George W. Bush is famous for his jogging and cycling regime. Gerald Ford played golf to help stay fit. Herbert Hoover even had a sport named after him.
Gold’s Gym has ranked the top ten fittest presidents but in true democratic fashion, Americans are also invited to cast their vote in a presidential fitness election at goldsgym.com.
1. John Quincy Adams — 6th President — Beacon of physical and intellectual fitness.
One of the most intelligent and disciplined men to lead the country, Adams kept his body almost as active as his mind with three-to-four mile daily walks and swims in the Potomac.
2. George W. Bush — 43rd President — Leader with Low Body Fat.
An avid cyclist, Dubya is said to exercise six days a week and steers clear of alcohol and cigarettes.
3. Gerald Ford — 38th President — The longest-living ex-president; turned down professional football for a career in law and politics.
Ford, who died at age 93 in 2006, may have owed some of his longevity to his athleticism. A former collegiate football star at the University of Michigan, Ford captured MVP honors during his senior year and turned down contracts with the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears for a career in law and politics.
4. Jimmy Carter — 39th President — Insatiable outdoorsman and author of “An Outdoor Journal”.
Since boyhood, Carter has enjoyed physical fitness activities that range from hunting and fishing to mountain climbing and skiing.
5. Theodore Roosevelt — 26th President — Advocate of “the strenuous life” — pushing one’s physical limitations.
Roosevelt fought through a series of childhood ailments with determination and, as an adult, took up a number of physical activities including boxing, horseback riding and hunting — and even became a cowboy.
6. Harry S. Truman — 33rd President — Installed a horseshoe pit and bowling lanes on the White House grounds.
When sworn in, Truman appeared as the picture of health. In addition to installing a horseshoe pit and two bowling lanes at the White House, Truman was an avid walker and swimmer.
7. Zachary Taylor — 12th President — Known as “Old Rough and Ready” and always ready to throw himself into battle.
A regular exercise regimen didn’t always center on jogging and strength training. During Zachary Taylor’s day, military activity was a fundamental way to whip your body into shape and Taylor served in the army for 40 years. Despite his devotion to fitness, Taylor’s time in office was cut short when he died from what may have been cholera.
8. Thomas Jefferson — 3rd President — Declaration of Independence author believed “a strong body makes the mind strong”.
One “self-evident truth” that Jefferson believed in was that a person should be both physically and mentally fit. The legendary author of the Declaration of Independence enjoyed horseback riding, fishing and taking long walks, the latter of which he thought could be used to clear one’s mind.
9. Herbert Hoover — 31st President — Had his own sport, “Hoover Ball”.
Once called “notoriously lackadaisical” by the New York Times, Hoover’s physician remedied his sedentary behavior with the invention of a challenging combination of tennis and volleyball that employed a medicine ball and an eight foot tall net. The game was later dubbed “Hoover Ball” — and Hoover stuck to the regimen, playing nearly every morning at 7 a.m. before official White House business began.
10. George Washington — 1st President — Before “Dancing with the Stars,” George Washington enjoyed jigs and country dancing.
As a boy, the Virginia native kept active by canoeing down the Shenandoah River and, later in life, enjoyed dancing.
