Researchers Tori Justin (a postdoc at the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures at Cornell University) and Shannon Jette (associate professor at the University of Maryland) have dedicated their careers to studying the history of fitness in the United States. In this essay, they explore the roots of fitness in the US, its fundamental ties to racism and eugenics, and the ways social and political movements have emphasized the importance of fitness for their own gains.