From time to time popular magazines and others will publish various ideas of what it means to be a fit person―or fit man, as happens to be my particular interest.

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One of the first such lists I encountered was in a Men's Health magazine article entitles A Fit Man Can.... This article dates to 2006, though an updated variation was published in 2015 and there are probably others.

Thinking back to 2006 I had just graduated with my bachelor's degree. I'd focused on history and business and was preparing for law school. I also worked as a coder, behind a desk in front of screen 9.5-18 hours a day. Although I had maintained a consistent running regimen since mustering out of the army, my life had been mostly bookish.

I couldn't do any of the things on the list as far as I recall and have been working on them ever since―although sometimes with much more inspiration and focus than at others.

At times I have been able to check more than a few of these on the list, though I don't think I've ever had a moment when I was simultaneously able to accomplish them all. But I continue to try.

Can you...

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do 40 push ups? (50.0%) 4 / 8 make a vertical jump of 26 inches (66 cm) or more? (25.0%) 2 / 8 leg press 225% of your body weight? (12.5%) 1 / 8 swim 700 yards (640 m) in 12 minutes or less? (12.5%) 1 / 8