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When I remember running a timed mile in elementary school gym class, my lungs still hurt and my whole body feels tense.
Also, The whole mile — It felt important to me that it was the same distance from my childhood home in suburban Atlanta to Blockbuster, even though I was riding in my mom’s minivan. I finished near the end of the group.
It may not have been a race, but it still felt like a loss.
This mile run was held as part of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, which is held once every six months for elementary school to high school students. An early version of this test was introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. The test has evolved over the years, but for decades it included things like running a mile, doing sit-ups, pull-ups (or push-ups), and sit-ups. Andreach and shuttle run. (In 2012, President Barack Obama replaced it with an assessment called Fitnessgram.)
Twice a year, the President’s Physical Fitness Award was presented to the top 15% of participants nationwide. At my school, the names of the winners were painted on one of the walls of the gymnasium, surrounding a mural of the presidential seal.
For years, I stared at that name wistfully, wondering if I would ever make it. It worked for some events, but struggled for others. (No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t lift my chin above the bar.) And struggling in front of my classmates was not something I looked forward to. I’ve been a hard worker since I was a child. I hated feeling like my best wasn’t good enough.
Memories of the test led me to revisit it for an article that recently appeared in the New York Times Well section.
Since I was in elementary school, physical activity has been a source of joy in my life. I believe deeply in the value of physical activity for both mind and body and have dedicated my career to spreading awareness of its benefits. I wrote a book about the history of women’s fitness culture and featured fitness in the Times.
My positive relationship with movement developed in spite of the test, not because of it. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s and had run half a dozen half marathons at an easy pace that I even began to believe that I was an athlete.
I’ve heard similar stories from recreational exercisers, exercise scientists, and fitness experts.
Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and group fitness instructor at Stanford University, writes in her book, The Joy of Movement, that her experience in gym class led her to believe that she lacked athletic ability. I wrote that I had been thinking about it for a long time. It was only when she discovered her VHS tapes of aerobics that she began to realize that she had physical abilities in herself. My friend and colleague Natalia Melman Petruzella, who studies the history of fitness at the New School in Manhattan, felt left out of the world of physical education and encouraged her teachers to study independently. I persuaded him to do it. (She chose to take a Step Herb aerobics class at her recreational center, but was stunned to discover that she loved it.) Currently, she attends gyms throughout New York City. I teach fitness.
Their experiences, and my own, made me wonder how much the presidential exam caused some Americans to stop exercising altogether. It may also help explain why about a quarter of U.S. adults are physically inactive, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I wanted to revisit this test and give adults who are still troubled by the test an opportunity to think positively about fitness.
I asked fitness experts what aspects of muscle strength, cardiovascular health, and flexibility the test components actually measure. I also wanted to know, will I be okay with today’s test? When the theme came up, I was relieved. of course This test did not give me a definitive word on whether I (or anyone else) was physically capable. Experts emphasized that physical fitness assessment is not a panacea. And with training, you’ll get better at it.
That said, experts say most of the test exercises are still worthwhile physical pursuits, especially when modified to suit an individual’s fitness level.
As I wrote, I reflected on my relationship with each practice. It took me years to find where I am now, but these days when I run a mile my goal is to feel so good at the end that I want to run another mile. I sometimes do push-ups on my knees, and I know that the strength I develop throughout my body will be useful even as I get older. I can’t do traditional pull-ups yet, but a trainer at my gym recently introduced me to assisted pull-ups using a resistance band. I am very happy that I finally felt like I was able to tackle this work.
Fitness shouldn’t be for the few. Whether we leave our names on the wall or not, we all benefit from exercise. The most meaningful measure of physical activity may be simply continuing to do it as we get older, and if we’re lucky, learning to enjoy it.