As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is known for having sometimes brilliant ideas (let’s get rid of toxic food additives, let’s make people aware of the dangers of ultra-processed foods) and also having somewhat terrible ideas (let’s cut funding for vaccine research, let’s recommend vitamin A during a measles outbreak instead of vaccination, let’s claim the keto diet cures schizophrenia).
RFK Jr. is known as Also with his fit looking physique. For a 72 year old man, the guy looks great. He loves showing off his body during media events and on social media. However, he seems unable to make workout videos without at least some weirdness.
So, here are five of RFK Jr.’s training videos, ranked from least to most bizarre.
5. RFK Jr. publishes Training video before the Biden debate (June 2023)
@robertfkennedyjrofficial Preparing for my debates with President Biden! As President, I will restore America’s position as a global example of health and well-being. Not through pills or syringes, but through character and self-discipline. I will continue to walk the walk and lead by example. Americans gained an average of 29 pounds during the Covid lockdowns. I will help change that by encouraging our citizens to exercise, eat well, and strengthen their immune systems by removing harmful chemicals from our food. Conversely, we must never allow ourselves to give in to fear. Fear disrupts the immune system and the ability to think critically, which is considered the key to the survival of democracy. We will restore our health as we reunite our communities and rebuild our nation. So start doing your morning exercise everyone. Prepare yourself for a Kennedy presidency! PS: And yes, I can do more than 10 push-ups. That was my last collection. #Kennedy24
♬ Original audio – Robert F. Kennedy Jr
While running as a third-party candidate at the time, RFK Jr. posted the above video saying he was preparing to debate President Joe Biden (he did not end up qualifying for the debate stage). It’s not a particularly impressive workout, as it shows the man struggling to complete some push-ups (he says he was in his final set). This is also the video that introduced most Americans to RFK Jr.’s penchant for working out while wearing jeans. (Favorite theory as to why he doesn’t wear shorts in his videos: The guy skips leg day.)
4. “Pete and Bobby Challenge” (August 2025)
Robert Kennedy Jr. and 45-year-old Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth teamed up for a workout they called the “Pete and Bobby Challenge” — where they do 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in any order you want in five minutes. Their video, filmed in the “bowels of the Pentagon,” features RFK Jr. once again working out in jeans and now adding cowboy boots to make his workout look less practical. Fitness experts have criticized that encouraging such extreme stunts for the average person is “not recommended”, although that sounds a bit infuriating. But RFK Jr.’s pressing range of motion. And Hegseth will absolutely be called upon by any fitness trainer as you’re supposed to start with a high plank. Also note that this workout does not involve any squats.
3. Towing operations at Reagan National Airport (December 2025)
RFK Jr. announced a $1 billion grant to “incentivize more family-friendly resources in airport terminals” — including children’s play spaces and mini gyms (if there’s one thing every traveler wants, it’s to sit next to someone on a flight who has just worked out). However, one can see some good coming from this, and to help promote the initiative, RFK Jr. performed 20 pull-ups at Reagan National Airport.
Two things can be true at once: Doing 20 pull-ups is impressive for anyone, especially for a man RFK Jr.’s age, and also for anyone in our political class (34-year-old New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani couldn’t do a single unassisted bench press with the 135-pounder in the photo). But also, technically, as with push-ups, these aren’t pull-ups — pull-ups are performed from a dead hang and your chin has to clear the bar (that’s still more than I can do, and probably more than you can do, too, but we’re not posting exercise videos to inspire a nation to use improper form).
It’s weird to work out in slacks, a button-up shirt, and a tie, but it’s appropriate for an airport, and still somewhat less awkward than jeans.
2. “What I Do to Stay Healthy” (July 2024)
Now we’re talking: jumping out of a helicopter to swim with a shark. This is the kind of content we want. Other than that, this is a montage of RFK Jr. He lifts weights, skis, surfs and hikes. You can briefly see his legs during the surfing shot, here’s a closer look below. What do you think: Do those calves look neglected compared to his upper body?
1. Exercise With Kid Rock (February 2026)
Filmed in Kid Rock’s enviable home gym and wet suite, this is a music video for RFK Jr. He works out with the singer, takes a sauna and plunges into cold water (points for going down). Much has been made of the vaguely fever-dream quality of this montage, which seems a minute away from the duo snorting coke from toilet seats (Stephen Colbert called the video “supreme sensuality”). However, there is nothing more disgusting here than the prospect of drinking milk in a hot tub.
