Donald Trump has vowed to make America healthy again.

The US president reintroduced the presidential fitness test into the country’s schools.

The test, which was first implemented amid the backdrop of the Cold War in the 1950s and eventually phased out in 2012, consists of basic exercises to measure the overall fitness and agility of children up to the age of 17.

Children are required to run, perform sit-ups, pull-ups or push-ups and a sit-and-reach exercise – with their performance compared against their peers.

The prestigious presidential fitness award was bestowed on children who managed to score in the top 15 per cent across all five activities for their gender and age.

So, how hard is it really? The Telegraph US asked two of our team’s sportiest journalists, Indya Keen, 28, and Cameron Henderson, 27, to find out.

They took on the challenge to see if they could complete all five exercises to a level expected of a 12-year-old child in the top percentile in 1985.

Exercise one

1 mile run

Credit: Alex Wroblewski

First up: the one-mile run. After briefly limbering up (and questioning why I’d signed up for this), we set off in the August heat to see how our fitness levels compared to those of American 12-year-olds in 1985.

The verdict? Passable. Having not set foot on an athletics track for the better part of a decade, I was apprehensive about how things would turn out.

But as I settled into my stride, I found myself on target to meet the cut-off time of seven minutes and 11 seconds – putting me in the top 15 per cent of candidates and in with a chance of winning the coveted presidential physical fitness award.

I felt my lungs gasping as I embarked on my final lap, but channelling my inner Dame Kelly Holmes, I kicked on to finish in a respectable time of six minutes and 40 seconds. So far, so good.

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When I got the call asking if I’d be willing to complete the presidential fitness test in the name of this experiment, I had actually just completed a heavy legs session in the gym.

So it’s safe to say I started off somewhat on the back foot. My tired legs struggled to keep up and I failed this test, but only by five seconds – so I think I still deserve a pat on the back.

As someone who enjoys running the occasional 5km around the beautiful sites of Washington, DC, I thought I could run a mile comfortably, so I was a little bit disappointed.

That didn’t stop me from sprinting the last 50 metres or so to gain back some time, but frustratingly it wasn’t quite enough.

Exercise two

Shuttle run

Credit: Alex Wroblewski

Designed to test the speed and agility of America’s youth, the shuttle involves sprinting 30 feet from one line to another, picking up a block of wood (or in our case, a multi-coloured umbrella), and returning it to the first line, before repeating the same routine again – this time with a second, more muted, brolly.

I backed my pace on this one, having spent my youth running around on the rugby field, but I was acutely aware that I’d never live it down if I didn’t meet the grade of 9.8 seconds.

Off the mark, I didn’t get my best start (if only I’d brought my running spikes!). But I soon slipped into gear, darting back and forth and fielding umbrellas like a golden retriever with a stick, my heart pounding worryingly fast as I crossed the finish line.

In the end, it was touch and go – those halcyon days playing rugby felt further away than ever – and I scraped home in 9.1 seconds. “Still got it,” I told myself, wondering whatever happened to the old speed?

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This was the exercise I was most excited about.

I love sprinting and grew up smashing the 100m and 200m sprints at school, so I wasn’t too worried about failing this.

I picked up speed pretty well, but as a test of agility, the hardest part of this exercise was actually slowing down enough to pick up and put down the umbrella.

Luckily I passed by 0.3 of a second and felt pretty chuffed.

Exercise three

Sit-ups

Credit: Alex Wroblewski

This was where things began to fall apart. As a budding CrossFit enthusiast, I can do sit-ups – several of them, in a pinch – but my heart sank when I saw the sheer number that America’s youth were expected to crank out, one after the other.

I thought to myself, “50 in one minute! Surely this can’t be possible”. But rather than questioning the wisdom of Drs Hans Kraus and Sonya Weber – the scientists who came up with the test in the post-war era – I sat down and got to work.

Lifting my upper body from the floor until my elbows touched my knees over and over again, my abdominal muscles began to quake at sit-up number 20. It was only downhill from there.

As the clock struck the minute, I had long-since given up on any chance of winning the award, managing a measly 38 sit-ups. Forlorn, I lay on the floor defeated, concentrating only on the cramp that had erupted in my stomach.

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I hate sit-ups, and so I knew doing 45 in one minute just wasn’t going to happen for me.

Half sit-ups – where you raise your upper body enough for your hands to touch your knees – are more my thing, but full sit-ups, where your elbows must touch your thighs, are a real challenge.

I couldn’t keep my feet planted on the ground. It probably would have helped to have someone hold my feet still so I could have better stability in lifting myself up.

Overall, it’s a real core burner. Well done to anyone who can get in the 85th percentile with this one.

Exercise four

V-sit reach

Credit: Alex Wroblewski

This was as much a test of my ability to read instructions as it was of my flexibility.

Marvelling at the ingenuity of America’s physical education luminaries, I sat on the floor with my legs straight out in front of me and reached forward as far as I could with one hand on top of the other.

As I strained with every sinew in my hamstrings, I managed to touch the floor approximately in line with my toes for the requisite three seconds.

Lacking a tape measure, and somewhat bamboozled by the scoring system, I took this to mean I had a score of zero.

This put me firmly outside of the top 15 per cent of American 12-year-olds, who could apparently reach four inches beyond their toes. They do have shorter legs, after all.

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We must have looked a bit silly, blundering around trying to figure out how to do this one. To be honest, we weren’t totally sure how it should look.

But we tried our best.

Apparently the top fifteen per cent of 12-year-old girls in 1985 could reach seven inches past her toes, but I could only reach a tiny bit past mine.

Exercise five

Push ups

Credit: Alex Wroblewski

Back on more familiar territory, this was an area where I hoped I’d be able to hold my own. But 18 push-ups in one minute is no mean feat.

As the countdown began, I adopted a plank position with my arms out straight beneath me and began repeatedly lowering my chest to the floor as the clock hit go.

Concentrating on my breathing, I powered through the first 25 or so. But as I crossed the threshold of 30, I felt my muscles evaporate all at once, only able to manage one push every few seconds through sheer force of will.

In the end, I managed a respectable 39 – comfortably within the top 15 per cent. But sadly, nothing could make up for my shortcoming on the sit-ups and v-sit & reach to resurrect my chances of earning the presidential physical fitness award.

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Push-ups are an exercise I avoid like the plague in my daily workout routine, so I wasn’t looking forward to this.

There was no way I was attempting the toe press-ups (I can only do about two of those) and opted for the women’s version with my knees on the ground.

I think it’s worth pointing out that an average 12-year-old girl has a lot less weight and muscle to push up than I do.

I must admit, my final push-up was a bit mangled as my shoulders and biceps were on fire.

I was surprised that I just about managed to reach the 85th percentile and do 20 in one minute.

The verdict

This was far harder than I could have ever imagined. I had visions of myself sailing into the 85th percentile and scooping up the award and the plaudits that come with it. Sadly, hubris was the order of affairs.

Now that Mr Trump is bringing the challenge back, a whole new generation of Americans will have the chance to test their mettle.

As for me? I may not have made the grade, but there’s plenty of time to get back in training. I’m not ready for the bench just yet!

Overall, the presidential fitness test was more challenging than I had thought. It tested my stamina, strength, and agility. I think Mr Trump may be onto something in bringing it back as a standard for American children.

And there’s no harm in older people giving it a go. I’ll certainly be working on those sit-ups.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly said boys were expected to do 31 pushups in a minute. The story has been amended to reflect the correct number, which is 50.

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