The Presidential Fitness Test is Coming Back, What Does that Mean?

On July 31st President Trump signed an executive order re-establishing the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and directing the new council to develop a proposal on bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test. This test figures prominently in the childhood memories of many Americans, with pride for some and trauma for others.

In this episode we break down the latest news within the decades of historical context that got us here.

You can read "The Soft American" here (we consider it mandatory reading for MOPs & MOEs followers)

For background on our mention of physical education in Europe (especially the Turnverein movement) check out our episode History of Army Fitness with Dr. East

For some context on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, check out our episode with former council member Rob Wilkins

We mentioned Maintenance Phase's episode on the PFT and you can find that here

We also mentioned a similar perspective on the test presented in this article on Vox

Drew referenced the official history of the council provided on the HHS website

Alex referenced the FitnessGram teacher training which provides an overview of the program

This article highlights the lack of academic scrutiny focused on physical education, including FitnessGram

The source of the claim that the average school budget for physical education is $764 annually is this article from Time

You can read the La Sierra High School Physical Education handbook here, including the basic philosophies as well as the specific events and standards