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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made a habit of posting videos of himself engaged in military exercises. Now, the reviews are in — and they’re not flattering.
After analyzing clips of Hegseth powering through push-ups, pull-ups, kettlebell swings and more, and consulting military guidebooks and fitness experts, The Atlantic concluded that he is “flouting the rules” and “sacrificing form for speed.”
Ordinarily, the outlet noted, this kind of “nitpicking” might feel gratuitous. But these aren’t gym videos from influencers; they’re polished highlights pushed out by the Pentagon itself, implicitly offered as a model. And Hegseth, a former Fox News host, hasn’t exactly been shy about critiquing others. In one of his books, he mocked female soldiers who can manage only “ten push-ups at a pop” and described a transgender woman as a “ten-push-up kind of guy.”
During his tenure, Hegseth has elevated fitness into something closer to an ideological project, casting out-of-shape troops and leaders as fundamentally at odds with a disciplined fighting force.
He has moved to enforce stricter grooming and fitness standards, declaring last year that it was “completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.” Under his latest initiative, he’s forcing young officers to undergo testosterone screenings to ensure “you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.”
Last year, Hegseth and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took part in the so-called “Pete & Bobby Challenge,” in which participants attempt 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups in under 10 minutes. Kennedy was seen working out in jeans.
The Atlantic was unimpressed with the defense secretary’s own form. “Hegseth’s push-ups are more like half-ups: In the ones captured on video, he doesn’t go through the full range of motion,” the magazine wrote, adding that his push-ups “wouldn’t pass muster in any branch.”
His pull-ups, by contrast, were described as “more or less textbook.” But consistency, it seems, is another matter. In one Pentagon video, his knees drift forward as he pulls himself up.
“This is known as ‘kipping’ and is forbidden in an eight-page pull-up guide published by the Marines,” the outlet noted.
Several fitness experts consulted by the magazine also offered unflattering assessments of the 46-year-old Pentagon chief, who is currently engaged in the monthslong war against Iran, which shows few signs of abating.
Joel Del Rosario, a Marine veteran and kettlebell coach, criticized Hegseth’s form in a January video showing him swinging a kettlebell with recruits at UCLA .
In the clip, Hegseth brings the weight “far too close to the ground, putting strain on his shoulders and back,” the outlet notes. “This is wrong," according to Del Rosario.
“Del Rosario told me he’s glad to see Hegseth encouraging better fitness in the military, and he noted that, in his experience, pretty much everyone who gives the kettlebell a whirl fails at first,” The Atlantic’s Tom Bartlett wrote.
Maureen LeBoeuf, a retired brigadier general and head of physical education at the U.S. Military Academy, also weighed in.
“His pull-ups or chin-ups and the kicking that he does—you would never allow that. You’d stop somebody; you’d say, ‘Okay, you’re done,’ ” LeBoeuf said. “He just keeps kicking, and it’s not a good look.”
She added that it is difficult to ignore such lapses from someone who is “real big on standards.”
When reached byThe Independent, acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez argued that Hegseth had been singled out unfairly and highlighted former President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin.
"This is such a stupid thing to nitpick on, even for a fake news left-wing outlet like The Atlantic. 'Haters criticize Hegseth' is not news,” Valdez said. “Have you ever seen Lloyd Austin's form? Did The Atlantic ever ask about it? The answer to both of those questions is no.”
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