Washington D.C. – President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at revitalizing national fitness initiatives, including the reestablishment of the Presidential Fitness Test and the president’s Council on Sports, fitness, and Nutrition.
The move signals a renewed focus on promoting physical activity and health across the United States, echoing a tradition dating back to the Eisenhower administration. The Presidential Fitness Test, a program that was a fixture in public schools from the late 1950s until 2013, measured students’ physical capabilities through activities such as a one-mile run, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and the sit-and-reach test. While the program evolved in its later years to be less focused on specific strength benchmarks, its return is being framed as a popular initiative to encourage American vigor and vitality.
“This is an important step in our mission to make America healthy again,” President Trump stated at a press conference. He emphasized the council’s historical role in championing the strength and vitality of the American people and expressed his commitment to continuing that legacy.
The reintroduction of the program includes provisions for a “presidential fitness award,” which in previous iterations recognized the top 15% of performers.Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slated to oversee the administration of the fitness program.
The white House Press Secretary,Karoline Leavitt,celebrated the initiative on X,posting,”MAKE AMERICA FIT AGAIN!” This aligns with a broader movement emphasizing physical wellness and exercise.
The article notes that President Trump, an avid golfer, was reportedly quoted in a 2017 New Yorker article suggesting that exercise might be “misguided” due to a belief that individuals are born with a finite amount of energy.
