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If you happened to be channel-surfing in the early morning hours of the late 1980s or 1990s, odds are you came across one of fitness legend Denise Austin’s TV shows. “Getting Fit with Denise Austin” aired on ESPN for 10 years, according to Austin’s website. She later moved to Lifetime, where she hosted “Denise Austin’s Daily Workout” and “Fit & Lite” for 14 years. As noted by AARP, Austin’s television series became the longest-running workout program in the history of TV.
Austin’s TV workouts featured a variety of exercise styles in addition to exotic on-location backdrops, from the rugged landscapes of Arizona to island paradises like Hawaii, St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos. From yoga and stretching to step aerobics and weight training, Austin compelled viewers to join her in working out with her signature enthusiasm and positive, quippy affirmations, like “Your spine is your lifeline, so keep it healthy [and] keep it strong!” and “If you don’t squeeze it, no one else will!”
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On her Instagram page, Austin frequently looks back fondly on her many years of delivering fitness content via her television shows. In January 2023, she posted a #TBT clip of one of her beach workouts and shared how much fun filming it was: “So many FUN memories of when I used to film my TV show … I had the BEST time with the entire crew on set!!!”
