Woman Realized Richard Simmons’ Workout Was Exactly What She Needed

• When I was growing up, my family had VHS tapes, including “Sweatin’ to the Oldies.”
• It’s a low-impact dance routine hosted by Richard Simmons.
• At 40, I can’t do my usual workouts anymore, so Simmons keeps me active.

When I was growing up in the Blockbuster Video-era 1980s, my family owned just a handful of VHS tapes. Among “E.T.” and a dusty old copy of “Singin’ in the Rain” was my mom’s go-to workout video: Richard Simmons‘ original “Sweatin’ to the Oldies.” In this goofy low-impact dance routine, the frizzy-haired, endlessly ebullient Simmons and a ragtag gang of all shapes and sizes moved and grooved to hits from the ’50s and ’60s.

I thought it was the cheesiest thing I’d ever seen.

Though I’d occasionally join my mom in a few shimmies or grapevines, the older I got, the more ridiculous the tape seemed — Simmons’ maudlin antics, the dated music, the high-school-reunion theme. The whole brand of cheeky silliness seemed, as my own kids now say, “cringe.”

Since I couldn’t care less about fitness at that time in my life, it was only fodder for derision.

Things changed as I got older

Over the years I’ve turned into something of an avid exerciser. One of my first jobs out of college was at my local YMCA, where I took up running. Since then I’ve participated in numerous 5Ks, 10Ks, and 15Ks. To cope with the challenges of raising young kids in my 20s, I took up yoga and step classes for stress relief. Eventually I was inspired to go back to school to earn my degree in nutrition.

Today I’m a health-and-wellness journalist, and physical health has become my career and my passion — a turn of events I could never have predicted as a couch-potato kid gagging at Richard Simmons in the ’80s.

My chosen workouts can tend to feel a little lonely, though. I don’t have a gym membership, and I work from home. While I love that I have the flexibility to hit the pavement for a run at any time, I do so by myself. The same goes for my bike rides and the yoga and other exercise videos I now do on YouTube. If I’m honest, the day-in, day-out routine of solo workouts has been feeling a bit stale.

My propensity for high-impact exercise has taken its toll on my body, too. At 40, I’m nursing a creaky knee and frequently end up with migraines after running. (Yes, I’ve been to the doctor and the chiropractor. No, they don’t know why.) I’m not quite ready to give up my usual workouts entirely, but I’m increasingly open to forms of exercise that won’t leave me popping Tylenol the rest of the day.

So when my car radio recently played the 1962 hit “He’s a Rebel” by The Crystals — a song I always associate with “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” — I was suddenly reminded of Simmons’ classic video. I recalled my childhood disdain for the corny moves and music, but I had to wonder: What would the grown-up health-professional version of me think of them now?

I watched the video again

The next day, an overcast November one when I was feeling rather blah, I decided to find “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” online. As I pulled up clips from my mom’s old VHS tape, I felt like I was like entering a time machine to my childhood. There were all the people I remembered from 30 years ago: the thin mustachioed man in the green shirt, the large joyful Black woman who stole the show with her contagious energy. And, of course, there was Simmons, sashaying around the gym floor and taking himself as unseriously as possible.

A smile spread across my face. Right there in my living room, I decided to go for it. I danced with Simmons, doing all the moves I found so ridiculous years ago. Within minutes I could feel my spirits lift. And I suddenly realized that the ridiculousness of Simmons’ schtick wasn’t for its own sake — it was for making exercise fun, for helping us all take ourselves a little less seriously to feel the joy of movement.

The more I frolicked and bounced, the more I felt my inhibitions fall away. Who cared if I looked absurd? There was no one to see me, and I was having fun.

Simmons is basically a genius

Fist-bumping and booty-shaking my way through the video, I began to see Simmons not as a foolish figure but as a secret genius of motivation.

In a culture that often favors grueling exercise in the name of health, the laid-back, come-as-you-are fun of “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” could be just what we need. We have to find forms of activity that we actually like — or we won’t do them. Studies suggest that enjoyment of exercise is a major mediator in whether we stick with working out. A feeling of freshness may be another critical factor in the success of an exercise regimen.

I can’t help but appreciate, too, that “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” was surprisingly ahead of its time. Before size inclusivity and racial representation were in, Simmons’ videos featured people with all body shapes and skin colors. The variety of people dancing on my computer screen on that dreary WFH November day gave me an extra dose of joy. Grooving my heart out with a diverse group of witnesses, I felt a little less lonely in my quiet house.

Since that day, I’ve returned to the old-school videos several times when I’ve needed some light exercise and a mood boost. Believe it or not, they’re actually a decent workout, even for someone like me who’s regularly active. Whether I dip in for just a few minutes or spend a bit longer with Simmons and his companions, I always come away feeling a little more jovial, a little less serious. More than 30 years after its release, “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” has managed to make me — and my workouts — feel new again.