# @thecut on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJjwHXCRkyW
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/30477554-thecut-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/0be1d8bb8c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-12T16:01:11.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Cut (@thecut) — https://gondola.cc/thecut

## Caption

Exercise has become a mass obsession in America, the organizing axis around which everything else — clothing, food, even work — revolves. Last year in the United States, fitness memberships reached an all-time high of 72.9 million; cookie and pretzel sales fell while workout-friendly alternatives like beef jerky and nutrition bars flew off the shelf. 

Normal people have developed “protein anxiety”: If Rule 34 of the internet dictates that every topic has a porn equivalent, then Rule 34 of contemporary nutrition is that every recipe has a sad cottage-cheese knockoff. Gen Z is purportedly the “swolest generation.” Gyms have become the new bars, offices, and hotels. At Chelsea Piers, where membership starts at $220/month, you can access state-of-the-art equipment, but also co-working lounges, day care, nutrition coaches, and exclusive social events.

Is all of this actually good for us? Read catyzhang's essay on what fitness culture gets wrong for #FeelTheBurn week at the link in bio. 

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images

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- **Likes:** 13,672
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- **Comments:** 83

## Tags

feeltheburn

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