The retro cringe of Physical and the 80s workout microgenre

There’s no time capsule quite like an ’80s aerobics class. Physical offers a sceptical, psychoanalytic and cringeworthy take on workout culture and the fat-phobia of the time.

Australian actor Rose Byrne as she appears in the Apple TV+ series 'Physical'.

Physical, the Apple TV+ series starring Rose Byrne as an aerobics instructor whose punishing inner dialogue reflects an era before body positivity, goes all in on the throwback details. There are leotards and leg warmers, hip thrusts and fake tans, blue eye shadow and big hair worn down for even the sweatiest routines (did no one have a ponytail holder?).

The show, which just started its second season, joins a long screen tradition of 1980s aerobics as period drama. Examples include Death Spa, a B-movie horror film about murders at an aerobics studio, with a snack bar that serves cottage cheese in a cantaloupe and dialogue that includes the sick burn, “I’m Beta. You’re VHS”.

Everywhere, people are fat-shaming, grapevining and splitting time equally between their right and left sides. Some movies feature aerobics scenes so long they might as well be classes. Many elevate women who consider thinness next to godliness.

Actor Jamie Lee Curtis in a scene from 80s film "Perfect".

Physical offers a sceptical, psychoanalytic take on these themes. Series creator Annie Weisman, 48, was inspired by her childhood in southern California, what she calls the “fat phobia” of the time and her own experience with an eating disorder. The show incorporates these brutal elements of bikini culture into Sheila’s storyline. “Sheila is very afraid of being seen for her insides,” Weisman says, “so she needs to maintain a very hard and shiny and beautiful but intimidating exterior.”

Here, a look at ’80s aerobics on screen. Ready? In six, seven, eight...

Physical, second season

The drama: Byrne plays Sheila Rubin, a housewife racked by an eating disorder who sees a way out by building an aerobics empire. The second season finds Sheila developing her brand, which started with a workout tape, while cheating on her save-the-oceans husband with his developer rival.

Longest aerobics sequence: In the season two debut episode, less than a minute.

Detail that aged badly: Women are concerned about exercising: “I don’t know – won’t I sweat?” one asks with disgust. “My husband doesn’t want me getting big muscles,” says another.

Most 80s-tastic moment: Sheila’s husband Danny (Rory Scovel) is afraid of a trendy food sweeping California: sushi. When asked why he won’t try a piece, he says, “Because I’m not a f..kin’ dolphin, mainly.”

Cringe workout shot: Aprototype for a Sheila-branded aerobics step features an image of the entrepreneur’s smiling face with purple sweatband right where people’s white Reeboks will land.

Perfect, 1985

Byrne plays Sheila Rubin, a housewife racked by an eating disorder who sees a way out by building an aerobics empire.

The drama: John Travolta plays Adam, a Rolling Stone reporter who heads to Los Angeles to do an expose on an aerobics studio he finds in the yellow pages. He falls for Jessie, “the aerobics pied piper” who helps women get excited about exercise at the Sports Connection, a gym that doubles as a singles club. Jessie (Jamie Lee Curtis) overcomes her hatred of the press long enough to fall for Adam.

Longest aerobics sequence: Four minutes, 25 seconds.

Detail that aged badly: Linda, a workout obsessive played by Laraine Newman, is desperate for attention from muscle-bound men, one of whom casually describes her as “the most used piece of equipment in the gym”.

Most 80s-tastic moment: When Adam isn’t looking for a landline to call his editor, he’s showing the baffled Jessie how to use the delete key on his computer – a laptop he always leaves on so it will be “warmed up” when he needs it.

Cringe workout shot: Extended pelvic moves coupled with intense eye contact serve as a mating ritual between Jessie and Adam. Everyone in this scene could use a supportive undergarment.

Death Spa, 1989

The drama: People are dying at a gym that uses a central computer – programmed by somebody’s creepy brother-in-law – to control the tension on the exercise bikes and the intensity of the weights. Supernatural elements combine with exploding body parts.

Longest aerobics sequence: 58 seconds.

Detail that aged badly: Even for the topless-filled aerobics movie genre, this film has one of the higher spandex-to-naked ratios, with a nude woman appearing in a steam room just after the opening credits, another showering with a loofah and more.

The second season finds Sheila developing her brand, which started with a workout tape, while cheating on her save-the-oceans husband with his developer rival.

Most 80s-tastic moment: Thecraven businessman behind the workout studio defends the automated gym as the future, not 24 hours after a man is killed by an arm machine. “You put those machines on manual and you’re going to end what’s unique about the club,” he says.

Cringe workout shot: The aerobics world is full of come-ons. “Do you think you can handle both of us after jazz class tomorrow?” two women leer at a club regular. “I can sure have fun trying,” he says.

Heavenly Bodies, 1984

The drama: Samantha is a go-getter aerobics fiend whose ambition is to buy the building that houses her studio, Heavenly Bodies. She’s sort of like Sheila from Physical, but without the wry self-awareness that marks streaming entertainment circa 2022. When Sam angers the girlfriend of a rival gym owner by snagging a gig hosting a TV exercise show, the fate of her studio rests on the outcome of an aerobics marathon.

Longest aerobics sequence: 15 minutes, 16 seconds, including marathon breaks.

Detail that aged badly: The TV studio needs a visit from HR. “The chubby blonde girl, front row, she’s gone,” a producer says, ruling out a not-at-all-chubby blonde woman during the audition for the exercise show.

Most 80s-tastic moment: Without the digital post-production tricks of today, the occasional boom mic dangling at the top of the screen is hard to miss.

Cringe workout shot: During the audition, the crew keeps focusing on women’s breasts. “C’mon guys, let’s get real – think of them as your sisters,” a producer scolds from the control room. “She is my sister,” a cameraman replies.

Aerobicide, also known as Killer Workout, 1987

The drama: After a woman is nearly burned to death on a tanning bed, a quest for revenge ensues. The action shifts to Rhonda’s Work-Out exercise studio, where a woman is killed in the shower with a giant safety pin. Things get worse from there.

Longest aerobics sequence: Three minutes, 28 seconds.

Detail that aged badly: Women’s looks are fair game during police interrogations. “I think it eats you up inside to look at all those young beautiful bodies, knowing that any man would get sick if he tried to make love to you,” a detective tells Rhonda, the aerobics entrepreneur, after he learns she is scarred over most of her body.

Most 80s-tastic moment: The song Aerobi-Cide, whose lyrics include: “Working out until you die … It’s the perfect body you’re trying to find.”

Cringe workout shot: A visual double entendre for the swinging singles aerobics club involving a pin that runs up and down through a stack of weights during reps.

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