![]() Kennedy challenged the White House staff to a 50-mile hike during his presidency (Bobby Kennedy did the hike in leather dress shoes), and the public’s response eventually led to the Presidential Physical Fitness Award for children who did well academically as well as on fitness tests. Slogans such as “Get off it!” with it meaning your butt, helped to popularize the concept. Since that time, the PCPFSN has expanded its focus to include adults, seniors, and people with disabilities. ![]() The council promoted physical fitness for all children – including boys and girls who were not athletically inclined – and called for the involvement of community organizations, schools, and researchers. On July 16, 1956, President Eisenhower issued an Executive Order creating the President’s Council on Youth Fitness, now the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Kraus and Prudden took their studies to Washington. But in the United States, the failure rate was a staggering 58%! Fitness for Children Prudden, an athlete, rock climber, and gymnast, had started testing children in different countries to determine their level of physical fitness.Ĭhildren in places like Italy, Austria, and Switzerland – where people walked and performed manual labor – were very fit, with a test failure rate of only 8%. Kraus, a specialist in physical medicine whose favorite form of exercise was climbing mountains, published a paper with Bonnie Prudden warning that affluence in America made life so easy that both children and adults were becoming couch potatoes this was long before video games entered the scene. What is now the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition began with a warning from Dr. At the end of the day, the President’s challenge active lifestyle program is designed to promote healthy living and not negative attitudes toward fitness or body-shaming.īefore focusing in on the Presidential youth fitness program score sheets, President’s challenge charts, or other measuring sticks, be sure to remember what is the main goal of the President’s challenge program: to encourage healthy living! If you are a trainer or fitness professional, get a demo of the best personal training workout software and gym management software so you can help your clients on their journey to healthy living. If the President’s Fitness Challenge brings back bad memories of bullies and angry gym class teachers, maybe it’s time to measure your fitness level in a new way. Remember that President’s Fitness Challenge you had to do back in grade school? Have you ever asked yourself, “What was that all about?” Here’s a little more information about the Presidential fitness challenge and how it’s evolved over the years.
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