Ever since George Washington's time, U.S. Presidents have been keeping in shape.

　　Are you fit to be President of the United States? Physical fitness isnot a requirement, but it could be helpful. After all, the President's job is a stressful one. Many Presidents have found relief from the tension of their work through exercise.<注2> Their choices of activities have been as different as the personalities of the men who have held the office.<注3>

　　Some Presidents kept fit by walking. George Washington and James Madison enjoyed nature walks.

　　Harry S. Truman was famous for his early morning walks. Reporters and photographers sometimes tagged<注4> along, but keeping up with him was not easy. Truman kept a brisk and exact pace.<注5> "I walk two miles most<注6> every morning at a hundred and twenty-eight steps a minute," he noted.

　　John Quincy Adams also enjoyed early morning walks. "I walk by the light of moon or stars, or none, about four miles, usually returning home in time to see the sun rise from the eastern chamber of the House<注7>," he wrote. In the summer, he followed his walk with a swim in the Potomac River<注8>.

　　Herbert Hoover said that walks were a "lonesome business". He was more interested in a team sport. He also wanted an activity that would give him a good workout<注9> in a short amount of time. Hoover's White House physician created the perfect solution ? a game that became known as Hoover-ball.

　　The game, similar to volleyball, was played with a six-pound medicine ball<注10>. The server<注11> threw the ball over the net. A player on the other team had to catch the ball before it touched the ground and throw it back. Each morning four to eighteen players turned out<注12> for games on the south lawn of the White House. Many of them were members of Hoover's cabinet<注13>.

　　Theodore Roosevelt was known to take the members of cabinet on long, exhausting hikes<注14>. He also enjoyed plenty of other activities. He played tennis, went horseback riding, and sparred with boxing partners in a ring set up at the White House.<注15> For a while, Roosevelt trained three times a week with two Japanese wrestlers<注16>. In a letter to his son, he described his progress. "Since you left they have taught me three new throws that are perfect corkers<注17>," he wrote.

　　Another active President was Gerald Ford, who had been a star football player in college. He played tennis, skied, and swam laps<注18> in the White House pool. He also worked out with weights, an activity that Ronald Reagan used to keep in shape.<注19>

　　Two of our Presidents swam as a way to manage health problems. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had lost the use of his legs from polio<注20>, was able to build upper-body strength from daily swims in the White House pool. That strength helped him move easily from wheelchair to chair.

　　John F. Kennedy, who suffered from chronic<注21> back pain, also benefited from swimming in the White House pool. Because warm water soothed<注22> his back, Kennedy ordered that the pool be heated.

　　Many U. S. Presidents have been golfers. William Howard Taft was the first serious golfer in the White House. Dwight Eisenhower practiced the game often. Warren Harding even trained his dog to chase and return golf balls when he practiced on the south lawn of the White House. Woodrow Wilson enjoyed golf so much that he had some of his golf balls painted red for playing on snowy days.

　　Several Presidents have been joggers<注23>. Jimmy Carter regularly ran about four miles a day. George H.W. Bush found that his daily run was a good time to think. "It gives me time to reflect<注24>, to clear the head," he told a reporter. His son, current President George W. Bush, also jogs.

　　Politicians have found that a good way to get a bit of the President's time is to join him during one of his runs. Bill Clinton's White House scheduler<注25> kept a list of people who wanted to jog with the President. Many found that Clinton was in better shape than they had expected. As a result, the White House provided a "straggler van" to pick up people who could not finish the run.<注26>

　　Rear Admiral William M. Lukash, who was White House physician to Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter, said that fitness is important for a President. "Because the demands on him are enormous, the ability of a Chief Executive<注27> to respond to these pressures is significantly linked to his overall physical condition."

　　If you dream of being President one day, you might want to get in shape. It helps to be "fit"<注28>for the job!

　　1. George Washington:华盛顿，美国第1任总统，连任两届。

　　2. James Madison:麦迪逊，美国第4任总统。

　　3. Harry S. Truman:杜鲁门，美国第33任总统。

　　4. John Quincy Adams:亚当斯，美国第6任总统。

　　5. Herbert Hoover:胡佛，美国第31任总统。

　　6. Theodore Roosevelt:西奥多-罗斯福，美国第26任总统。

　　7. Gerald Ford:福特，美国第38任总统。

　　8. Ronald Reagan:里根，美国第40任总统。

　　9. Franklin D. Roosevelt:富兰克林-罗斯福，美国第32任总统，连任三届。

　　10. John F. Kennedy:肯尼迪，美国第35任总统。

　　11. William Howard Taft:塔夫托，美国第27任总统。

　　12. Dwight Eisenhower:艾森豪威尔，美国第34任总统。

　　13. Warren Harding:哈定，美国第29任总统。

　　14. Woodrow Wilson:威尔逊，美国第28任总统。

　　15. Jimmy Carter:卡特，美国第39任总统。

　　16. George H.W. Bush:老布什，美国第41任总统。

　　17. Bill Clinton:克林顿，美国第42任总统。

　　18. Johnson:本文所指为Lyndon Baines Johnson，约翰逊，美国第36任总统。

　　19. Nixon:尼克松，美国第37任总统。