I’ve never been athletic, but I’ve stayed in decent shape. My long arms hold me back in push-ups and pull-ups, but I can still do them. At my peak I could run a mile in 5 minutes, but at almost 60 I can’t come close to that. We never did the tests; probably the gym teachers didn’t want the jocks to be embarrassed when regular kids with good cardio left them in the dust on the mile run.
I can’t remember any jocks that weren’t at the head of the pack in the mile run. But maybe I missed some because I was at the tail of the pack. I don’t think I ever got down to an 8 minute mile. I still tore up the track for 50 yds. and held my own against top guys in the 100. Living halfway up a mountain gives you strong legs. Even though my legs were short I could start out with explosive power that put me instantly yards ahead. Not good for distance though.
Doing a handful of pullups was never a problem for me. I can still do a few in a row, and I’m very out of practice. I should hang my pull-up bar again.
By far the “hardest” part was the sit-and-reach. I have never in my life been able to get within 8 inches of touching my toes. The box they use for the test does have a “negative” range, but I was only barely able to touch the near edge at best. No amount of stretching or otherwise has ever changed this. I have relatively long legs and apparently stuff ligaments.
Frankly, I think that particular test is idiotic and has nothing to do with athleticism. Having decent upper-body strength has served me well in many real situations. The sit-and-reach test? Not once.
I have short legs and horrible form, so it must be mostly my cardiovascular system. If the test included throwing bales of hay I could have aced that part. I lived between two mountains, but I’m naturally full of slow-twitch fibers so I never had the explosive speed.
I’m with you, but heck I can’t even remember the last time I tried a pull up.
In case anyone else is curious what passing scores were …
I have a suspicion that those percentiles have changed between 1985 and today. Can a median 17-year-old boy really do 8 pull-ups or run a 7:04 mile?
Wow. I have no recollection of ever doing this. But I’m sure I could have back in high school. Today? Not a chance.
But I’ll still ski the fuck out of a lot of people half my age.
Not me. I’m pretty sure I was skipping that day.
In my schools the girls were not allowed to do pull-ups, we had to do the flexed arm hang. That was the bane of my existence. It hurt SO MUCH. Like all the tendons were being pulled out of my elbows. Pullups I could do just fine, but that wasn’t allowed, so I never scored at the top. My friends and I spent entire weekends up in trees, so it was just ridiculous.
Recently I had tennis elbow, and it felt quite similar.
One of my favorite anecdotes, sort of, Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong was being interviewed by somebody who asked him about his exercise regimen. He said something like “I believe we only only have a finite number of heartbeats, I’ll be damned if I’m going to waste mine running around the block”. They must have caught ole Neil in a rare, unguarded moment. Ordinarily he was careful to be diplomatic. The astronaut office was not amused, and a press release was soon issued where he “clarified” his statement professing his undying enthusiasm for regular and vigorous daily exercise. Small steps, most likely.
As far as passing it then and now?
The metric for passing was being in the top 15% on all items.
So strong enough wasn’t enough by itself, nor was fast or quick or flexible enough. You had to be all of them.
I’d be curious if people think they are closer or further to being in the top 15% for age in this country then or now?
- Closer to top 15% for age now
- Closer to top 15% for age then
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voters
Not huge sample size but what do you make of that fact that of those of this board who responded more feel more fit compared to age matched peers now than when young?
My cohort has all gotten fatter, while I haven’t.
They all look pretty old, too. I haven’t changed a bit!
“Could You Pass the Presidential Physical Fitness Test?”
Sure. Would you send the ketchup back up this way, please?
N=10 is way too small to rule out the possibility that the true ratio is 50:50.
A little while ago I tried to do a pull up. I had a pain right where I had back surgery. It’s not a spot that should hurt during a pull up. Not trying that again.
If you don’t do stuff like that regularly don’t just jump in. You might be able to work up to it with a lot of stretching and basic exercises over a period of time. Parts you don’t use much don’t react well to sudden exertion.
I go to the gym regularly. Lat pulldowns don’t bother me. Something about pull-ups hit my back wrong.