Students at Department of Defense Education Activity schools should start practicing their push-ups, pull-ups, planks, shuttle-run or one-mile run in preparation for the Presidential Fitness Test, which will soon be required at DoD schools.
During a White House ceremony marking the return of the Presidential Fitness Test awards, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the test will be mandatory in the DoD’s 161 K-12 schools across 30 military installations.
Recalling his childhood striving to earn the top award level, Hegseth said he hoped the requirement would serve as a “pilot for all of American education.”
“I remember it because it was something my country clearly elevated as important. We should be in shape; we should compete,” Hegseth said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last July reinstating the test in public schools. On Tuesday, Trump signed a proclamation that reestablished the awards for those who meet age-level standards for three out of six exercises in the test.
“My administration is working very hard to defend Americas cherished athletic traditions and pass our values of excellence and competitiveness to the next generation,” Trump said during the signing.
Hegseth did not say when the test requirement will go into effect; the 2025-2026 school year is coming to a close this month, and school will restart later this summer.
The Presidential Fitness Test got its start under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 with the creation of a President’s Council on Youth Fitness. Gen Xers and Millennials may remember various iterations of the test, which included pull-ups, pushups, a run, rope climb and other challenges.
Beginning in the 1990s, the presidential sports councils began expanding recognition to engage all children, emphasizing wellness, nutrition and fitness.
In 2010, first lady Michelle Obama introduced the “Let’s Move!” campaign that promoted healthy eating and fitness to combat childhood obesity. The fitness test was retired two years later in favor of assessments that emphasized individual progress rather than competition with peers.
The new test includes three categories with two options within each category. Youngsters must complete either curl-ups (crunches) or planks; a one-mile run or 20-meter “beep” test; and “right angle” pushups, in which the athlete lowers themselves into a pushup until their elbows form a 90-degree angle, or pullups.
A beep test requires a runner to dash 20 meters back and forth on a track while keeping time with beeps.
To meet the standards, a 10-year-old boy must do 45 curl-ups, run a mile in 7 minutes, 57 seconds, and do 22 pushups; a 10-year-old girl must do 40 curl-ups, run a 9:19 mile and do 20 pushups.
Students who meet the targets, which differ for boys and girls, can receive a certificate.
A 2022 Pentagon study found that 77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver, with 11% of those disqualified for being overweight. The issue has long been considered a threat to recruitment and national security.
Noting the return of the Presidential Fitness Test, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who served in Trump’s cabinet during the president’s first term, said in a X social media that it was “great to see this test come back!”
“Could really benefit the fitness and future habits of today’s youth. Especially important for the US Armed Forces given that 78% of young people today don’t qualify for military service, with obesity being a major reason. Get fit!” Esper wrote.
During the event Tuesday, Hegseth said it was important for young people to strive for excellence.
“The idea that competition is bad is the beginning of the decline of a nation,” Hegseth said. “Competition is critical to who we are and ensuring that America stays on top.”
Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.
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