Introduction: What was that about anyways?

We all remember it: middle school gym class, shuttle runs, sit ups, pull ups, flexibility and that dreaded mile run. It was the presidential fitness test, the teacher told us. But why did we have to endure that? Why does the president have interest in youth fitness? What was the point?

The answers to those questions are the purpose of this blog. For the past 60 years, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition has been implementing measured fitness tests on schoolchildren and giving awards based on fitness level. The history and philosophy of this practice in schools needs to be looked at and evaluated for its message and purpose.



Some links for research and further reading:
http://www.fitness.gov/about-pcfsn/our-history/

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/physical/benchmarks.shtml

http://wellandgood.com/2012/02/20/10-things-you-never-knew-about-the-presidents-physical-fitness-challenge

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/11/24/365716113/tools-of-the-trade-the-presidential-physical-fitness-test

http://weighttraining.com/blog/what-is-the-president-s-challenge-fitness-test

http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Physical-Fitness.aspx?view=print

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_Fat_(song)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/09/1305530/-Apple-s-Chicken-Fat-Ads-Hark-Back-to-a-Political-Era-Long-Gone#

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK241311/