Pushups? Pull-ups?! Has no one considered calling the World Health Organization for permission?
The New York Times’ Calum Marsh is concerned about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new fitness challenge.
“Pete and Bobby’s Challenge” is 100 pushups and 50 pull-ups in under ten minutes. But the Times’ headline writers are worried. “What Could Go Wrong?” they ask.
Oh no! Pushups? Pull-ups?! Has no one considered calling the World Health Organization for permission?
Marsh does make sure to find “fitness experts” willing to be quoted that the routine “may not be for everyone.”
He warns that “even for advanced athletes, these types of high-intensity combos — a test of cardiovascular capacity, strength and endurance — can be a grind.” No shoot, Sherlock.
“Most people can’t even perform five strict push-ups with proper form, or a single pull-up, without compensating,” Chris Smits, a personal trainer based in Toronto, told Marsh. “Pushing for such high numbers without the necessary strength foundation can quickly lead to poor form, overcompensation and a high risk of injury, including serious muscle strains or tears.”
Trainer and physiotherapist Cesar Toledo told Marsh that “the goal of getting people moving is great,” but the Hegseth and RFK Jr. challenge “would increase injury risk because of the stress it places on a participant’s shoulders.”
Gentlemen, relax!
The great thing about body-weight calisthenics training, especially for beginners, is that, compared to almost anything else you can do in fitness, your body will tell you when to stop. In fact, it will make you. If you can only do three pull-ups with good form, sure, you might squeeze out another couple by kipping (which you shouldn’t do; kipping deserves scorn and mockery). But you’re not going to hit 50. You simply won’t be able to pull yourself up to the bar once you’ve reached failure. If you can only do a dozen pushups, you’re not going to get to 100 in ten minutes, even if you start cheating.
For the out of shape and untrained, attempting a calisthenics challenge is a lot safer and doable than walking into a gym, throwing double plates onto a bar, and trying to low-bar squat or trying to Hulk out on the bench press going after what you could hit 15 years ago. But for the moderately in shape and uninjured? Yes, try this challenge if it’s what floats your boat. Our bodies are meant to be used, pushed, and tested. Constantly worrying about any possibility of “the stress it places on a participant’s shoulders” is not going to get people off the couch.
Is the Pete and Bobby Challenge the only workout you should do for the rest of your life? Of course not. But if you’re not egregiously old or actually injured, you’ll be fine if you try it. Just expect to be sore in the morning.