The Pete and Bobby Challenge, launched by Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dares participants to complete 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups in under 10 minutes. The viral video, filmed in the Pentagon gym with U.S. military personnel, has turned a punishing workout into a political spectacle under the slogan “Make America Healthy Again” according to The Times.
Journalist Phil Hilton, 61, attempted the feat. He alternated ten push-ups with five pull-ups, but exhaustion quickly set in. “The real enemy here is time,” he wrote, explaining how the countdown forced him to strain before his muscles had recovered. After pushing through with “desperation and panic,” he finished in 10 minutes and 45 seconds—missing the mark by just 45 seconds.
Personal trainer Nico Schwandt of Stone London gym said very few could meet the standard. “Even managing one pull-up is something less than 50 percent of the general population can do. I’d say under 5 percent of the population could complete this in under ten minutes,” he explained, describing it as closer to a marine test than a general fitness routine. A 2023 PureGym survey found one in three people could not perform a single push-up, while more than half admitted they could manage no more than three.
Hilton acknowledged respect for Hegseth and Kennedy if they themselves completed the challenge. “I disagree with these two about pretty much everything but if they completed this evil monster of a challenge in under ten minutes, they have my full fitness respect.” Still, he questioned its wider impact. “If Pete and Bobby genuinely wanted to Make America Healthy Again—they really are using that slogan—they would avoid showing off in the Pentagon bunker-gym with marines and try walking around the park with people who struggle with obesity or physical limitations instead.”
For some fitness enthusiasts, the challenge has already become a viral benchmark. But Hilton warned it might discourage beginners by making exercise seem unattainable. Hours later, still sore and exhausted, he concluded with a different lesson: “It really isn’t about winning—it’s about taking part.”
