Everything You Need to Know About the Presidential Fitness Test
The economic boom of the 1940s and 50s sparked concern among parents and politicians that American kids were becoming a bunch of weakhearted squibs. They feared that prosperity was laying a primrose path for children, and that modern luxuries like school buses, playpens, and television sets were enervating their spirits and softening their bodies. Thus, the idea of the Presidential Fitness Test was born. The Presidential Physical Fitness Test became a mandatory biannual fitness challenge for middle and high school students across the United States. It consisted of calisthenics, cardio, and stretching exercises to test children’s strength, endurance, and flexibility. As is often the case with government diktats, the Presidential Fitness Test was hated by most students and became a paragon of how compulsory workout routines soured people’s relationship with exercise. Strangely, though, the Presidential Fitness Test has been making a comeback laterally. Whether ...