He enjoyed boxing, climbing, hiking, horseback riding, polo, rowing, tennis, swimming, weightlifting and even jiu-jitsu. Without question, Roosevelt was a fitness fanatic who more than compensated in adulthood for the infirmities that plagued his childhood. As a result he helped establish the forerunner of today’s Physical Readiness Training (PRT) program/Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) cycle. Not being one to sit aimlessly aside on any issue of importance, Roosevelt charged forth with an attempt to change the desk-bound culture of the military. In his autobiography, Roosevelt recalled, “Many of the older officers were so unfit physically that their condition would have excited laughter, had it not been so serious to think that they belonged to the military arm of the Government.” In the early 1900s, many including the president himself, Theodore Roosevelt, were appalled by the lack of physical conditioning in the Navy. Navy espouses a “culture of fitness,” and “physical readiness,” but this was not always the case.
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