Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...The return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test was officially kicked off at an event Monday where children exercised alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The revived version of the gym class mainstay now has just three tests, down from the seven that schoolchildren completed in the 1960s and 1970s.
To receive a certificate at either the “presidential” or “national” level, kids have to meet the benchmark for their age and sex for:
• Curl-ups or plank, testing core strength
• One-mile run or 20-meter beep test, testing cardiorespiratory fitness
• Pull-ups or right-angle push-ups, testing upper body strength
The guidelines say the child can choose which exercise to complete out of the pair offered. The benchmarks are shown in the document at the bottom of this article.
President Donald Trump signed an order in May restoring the program, which started in the 1950s and instituted the widespread school test in 1966. It was eliminated during the Obama administration in favor of an initiative that emphasized long-term healthy habits over sports competition.
For most of its first 15 years, the test had seven components:
- Pull-ups or flexed-arm hang
- Sit-ups
- Shuttle run
- Standing broad jump
- 50-yard dash
- 600-yard walk/run
- Softball throw
By the 1980s, it had undergone some revisions:
- Pull-ups, push-ups or flexed-arm hang
- Curl-ups, a form of sit-ups that puts less stress on the lower back
- Shuttle run
- V-sit and reach, to assess flexibility
- One-mile walk/run, with shorter distances optional for the youngest kids