Showers were par for the course at my 80s comprehensive. A long communal corridor that you shuffled through in line, nobody escaped it as the teachers would be on hand to herd people into the showers if reluctant.
My middle lad is fit and athletic, an army cadet and always does v well on the assault courses and in their PT, which he happily participates in and leads by example.now he's got stripes - often at Holcombe Moor where they did the Krypton Factor races. He's no great body image issues but doesn't enjoy team sports or ball sports which seems to be the standard fare there.
He hasn't done PE at school for a couple of years since he realised that if he stopped changing they'd stop pestering him to. I've challenged him and the school on it but the waves of apathy from both sides seem pretty solid and frankly if they're mutually happy to leave it like that, I've got better things to worry about.
There does seem to be an elephant in the room there that an apparent decline in PE take up or exerting enough to get sweaty or whatever for a couple of hours a week is enough to see such a decline in childhood fitness.
No mention of the rise of the X-box and multi channel ever present TV with lots aimed straight at all age kids and microwave oven and processed food and more 'latchkey' kids as both parents work full time (guilty of all) fending for themself and doing a pizza rather than whipping up a cottage pie and socialisation like this rather than getting out skipping/tin can football/every kid in the street bulldog/riding your bike round with your mates from having your tea straight after school until bedtime......