2 min read
ROBERT F. KENNEDY Jr is at it again, performing pullups in public. This time in the middle of Reagan National Airport.
The spectacle happened soon after the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary announced the “Make Travel Family Friendly Again” campaign with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. The one billion dollar grant program aims to “incentivize more family friendly resources in airport terminals.” Among the proposed initiatives is a priority for movement and exercise, combating the idea that people might sit for hours in airports because of delays or layovers.
The campaign’s vision for movement involves play spaces for children and areas for working out. This includes, you guessed it, pullups. In typical RFK fashion, he made a point to show what an airport mini-gym would look like himself, launching into an impromptu pullup competition with Duffy. But hey, at least he’s not shirtless or in jeans this time.
RFK, with his shirt untucked and his tie loosened, completed 20 pullups with much more control than in his much-lambasted training session for the “Pete and Bobby Challenge” back in August. Not to be outdone, 54-year-old US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy ditched his jacket and tie entirely to complete 10 pullups. In the background, airport employees and travelers seemed to clock the pullup bar, but didn’t stop to spectate.
Both officials comported themselves well in their reps, according to MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. “I like Duffy’s pullups far more than RFK’s—but both guys are definitely getting solid work (and given that RFK’s 71, his work is underrated impressive),” Samuel says. “The entire endeavor’s a nice reminder that the pullup is an exercise you can do anywhere that you can hang (and if you hang around scaffolding or playground bars enough you’ll see that, too).
“If you do a few pullups, get your blood flowing, I think that’s positive,” Duffy says.
Samuel agrees. “It’s a great point that before hopping on a flight, it’s always good to get some motion in,” he notes. “That doesn’t need to look like pullups or even pushups or anything where you sweat. Just walk at the airport instead of sitting until your flight. You’re about to be inert for several hours. You’ll thank yourself for the extra heart rate work.”
Though Duffy did note that he hopes travelers won’t work up a “full body sweat going on so you stink [before a flight].”
If pullup bars are really coming soon to an airport near you, it might be worth learning how to do one. Check out our guide on the right way to do the exercise—so if you ever find yourself sharing an airport terminal with RFK, you can aim to best his mark yourself.
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, MS is the associate health & fitness for Men’s Health and has previously written for CNN, Scientific American, Popular Science, and National Geographic before joining the brand. When she’s not working, she’s doing circus arts or working towards the perfect pull-up.