LAST THURSDAY, ACCORDING TO A WHITE HOUSE press release, “President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order revitalizing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, and reestablishing the Presidential Fitness Test.” Since President Trump brought it up, let’s talk fitness! In the process, let’s dispel some myths.
Most Americans think the Presidential Fitness Test began with John F. Kennedy, whose famous 1960 Sports Illustrated essay warned that America was becoming a nation of soft bodies and softer wills. But the origins of the test go back further—to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had led soldiers in the most consequential conflict of the twentieth century and who understood the vital connection between national readiness and physical fitness.
As supreme allied commander in World War II, Eisenhower had become aware that many young Americans were rejected for service—more than 40 percent in the first months of the war—due to poor physical conditioning, undernourishment, disease, or other preventable health issues. Following the war, comparative studies showed that American youth were performing well below European counterparts on basic physical tests. In 1956, alarmed by these trends, Eisenhower launched the President’s Council on Youth Fitness to spur national improvement in children’s physical health. He rightly saw the health and physical fitness of young Americans as a national security issue.
Kennedy gave the initiative new energy, framing fitness as a patriotic imperative in the Cold War. His administration created the iconic battery of field tests that soon became part of school gym classes across the country: shuttle runs, sit-ups, pull-ups, and later the one-mile run. For millions of kids, the test became a benchmark of childhood—unfortunately, equal parts challenge and humiliation. “At one point,” notes the Washington Post, “children had to complete 40 push-ups, 10 pull-ups and a 6½-minute mile to pass.” Anything less was failure.
In the decades that followed, the council endured but rarely evolved. Lyndon Johnson expanded the public outreach. Richard Nixon folded the program into education policy. Gerald Ford appointed athletes as spokespeople. Jimmy Carter quietly sustained the effort. Ronald Reagan renamed it the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. George H.W. Bush created new youth fitness awards. Bill Clinton emphasized volunteerism and community outreach. George W. Bush connected the program to his broader “HealthierUS” initiative. But for all the updated branding, little attention was paid to the structure or science behind the test itself.
Meanwhile, America changed—dramatically.