As potential candidates are weighing presidential bids, they are also weighing in.
With more pressure than ever to look good on the campaign trail and have the stamina to survive it, candidates are hitting the gym and skipping dessert to trim down or bulk up before they make their bids official.
When former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush traveled to Greenwich, Conn., last week to raise money for his nascent presidential bid, a local news report described him, foremost, as looking “physically fit.” Last month, the Miami Herald noted that Bush has begun working with a trainer and looks “his trimmest in years.”
In October, the National Review reported that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was “looking to beef up,” having added 13 pounds to his thin frame.
And Texas Gov. Rick Perry has switched up his fitness routine since the last election cycle, when frequent jogs exacerbated his back pain, dogging him during his brief campaign. Perry said he now chooses the stationary bike over running.
The stationary bike is also New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s preferred mode of exercise. “My least favorite is side lifts with dumbbells,” the governor, who also has worked with a personal trainer and dietician, said in an interview last year. His office declined to provide details about Christie’s fitness routine beyond what he has stated publicly.
Weight loss is not part of the campaign journey for every potential candidate, however.
Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who wrote a book about his own triple-digit weight loss, Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife and Fork, might be taking a slightly different approach in advance of 2016. His latest book, out this month, is titled God, Guns, Grits and Gravy.
The benefits of a revamped workout regimen for candidates can go beyond weight and physical appearance.
For older potential candidates, fitness can project energy. It’s likely no coincidence, then, that allies of Hillary Clinton confirmed to the New York Times last year that Clinton has been working with a personal trainer and practicing yoga.
The improved strength and stamina that come from regular workouts can help candidates meet the rigors of a campaign schedule — which can be a workout itself.
As a presidential candidate in 2008, Sen. John McCain noted to cyclist Lance Armstrong in an interview that shaking hands on a rope line can burn some calories. “And you don’t eat much, because you are usually talking while others are eating,” McCain said.
On rare occasions, fitness itself can become a campaign issue.
Former vice presidential candidate and known gym rat Paul Ryan was lampooned in 2012 when Time Magazine published dorky photos of Ryan lifting weights and when he said he could run a marathon in under three hours. (His best time was actually more than four hours.)
Potential candidates who are overweight recognize the need to lose weight prior to a presidential campaign, lest they be criticized for being out of shape or in poor health.
In 2010, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters as he weighed a presidential bid: “If you see me losing 40 pounds, that means I’m either running or have cancer.”
