While many of our past presidents have been known to work out regularly (think Bill Clinton jogging, George W. Bush biking, and George H.W. Bush golfing), the newest First Family takes fitness to a whole new level. The Obama fitness routine extends through three generations. Both President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are early-morning regulars at the gym, and their daughters Malia and Sasha play sports at school. The First Grandma, Marian Robinson, returned to her teen-age pursuit of track and field in her fifties and sixties. How does the Obama fitness routine work with the family's busy schedule?
President Barack Obama's Fitness Routine
Even during the grueling, two-year campaign, then-candidate Obama kept up his workouts. He would rise early in the morning to hit the nearest gym in whatever city he happened to be visiting. His typical workout is 45 minutes long; he does cardio two days a week and weight training four days, alternating between lower and upper-body workouts. President Obama also has a tradition of playing pick-up basketball on important occasions, like primary election days and those days when he has to give a particularly significant speech. His personal aide, Reggie Love, is the President's most frequent companion on the court. Love is a formidable opponent—he is 6 feet 5 inches tall and excelled in both basketball and football as a student at Duke University.
At the White House, President Obama has quick access to an outdoor basketball court and indoor gym equipment (not to mention a bowling alley, swimming pool, and jogging track). He can even have a treadmill on Air Force One for mile-high workouts.
First Lady Michelle Obama's Fitness Routine
As a busy working mom and campaign partner to her husband, Mrs. Obama also tends to hit the gym early in the day. Really early—like 4:30 a.m., according to friends who frequently accompanied her to the gym in her Chicago years. Three to four times a week, Mrs. Obama does a 60- to 90-minute cross-training routine. To really sculpt those famous upper arms, she finishes each workout with a set of tricep pushdowns and hammer curls.
In his biography of Mrs. Obama, Michelle Obama: An American Story, David Colbert notes that she was athletic as a child and teen, but didn't pursue a sport because her brother, Craig Robinson, was a basketball star. He's now the head basketball coach at Oregon State University.
Sports for Sasha and Malia Obama
First Lady Michelle Obama famously said that her daughters will still be responsible for regular chores even when they are living in the White House. It's also likely that they'll keep up with their extracurricular activities, which in the past have included soccer, tennis, gymnastics and dance. Plus, their dog Bo will keep them pretty active too!
"Health and fitness and how we eat ... has become part of our lives, because of our kids," Mrs. Obama told Children's Health magazine. "We are their primary role models. And if they see me exercising and thinking about what I'm eating, if they see their father, as busy as he is, getting to the gym and playing sports, when they grow up they'll understand that this is a natural part of being an adult."
