Hi. It’s Micah from Modern Hysteria, your newsletter and podcast about the taboo topics of women’s health (available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify)
If you grew up in the United States between the 1960s and 2010s you very well may remember some variation on the sit-and-reach, or its companions:
* the shuttle run
* the flexed arm hang (or pull-up test, depending on your gender)
* the mile run
* the sit-up test
These are elements of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, a midcentury invention spurred by anxiety about and foisted upon “soft” American children. If you did the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, your memories of it may depend on whether you passed (85% and above) and earned the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, or, like me, entirely failed.
This Cold War-era eval is problematic, and not just because it was embarrassing (skin-fold body composition and weigh-in components were added in by the time I took the Test), but because it was essentially meaningless. It did not measure actual meaningful metrics of fitness, nor were the data used to benefit the legions of US children forced to dangle from a pull-up bar in front of their peers.
Yet, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, the Trump administration signed an executive order to back the Presidential Physical Fitness Test under the supervision of the brand-new President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (staffed by Trump-appointed professional athletes). Because, as everyone knows, professional athletes are well-equipped to run government programs and standardized tests. 😒
The Presidential Fitness Test did nothing to further girls’ and women’s health. In fact, I argue it may have been fodder for some long-term issues, like body shame, perfectionism, and eating disorders.
Coming up on Season 2 of Modern Hysteria:
* The Myth of Bouncing Back After Baby with Courtney Naliboff and Ruth Macy
* ADHD x Motherhood x Masking x Burnout
* Food x Fertility
* Intimacy After Sexual Trauma
…. and a lot more. Can’t wait to share!
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More:
* Maintenance Phase: The Presidents Physical Fitness Test
* The Hill: Trump’s Presidential Fitness Test
* BBC: How many pull-ups can you do?
