Grab your sneakers and tighten those laces — the Presidential Fitness Test is back.
President Donald Trump revived the decades-old exam for public schoolchildren this week, calling it “an important step in our mission to make America healthy again.”
“My administration is working very hard to defend America’s cherished athletic traditions and pass our values of excellence and competitiveness to the next generation,” he said at an Oval Office ceremony Tuesday, surrounded by children and professional athletes.
The original exam required participants to run a mile, complete as many situps as possible in 60 seconds, perform pullups or pushups for as long as possible and take a flexibility test.
The annual test ran from the 1950s until 2013, when it was phased out under the Obama administration in favor of a program that emphasized overall health over personal athletic achievement and performance-based standards.
“We’re bringing it back,” Trump said, formally nixing the Obama-era initiative and reinstating awards for top performers, calling them a “certificate in recognition of achievement of the gold standard of physical fitness.”
While the Presidential Fitness Test may be aimed at school-age students, fitness experts say Americans should still be able to complete its core moves long after graduation.
Here’s how many crunches, pushups and squats you should aim for at every age.
Crunches
This no-frills move targets the abdominal muscles, helping to build core strength as well as improve posture, balance and overall stability.
“Core work allows you the ability to pick yourself up. To stand tall and walk with confidence and purpose,” Joseph David, a group fitness instructor and certified personal trainer at luxury health and fitness club Life Time, previously told The Post.
On average, David said the minimum number of crunches you should be able to do consecutively varies by age group:
- 20s: 40–50
- 30s: 30–40
- 40s: 20–30
- 50s: 15–25
- 60+: 10–20
David said to really see results, you need to do at least three sets of crunches for each age group a few times a week.
“Your abs won’t be poppin’ if you’re putting in a minimum at one time,” he said, adding that he himself aims to do a minimum of 500 crunches a day. And remember: “If you have to modify, it’s still a win,” he said. “Any movement is still movement.”
Pushups
This exercise builds strength in the core and upper body, while also supporting cardiovascular, bone and joint health.
“Push-ups engage multiple muscle groups — back, shoulders, triceps and core — not just your chest,” Mary Onyango, a certified personal trainer and coach at luxury health and fitness club Life Time, previously told The Post. “This makes for an efficient and effective full, upper-body workout!”
Similar to crunches, the number of pushups you should be able to do in one sitting varies by age. In each decade, Onyango said, you should aim for these numbers:
- 20s: 15-30
- 30s: 12-25
- 40s: 10-20
- 50s: 8-15
- 60s: 6-12
- 70s: 5-10 (knee push-ups)
- 80s: 3-7 (knee push-ups)
- 90s: 2-5 (knee push-ups)
“While most people look at push-ups as just another exercise, they demonstrate and can predict a great deal about your health and longevity,” Onyango noted. “A study by Harvard researchers found that middle-aged men who could perform at least 20 push-ups had significantly lower all-cause mortality risk over 10 years.”
Squats
This move builds lower-body and core strength, helping burn calories while improving mobility, bone density and everyday function — from lifting and bending to sitting and standing.
“The basic demands of daily life don’t vary that much from age group to age group,” Kristin Collins, a trainer at Life Time fitness club, previously told The Post. “Squats are arguably the most fundamental movement pattern we utilize.”
When it comes to squats, there’s no true one-size-fits-all for how many you should be able to do. But Collins said a solid benchmark would be:
- 20s: 50 nonstop bodyweight squats, or 10 squats holding 40% to 50% of your body weight
- 30s and 40s: 50 nonstop bodyweight squats, or 10 squats holding 50% to 60% of your body weight
- 50s: 40 nonstop bodyweight squats, or 10 squats with 40% to 50% of your body weight
- 60s: 30 nonstop bodyweight squats, or 10 squats holding 30% of your body weight
- 70s and up: 20 nonstop bodyweight squats, or 10 squats with 20% of your body weight
“No matter your age, your body will adapt to the stress that you put on it,” Collins said. “Increasing your time under tension, reps or weight for example will continue to grow your strength and endurance.”
