"Army Strong" is more than just a tagline — for soldiers, it’s a requirement for duty. The U.S. Army requires that all active-duty soldiers prove their physical ...

In July of 2025, President Donald Trump reinstated the Presidential Physical Fitness Test,[1] a standardized evaluation of fitness for American school-age children. It includes a one-mile run, ...

The Army’s physical fitness test has remained unchanged for some 40 years: two minutes to do as many push-ups as possible, then two minutes for sit-ups, then a two mile run. Recruits need a certain ...

I was on my fourth and final lap around the track during the mile run for my fifth-grade Presidential Fitness Test when it happened. My stomach gurgled, I stopped abruptly, and I bent over and heaved.

While the initial physical assessment is a crucial entry-point event, it hardly scratches the surface of what is necessary for success as an active-duty member of the U.S. military. Preparing for a ...