The big picture: this crisis is amplifying concerns brick-and-mortar operators have been wrestling with in recent years. Mainly, will on-demand and connected fitness offerings poach their members?

Greif situates fitness culture at the nexus of several contemporary threads: the relentless quantification of everything, the drive to optimize the self, the decline of public space—and, of course, “wellness,” as the concept has come to be known. We all want to be “well,” or should want to, at least. But why?

Fisher argues that our ancient female ancestors benefited by getting another person to help feed them and their children. They traded sex for food, assistance, and protection. To gain the best and most protein for themselves and their children, women who could have the most sex survived and were the most fit to reproduce again. Their children also

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