From the most visible woman writing about weightlifting today a memoir and manifesto about how
lifting helped dissolve her allegiance to diet culture taught her to be at home in her body
and led her to grow every kind of strength. In A Physical Education Casey Johnston
recounts how she ventured into the brave new world of weightlifting leaving behind years of
restrictive eating and endless cardio. Woven through the trajectory of how she rebuilt her
strength and confidence is a staggering exposé of the damaging doctrine spread by diet and
fitness culture. Johnston' s story dives deep into her own past relationships with
calorie restriction cardio and codependency. As she progresses on her weightlifting journey
carrying groceries and closing heavy doors become easier. She eats to fuel her growing strength
and her cravings vanish. Her physical progress fuels a growing understanding: how mainstream
messaging she received about women’s bodies was always less about transformation and more about
preserving the status quo. Having previously been convinced that physical improvement was a
matter of suffering now she learns it requires self-regard and patience. Ultimately she is
dazzled by what a little pushing at a time adds up to: the reawakening of parts of herself she
didn’t even know were there. A Physical Education asks why so many of us spend our lives
trying to “get healthy” by actively making our bodies weaker . Casey Johnston is a voice for
those of us who feel underdeveloped and unfulfilled in our bodies for all of us looking to
come home to ourselves.
