains into the sugarcane fields.
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Great story but the Hawaiian words get slaughtered
- By Arabella on 01-26-16
By: Julie Checkoway
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The Road to Sparta
- Reliving the Ancient Battle and Epic Run That Inspired the World's Greatest Footrace
- By: Dean Karnazes
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In 490 BCE Pheidippides ran for 36 hours straight from Athens to Sparta to seek help in defending Athens from a Persian invasion in the Battle of Marathon. In doing so he saved the development of Western civilization and inspired the birth of the marathon as we know it. Even now, some 2,500 years later, that run stands enduringly as one of greatest physical accomplishments in the history of mankind.
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Repetitive, no depth
- By Miles on 06-12-17
By: Dean Karnazes
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10:04
- By: Ben Lerner
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In the last year, the narrator of 10:04 has enjoyed unexpected literary success, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition, and has been asked by his best friend to help her conceive a child, despite his dating a rising star in the visual arts. In a New York of increasingly frequent super storms and political unrest, he must reckon with his biological mortality, the possibility of a literary afterlife, and the prospect of (unconventional) fatherhood in a city that might soon be under water.
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A novel worth reading
- By Bradley Paul Valentine on 01-29-15
By: Ben Lerner
What listeners say about Sweat
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- GoryDetails
- 04-29-23
Hayes' memoir/research/history books are great!
I've enjoyed Hayes' work for years, and was delighted to find his self-narrated book on Audible. (Not all authors can narrate well, but I liked his reading very much.) I'd read it in print form and delighted in the deep-dives into archives and research, plus his personal journeys through different types of physical exercise and sport. Recommended!
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- james eatroff
- 01-26-22
Sweat is a very disappointing work.
Mr. Hayes takes far too much time and energy describing his own personal experiences with exercise rather than exploring the history of exercise in a more detailed way. Although I was pleased that some discussion of Ancient Greeks, Girolamo Mercuriale, Eugene Sandow, Jack LaLanne, and, Jane Fonda, huge swaths of the history of exercise was glossed over.
Important figures in the history of exercise such as Benrnarr McFadden, Gustav Zander, and Edward Hitchcock were completing ignored.
Not a word of on ultra-marathon runners of South America, lacrosse playing in North America, the implementation of Indian Club training in 19th Century America, or Kettle Bell training in Eastern European nations.
No discussion of the Royal Canadian Air Force Exercise Plan, Vic Tanny, Charles Atlas or even Arthur Jones.
I felt this book was no where near “A History of Exercise” as promised but more accurately a cursory platitude of self indulgence with the author’s personal experience with exercise.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Haro Fam
- 07-31-22
Boring
Way to much detail about the author that was not a bit interesting (like endless description of the way he uses a lat machine or his father playing handball) and not enough about the history of exercise which was actually interesting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 09-10-22
Some dudes work out diary
1/4 history
3/4 boring dudes personal exercise history
Bait and switch, this sucks
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1 person found this helpful