Trump blows off exercise for golf - here's how other presidents stayed fit
Other than golfing, Trump is not too hot on exercise, despite his insistence that he does work out. "I get exercise. I mean, I walk, I this, I that," he once told Reuters.
When Trump plays golf, he drives a golf cart. During the campaign, Trump also said he viewed rallies as a form of exercise.
Sources: Axios, The New York Times
President Barack Obama enjoyed golfing, too, which Trump frequently criticized him for.
Source: Business Insider
Obama was also famously a pro at basketball, and he did 45 minutes of weight training and cardio every morning.
Source: Mental Floss
President George W. Bush was a leg guy. In his youth, Bush ran the Houston Marathon in well under four hours, and was an avid biker in his later years.
Source: Self
In 2004, Bush tumbled off his mountain bike on mile 16 of 17 at his ranch in Texas. He was wearing a helmet and mouth guard, so he just got a few scrapes and bruises. After the White House doctor fixed him up, Bush finished the course.
Source: Washington Post
President Bill Clinton was known for going on long jogs in the morning, often to McDonald's. The White House had a "straggler van" follow behind him to pick up Secret Service agents who couldn't keep up.
Sources: Self, Mental Floss
President George H.W. Bush enjoyed playing speed golf, according to the former director of the White House Athletic Center, adding more cardio to the otherwise leisurely game.
Source: Reuters
President Ronald Reagan, a former actor, was a fitness nut. He practiced an intensive workout program in order to keep all his muscles in shape following his 1981 assassination attempt.
Source: Self
President Gerald Ford wasn't too hot on working out, but he did enjoy lounging in the pool he had installed in the White House.
Source: Self
While he played football in school, President John F. Kennedy's back problems kept him from too strenuous of activities while he was in office. He did like to go sailing at the family's summer home in Cape Cod.
Source: JFK Library
President Dwight D. Eisenhower made golf a presidential sport. He took it up in order to improve his fitness after a heart attack in 1955.
Source: Self, Mental Floss
In addition to taking 1.5-mile daily walks, President Harry Truman had a bowling alley installed in the White House.
Sources: Self, Truman Library
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an avid swimmer, using it to keep his upper body in shape after being paralyzed from the waist down. He worked out in the water at least three times a week.
Source: Mental Floss
To stay fit, President Herbert Hoover's physician invented "Hooverball," a sport that involved throwing a medicine ball over a net. This gave Hoover a more diversified fitness routine than other pastimes might have.
Source: Self
Former President Calvin Coolidge was allergic to real horses, but he kept in shape by riding a mechanical horse instead.
Source: Mental Floss
While the story that President William Howard Taft once got stuck in a bathtub is a myth, he did notoriously weigh over 300 pounds. His physical instructor outlined 15 exercises for him to do, including: "Lie flat on the back. Raise chin to chest and then back to floor pushing the arms along the side of the body as you raise the chin. 8 to 15 times."
Sources: National Constitution Center, Washington Post
President Theodore Roosevelt was obsessed with staying in tip-top shape. Not only did he love working out, he also practiced tennis, judo, boxing, polo, and of course, horseback riding.
Source: Mental Floss
President John Quincy Adams definitely took fitness seriously. He reportedly walked up to six miles every morning, and used to skinny dip in the Potomac River, once treading water for almost an hour without touching the bottom.
Source: Self
President Thomas Jefferson was also fond of horseback riding, and once wrote that it is important to spend afternoons on "exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading."
Source: Self
Horseback riding presidents stretches back to George Washington, who was a skilled rider. The former general preferred to ride on his own rather than travel in a carriage.
Source: CNN
With company like this, Trump might just have to follow Dr. Jackson's advice and step up his game.
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