Pete & Bobby Fitness Challenge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is like the most sexist test ever and is not actually a good test of physical fitness.
Encouraging people to do the 7 minute workout, or get 5000 steps in every day, would do more to keep America healthy.

And encouraging cities and towns to become more pedestrian/bike friendly.

Being ripped and Spartan isn’t a realistic goal for most people. This is MAGA theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. But given my age and gender — push-ups? Really?— that’s not surprising. I have an alternate challenge for them though. —Without using a car, starting from any place in DC that you like: Go to one Bank of America ATM, go to a CVS, go to any Trader Joe’s, then, hand carrying whatever you bought, return to your starting point before any frozen groceries thaw. Bonus points if they do this accompanied by at least one child under 5. Double bonus points if the tasks are accomplished on a day when the combination of heat and humidity “feel like” over 100. If an unexpected thunderstorm erupts during the task, additional bonus points can be negotiated — varying with the severity and duration of the storm.

tldr: Push-ups are nice, but neither one of these clowns is “fit” mentally, emotionally, or even physically— if “fit” means getting through the day without paid help and substantial privilege.

Why the defeatist attitude? It’s about the effort, not the result. If you watched the video you would have seen a woman highlighted for completing the challenge in under 4 minutes.

“Defeatist attitude?” Well, Google AI says that for a woman my age, 5 -11 push ups — possibly modified, and 1 - 3 pull ups would be kinda great. I’m not in the military; I’m not on steroids; and I’m probably old enough to be that “highlighted” woman’s grandmother. So: Different goals and standards really might be appropriate.

I swim, I do yoga, I walk to get my groceries—and come back carrying them, and, when the pool’s closed, I go to the gym. No bonus points, but I have many other accomplishments— of many kinds.

tldr: My attitude is fine. I’m happy to discuss “effort” — if you’re up for it.

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest you weren’t the target audience for the 50/100 challenge. You just keep doing you.

That’s probably true — for many reasons, and my initial response suggested that. Then some random decided to label me “defeatist”…. I’m good, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the video is when Hegseth says, "We want to be fit, not fat."

We’re a nation that takes shots to lose weight instead of exercising. He’s spot on.

There’s a direct correlation between increased pesticide use and weight gain, globally.

Trump just gave immunity to chemical companies who use pesticides. If MAGA care about obesity, they need to regulate pesticide use and hormones and GMOs in food. At least, MAHA is FINALLY starting to wake up.

“Key MAHA leaders, including the leaders of Moms Across America and Children’s Health Defense, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday urging him not to support “broad liability shields for pesticides and forever chemicals” – or face a backlash in the mid-term elections.

According to the letter, provisions in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for 2026 “create broad product liability protections for domestic and foreign pesticide and chemical manufacturers by refusing to fund the critical and necessary scientific safety assessments for product label updates of more than 57,000 synthetic chemicals that are required by law, as a favor to the pesticide lobby”.”

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/will-pesticides-break-mahas-alliance-with-trumps-maga/

Yeah, well, there's a correlation between having the sickle cell trait and having immunity from malaria. So what?

There's a correlation between shoving food in your mouth and weight gain. The pesticide citation is an excuse. People need to regulate their intake and stop one single common condition: blaming others for all their problems.

We've had many decades of democrat rule and people are fat today. I for one support MAHA in doing something about it, and not just shuffling paper and whining all day.

We have over 7 billion people on the planet. If you want to "study" the problem all day and outlaw pesticides, well, more bugs will be eating the food and more people will be starving all over the planet.

I'm seriously tired of the democrat's stance of measure everything 800 times and cut once. Enough!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the video is when Hegseth says, "We want to be fit, not fat."

We’re a nation that takes shots to lose weight instead of exercising. He’s spot on.

There’s a direct correlation between increased pesticide use and weight gain, globally.

Trump just gave immunity to chemical companies who use pesticides. If MAGA care about obesity, they need to regulate pesticide use and hormones and GMOs in food. At least, MAHA is FINALLY starting to wake up.

“Key MAHA leaders, including the leaders of Moms Across America and Children’s Health Defense, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday urging him not to support “broad liability shields for pesticides and forever chemicals” – or face a backlash in the mid-term elections.

According to the letter, provisions in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for 2026 “create broad product liability protections for domestic and foreign pesticide and chemical manufacturers by refusing to fund the critical and necessary scientific safety assessments for product label updates of more than 57,000 synthetic chemicals that are required by law, as a favor to the pesticide lobby”.”

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/will-pesticides-break-mahas-alliance-with-trumps-maga/

Yeah, well, there's a correlation between having the sickle cell trait and having immunity from malaria. So what?

There's a correlation between shoving food in your mouth and weight gain. The pesticide citation is an excuse. People need to regulate their intake and stop one single common condition: blaming others for all their problems.

We've had many decades of democrat rule and people are fat today. I for one support MAHA in doing something about it, and not just shuffling paper and whining all day.

We have over 7 billion people on the planet. If you want to "study" the problem all day and outlaw pesticides, well, more bugs will be eating the food and more people will be starving all over the planet.

I'm seriously tired of the democrat's stance of measure everything 800 times and cut once. Enough!

Funny, but I suspect Republican voters outweigh Democratic voters. Would be an interesting factoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the video is when Hegseth says, "We want to be fit, not fat."

We’re a nation that takes shots to lose weight instead of exercising. He’s spot on.

There’s a direct correlation between increased pesticide use and weight gain, globally.

Trump just gave immunity to chemical companies who use pesticides. If MAGA care about obesity, they need to regulate pesticide use and hormones and GMOs in food. At least, MAHA is FINALLY starting to wake up.

“Key MAHA leaders, including the leaders of Moms Across America and Children’s Health Defense, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday urging him not to support “broad liability shields for pesticides and forever chemicals” – or face a backlash in the mid-term elections.

According to the letter, provisions in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for 2026 “create broad product liability protections for domestic and foreign pesticide and chemical manufacturers by refusing to fund the critical and necessary scientific safety assessments for product label updates of more than 57,000 synthetic chemicals that are required by law, as a favor to the pesticide lobby”.”

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/will-pesticides-break-mahas-alliance-with-trumps-maga/

Yeah, well, there's a correlation between having the sickle cell trait and having immunity from malaria. So what?

There's a correlation between shoving food in your mouth and weight gain. The pesticide citation is an excuse. People need to regulate their intake and stop one single common condition: blaming others for all their problems.

We've had many decades of democrat rule and people are fat today. I for one support MAHA in doing something about it, and not just shuffling paper and whining all day.

We have over 7 billion people on the planet. If you want to "study" the problem all day and outlaw pesticides, well, more bugs will be eating the food and more people will be starving all over the planet.

I'm seriously tired of the democrat's stance of measure everything 800 times and cut once. Enough!

Funny, but I suspect Republican voters outweigh Democratic voters. Would be an interesting factoid.

People just want common sense. It's only a (D) thing because they don't have any, especially a very vocal wing of their party. They've abandoned it in favor of sexy taglines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the video is when Hegseth says, "We want to be fit, not fat."

We’re a nation that takes shots to lose weight instead of exercising. He’s spot on.

There’s a direct correlation between increased pesticide use and weight gain, globally.

Trump just gave immunity to chemical companies who use pesticides. If MAGA care about obesity, they need to regulate pesticide use and hormones and GMOs in food. At least, MAHA is FINALLY starting to wake up.

“Key MAHA leaders, including the leaders of Moms Across America and Children’s Health Defense, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday urging him not to support “broad liability shields for pesticides and forever chemicals” – or face a backlash in the mid-term elections.

According to the letter, provisions in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for 2026 “create broad product liability protections for domestic and foreign pesticide and chemical manufacturers by refusing to fund the critical and necessary scientific safety assessments for product label updates of more than 57,000 synthetic chemicals that are required by law, as a favor to the pesticide lobby”.”

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/will-pesticides-break-mahas-alliance-with-trumps-maga/

Yeah, well, there's a correlation between having the sickle cell trait and having immunity from malaria. So what?

There's a correlation between shoving food in your mouth and weight gain. The pesticide citation is an excuse. People need to regulate their intake and stop one single common condition: blaming others for all their problems.

We've had many decades of democrat rule and people are fat today. I for one support MAHA in doing something about it, and not just shuffling paper and whining all day.

We have over 7 billion people on the planet. If you want to "study" the problem all day and outlaw pesticides, well, more bugs will be eating the food and more people will be starving all over the planet.

I'm seriously tired of the democrat's stance of measure everything 800 times and cut once. Enough!

Please elaborate on this “many decades of Democratic rule” (fixed the adjective for you, you’re welcome). Have Democrats held the House, Senate, SCOTUS, AND the presidency continuously since 1980?

What does the party in power have to do with people overeating, which you seem to think is the entire problem? Did Democrats legislate that everyone is required to eat a second slice of pie?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the video is when Hegseth says, "We want to be fit, not fat."

We’re a nation that takes shots to lose weight instead of exercising. He’s spot on.

There’s a direct correlation between increased pesticide use and weight gain, globally.

Trump just gave immunity to chemical companies who use pesticides. If MAGA care about obesity, they need to regulate pesticide use and hormones and GMOs in food. At least, MAHA is FINALLY starting to wake up.

“Key MAHA leaders, including the leaders of Moms Across America and Children’s Health Defense, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday urging him not to support “broad liability shields for pesticides and forever chemicals” – or face a backlash in the mid-term elections.

According to the letter, provisions in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for 2026 “create broad product liability protections for domestic and foreign pesticide and chemical manufacturers by refusing to fund the critical and necessary scientific safety assessments for product label updates of more than 57,000 synthetic chemicals that are required by law, as a favor to the pesticide lobby”.”

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/will-pesticides-break-mahas-alliance-with-trumps-maga/

Yeah, well, there's a correlation between having the sickle cell trait and having immunity from malaria. So what?

There's a correlation between shoving food in your mouth and weight gain. The pesticide citation is an excuse. People need to regulate their intake and stop one single common condition: blaming others for all their problems.

We've had many decades of democrat rule and people are fat today. I for one support MAHA in doing something about it, and not just shuffling paper and whining all day.

We have over 7 billion people on the planet. If you want to "study" the problem all day and outlaw pesticides, well, more bugs will be eating the food and more people will be starving all over the planet.

I'm seriously tired of the democrat's stance of measure everything 800 times and cut once. Enough!

LOL. So, you’re anti-science and regulating/banning pesticides isn’t paper pushing. Subsidizing broccoli instead of corn and dairy (that literally costs us also to trash) isn’t paper pushing.

But, you have an anti-fat bias, so you’ll ignore the science and don’t bother think about the cost benefit analysis between opposing governmental priorities.

Just like MAGA to blame everyone else for their ills. Well, it will bite you in the @ss and you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.

[Anonymous]

A few months ago, my father mentioned this challenge and asked whether I could compete it in under 5 minutes. 

So I decided to see how my 58-year-old body would fare.

My initial plan was simple: 5 pull-ups in 5 seconds, 10 push-ups in 10 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, and repeat that 10 times — finishing in about 3 minutes and 15 seconds. 

Boy, was I ambitious!

⸻

24 Sept — 50 decent-form pull-ups + 100 decent-form push-ups
Time: 09:40
Strategy: 5 pull-ups + 10 push-ups × 10 rounds
Notes: Gasping for air during the second half of the challenge. I reviewed the video afterward and found that my form for the final 30 push-ups and 15 pull-ups was less than ideal.

1 Oct — 50 good-form pull-ups + 100 good-form push-ups 
Time: 09:50
Strategy: Started with 15 pull-ups and 25 push-ups; first 25 pull-ups and 50 push-ups completed in 03:30
Notes: Exhausted in the second half of the challenge. Focusing on good form also slowed my pace.

⸻

Research 

At this point, I was confused. Hegseth had apparently completed this challenge in 05:25. Kennedy, 05:48. How did they do it?

So I watched a few online videos.

I came across a video (Gym Video) of a very fit guy demonstrating how this challenge is likely intended to be completed. His time was 05:35, slower than Hegseth’s. However, his form is pretty good even though a stickler might find a few of his pull-ups and push-ups to be slightly questionable.

This brings us to the question — what constitutes a pull-up? The following four rules are key, according to the Guinness Book of World Records:

(Rule 1) Absolutely no cross-fit pull-ups.
(Rule 2) Pronated grip (overhand grip, palms facing away from the body) must be used at all times. The body must remain straight throughout each repetition. No bending at the waist. And only a slight bending at the knees is permitted.
(Rule 3) Full range of motion. The body must remain limp before each attempt, and the chin must go above the bar. 
(Rule 4) When dismounting, the participant must drop from the starting position.

No video showing Hegseth/Kennedy fully attempting this challenge was apparently released, but four videos show about 10-15 seconds of their attempt. Basically, we see the first 5-8 seconds of Hegseth and Kennedy starting the challenge and a few seconds of their performance afterward.

Not more than eight of their pull-ups are shown in a single video, and only a handful of push-ups. 
All of Hegseth’s and Kennedy’s push-ups are half push-ups that would not meet the required standard (full arm extension, chest lowered to ground, hips in line).

The biggest problem, however, is with the pull-ups.
The four videos of the Hegseth/Kennedy challenge show some participants, including Hegseth, doing chin-ups instead of pull-ups. Chin-ups are far easier than pull-ups. Chin-ups feature an underhand grip, palms facing the body. Pull-ups use a pronated overhand grip, palms facing away from the body.

The videos also show participants, including Hegseth and Kennedy, not going high enough (chin not reaching the bar), not going low enough (not extending arms), and swinging. In fact, many participants are seen doing cross-fit, or kipping, pull-ups. These utilize a hip-driven sway to create momentum and increase the number of repetitions possible.

The DOW video shows Hegseth congratulating Commander Gonzalez for completing the challenge in 03:56. She’s clearly very fit, but the Daily Mirror video shows her starting with pull-ups and later doing the easier chin-ups.

⸻

This got me wondering — what time would I post if I matched the poor form demonstrated in these four videos of the Hegseth/Kennedy challenge?

⸻

10 Oct — 50 chin-ups in which my chin went over the bar but I lowered my body only to where my full head was under the bar (i.e., I did not fully extend my arms) + 100 poor-form pushups (matching the half push-up form demonstrated by Hegseth and Kennedy)
Time: 04:45
Strategy: Began with 20 chin-ups + 25 push-ups + 10 chin-ups + 25 push-ups
Notes: Much faster — but form was intentionally sloppy, matching the standard seen in the Hegseth/Kennedy challenge videos. Still, my chin always went over the bar, and my head under the bar.

⸻

One Month Later 

After all the attention I have given to this challenge over the past month, I pondered how I might perform if attempting it today.

22 Oct — 50 good-form pull-ups + 100 good-form push-ups 
Time: 09:00
Strategy: Began with 10 pull-ups + 10 push-ups 
Notes: Exactly 9 minutes. Some rise of the legs at times during pull-ups, but otherwise a solid performance. First 30 pull-ups and 50 push-ups completed in 03:45

⸻

Conclusion

Time can be cut dramatically by altering form and grip, particularly by doing chin-ups instead of pull-ups, doing kipping pull-ups (swinging) instead of standard pull-ups, and doing half push-ups instead of full push-ups. Based on the available video footage, Hegseth, Kennedy, and many of the military participants did exactly that.

That said, Hegseth (45) and Kennedy (71) are both in good shape and deserve credit for encouraging greater fitness. Perhaps their weakness lies in their impulse to exaggerate their own abilities. Commander Gonzalez also deserves praise — especially with Pentagon data showing that about 77% of Americans aged 17–24 are ineligible to serve without a waiver due to obesity and other disqualifying factors.

However, since Hegseth and Kennedy are in leadership positions, they should have demonstrated proper form when completing this challenge — especially in front of the other service members. Their recorded times would undoubtedly have been higher, but personally, I’m far prouder of my 09:00 good-form performance than of my 04:45 poor-form one imitating them.

⸻

1. Gym Video. A very fit guy completing the challenge in 05:35
08:05
https://youtu.be/_XCNZF3Emq0?

2. Official pull-up rules (According to Guinness Book of World Records)
00:57
https://youtube.com/shorts/ivACVn5uz-A?

3. Fox News Instagram Video of Hegseth/Kennedy challenge 
01:15
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgtEXitN6l/?

4. Oliver Video. Hegseth/Kennedy challenge filmed by Staff Sgt. Eugene Oliver 
01:35
https://youtu.be/GZTT3nuU-2g? 

5. Official Department of War (DOW) Video of Hegseth/Kennedy challenge  
02:12
https://youtu.be/9uxSUrraWrM? 

6. Daily Mail Video of Hegseth/Kennedy challenge 
01:28
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15153057/pete-hegseth-nda-lie-detector-pentagon-leak.html#v-2036018022482855065 

[Anonymous]

The ability to complete a set of 10+ unassisted pull-ups relies on 2 things: upper body strength and low/reasonable body weight. I don't think your typical maga/American can complete 1 pull-up, much less 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the video is when Hegseth says, "We want to be fit, not fat."

We’re a nation that takes shots to lose weight instead of exercising. He’s spot on.

Hegseth goes for Botox shots instead of exercising.

[Anonymous]

Just Say No to sanewashing those drug-addled psychopaths.