A President Who Would Not Sit Still

Theodore Roosevelt did not believe that being President of the United States was a reason to sit down. If anything, occupying the nation's highest office seemed to fuel his conviction that the body and mind must be constantly tested, challenged, and pushed beyond comfortable limits. "The strenuous life" was not merely a philosophy he had articulated as a younger man; it was a way of being that he carried into the presidency itself. The White House staff, accustomed to presidents who conducted business from desks, found themselves managing a chief executive who seemed to believe that the Oval Office was simply a place to pass through before the next round of physical activity began.

Tennis, Horseback Riding, and the Daily Regimen

TR's day began early and involved rigorous physical activity before the formal business of the presidency commenced. Tennis was his preferred sport. The White House had courts, and the President used them with fervor, often recruiting younger men from his staff to serve as opponents. These men quickly learned that playing tennis with the President was an endurance test. Roosevelt played with fierce concentration and competitive intensity. He did not play for recreation; he played to win. He played to challenge his body. He played, in some sense, to prove something to himself about vigor and power.

Horseback riding occupied much of his time as well. Every morning, weather permitting, the President would mount a horse and ride through Washington's parks and neighborhoods. These were not leisurely rides. They were fast-paced journeys that TR used to clear his mind, to observe the city, and to maintain the physical condition that he believed essential to any man—let alone the President. The Secret Service, tasked with protecting him, quickly learned that they needed to be exceptional riders. Roosevelt would not slow his pace for security concerns. If they could not keep up, they simply fell behind.

The Rock Creek Park Swim and Winter Courage

The most famous of Roosevelt's athletic exploits as president involved a winter swim across the Potomac River. On a cold day, TR led a group of diplomats on a hiking expedition through Rock Creek Park. The diplomats, dressed in their formal suits and expecting a genteel stroll through the city's green spaces, found themselves being led directly into a river. Roosevelt dove in. The shock of the frigid water seemed to invigorate rather than discourage him. He swam across. Several of the diplomats, unwilling to acknowledge that they could not match the President's courage, followed. The encounter became instantly legendary—a story that illustrated something essential about how Roosevelt understood the presidency. It was not an office for the soft or the comfortable. It required physical courage. And if you could not keep up, you simply needed to work harder.

Boxing and the Accidental Blinding

Roosevelt regularly engaged in boxing at the White House, a practice that his advisors found alarming and his physicians found medically inadvisable. But the President had never been one to be dissuaded by reasonable caution. He boxed with professional boxers, with military men, with anyone willing to put on gloves and spar. The encounters were serious business—this was not play-fighting, but genuine boxing with genuine power behind the blows.

During one of these sparring sessions with a military aide, Roosevelt took a blow to his left eye that caused internal bleeding. The damage was significant. In time, the eye would lose much of its vision, effectively blinding him on one side. Roosevelt kept the injury secret. He maintained his public image as a man of undiminished vigor. Only those closest to him knew that the President's vision was compromised. He continued to box. He continued to ride. He continued to engage in athletics as though the injury had not occurred. The strenuous life admitted no exceptions, even for injury.

Jiu-Jitsu with Yoshiaki Yamashita

Roosevelt's physical activities extended beyond American sports. In 1904, he began studying jiu-jitsu with Yoshiaki Yamashita, a legendary Japanese master who had come to America to teach the martial art. The lessons took place in the White House. Roosevelt, in his fifties by this point, approached the study of jiu-jitsu with the seriousness of a younger man. Yamashita subjected the President to grueling training. They grappled on the mat. Roosevelt learned throws, holds, and defensive techniques. The President worked with the intensity that characterized everything he did. This was not casual exercise. This was mastery—the pursuit of knowledge through the body, the integration of Eastern martial philosophy into an American president's daily life.

The 90-Mile Horseback Ride Test

Roosevelt instituted a test for military officers: they must be able to ride a horse 90 miles in three days. The test was designed, he believed, to ensure that the nation's military leadership maintained physical fitness and capacity. It was a grueling standard, and many officers found it nearly impossible to complete. But Roosevelt, who had instituted the test, was not content to watch others struggle. He went beyond the test himself. At an age when most men were content to observe from a comfortable seat, the President of the United States mounted a horse on January 13, 1909, and rode roughly 100 miles in a single day—to Warrenton, Virginia, and back—proving that he could meet any standard he imposed on others.

Swimming and Other Aquatic Pursuits

The President also swam regularly, including in the waters of the Potomac and in pools constructed at the White House. He approached swimming with the same competitive intensity he brought to all physical activity. Reporters who observed the President swimming noted his speed, his endurance, his apparent enjoyment of the water. For Roosevelt, the water was simply another arena in which to test himself.