Olivia Newton-John definitely taught us a lesson in the 80s that we’re still applying today: We need to get physical for our minds and bodies. While many fitness (and fashion!) trends of the decade have passed, lessons from these five inspirational 80’s fitness icons launched trends that are still fueling us today.
Richard Simmons: You don’t need anything fancy to work up a sweat.
Simmons wasn’t shy about his own penchant for short shorts but he didn’t expect everyone to love glitter tank tops and Spandex. When the jukebox was blasting, Simmons and his friends of all ages and sizes donned workout gear ranging from oversized t-shirts to skin-tight leotards and threw their hands into the air with every (extremely enthusiastic) move. You can’t help but smile when you feel like you’re at the sock hop bopping along to “It’s My Party” and fake wailing with Simmons.
Jane Fonda: Women should embrace fitness.
In the 80s, gyms were frequented by men aiming for the Body by Jake or Tony Little look; women often didn’t feel comfortable working out in the same space. Enter Jane Fonda, who brought her neon-colored leotards and scrunched leg warmers into living rooms across the country and encouraged women to embrace fitness. Women of all ages gathered their friends and felt empowered by Fonda. While she’s retired her leotards since the 80s, she continues to empower women as an actress and activist.
Suzanne Somers: Strong is beautiful.
In a decade when women were hiding their thighs under bright, baggy sweaters and distracting attention with even bigger hair, Somers proclaimed that strong thighs are sexy. It didn’t matter if the awkwardly shaped Thighmaster that she hawked actually worked (but Somers swears it did!); she encouraged women to work toward fit glutes, hamstrings and thighs. (Now we know that the large muscles in the legs burn more calories at rest and studies have found that strong thighs support better heart health.) She was also one of the first to promote via infomercials, using her business savvy as the Thighmaster’s pitch woman.
Raquel Welch: Do what works for your body.
Welch was at peak sex symbol status when she started her fitness career in the 80s, but rather than rest on her laurels as a beautiful bombshell, Welch broke away from the aerobics craze of the mid-80s and introduced yoga and healthy eating with her book and videos, “Total Beauty and Fitness.” After trying jogging, aerobics and weight lifting, Welch found Hatha yoga and shared her new way of staying fit. She encouraged moving at your own pace and current Amazon reviews still rave about her simple and approachable yoga sequence.
Judi Sheppard Missett: Fitness should be fun.
You may not know Judi Sheppard Missett by name (despite being one of the most important 80’s fitness icons) , but you definitely know the fitness craze she launched: Jazzercise! Her combination of strength, resistance training and dance created a full-body workout that took America by storm. Jazzercise actually started in 1969 but found its audience in a decade rooted in the premise that exercise should be fun and set to heart-pumping soundtracks. Missett was teaching dance classes but found that people were attending to workout, not become dancers. She started classes that had a jazz warmup and a fitness movement was born.
It’s pretty easy to see why we love the workout trends of the 80s. It’s not just the bright colors and motivating music; these icons introduced fitness to the world in a fun and approachable way. To start working out with obé, you only need our live videos, 28 minutes and that voice to push you forward.
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