They are the two most despised presidential candidates in history, Hillary Clinton Vs. Donald Trump. Both score incredibly low in polls measuring trustworthiness. Neither is all that likable. But who has is the fittest for the job?

On November 8, 2016, a new president of the United States will be named. If lying were an Olympic event, this would be an epic struggle. It isn’t. There are five candidates, but only two with a realistic chance of victory: Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

The question is who has the fitness to take on the weight of the nation and lead for the next four years?

Forget about what impact either one might have on the Amendments. Forget also about what they might do with regards to such vital issues as the economy, national security, health care, immigration, foreign policy, taxes and the Supreme Court. If their critics are right, the approach either one of them may take could be against American values.

Put aside also all of the October surprises. We’re not FBI investigators, nor do we play ones on social media and the cable news shows. We are also not here to judge the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, assault accusers, tax returns, Project Veritas, BleachBit, and WikiLeaks. Others have already spent countless hours on some of those issues – any one of which would have been potentially disqualifying in any other race for the Oval Office.

We, on the other hand, are here to impartially dissect just who has the fitness to take on the most important job in the world.

Warning: With Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the candidates, the bar is set quite low!

What Role Does Age Play In The 2016 Election?

The battle for the presidency this year features the two oldest major party candidates to ever face off. If bloodlines mean anything, and in the case of life expectancy, they typically do, then both are in great shape. Mrs. Clinton’s mother lived to 92 and her father lived to 82. Mr. Trump’s father lived to 93. His mother lived to 88.

Neither Clinton nor Trump is a spring chicken. In fact, if Trump at the age of 70 were to win, he would become the oldest person ever to be named President of the United States. Ronald Reagan holds the current record. Reagan was almost 70 when he became president.

Clinton isn’t far behind having just celebrated a birthday while on the campaign trail. At the age of 69, if Clinton were to win, she would be the second oldest person to ever be named President of the United States. With that said, she’d also be the first female President of the United States. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, women live for an average of 81.2 years. Men have an average lifespan of 76.4 years.

What About Health?

No, we’re not getting into the rising costs, benefits and drawbacks of Obamacare. We are also not getting into the discussion of a single-payer system and insurance plans. This is Gym Junkies. We’re here to look into the health and fitness of each candidate. Forget about the Clinton coughs or the Trump sniffs. These are issues that don’t appear to have any long-term effects on either candidate.

At first, Trump provided a very brief letter with limited info regarding his medical status. He followed that up with a visit to The Dr. Oz Show and offered a lot more details. His cholesterol was 169 with a 63 for HDL (good cholesterol) and 94 for the LDL (bad cholesterol). Trump’s triglyceride number was a 61. His blood pressure was 116/70. The doctor noted that Trump was on rosuvastatin (a lipid lowering agent) and a low dose of aspirin. Liver and thyroid function was said to be normal, as was an EKG.

On September 11, 2016, Clinton suffered a very public collapse. We later learned that this collapse was related to pneumonia. Soon after that, her campaign released detailed medical info. Her cholesterol was 189 with an HDL (good cholesterol) score of 56 and an LDL (bad cholesterol) score of 103. Clinton’s triglyceride number was 159. Her blood pressure was 100/70. At the time of the letter, the doctor noted that Clinton was taking armor thyroid, coumadin (a blood thinner), Clarinex (an antihistamine) and vitamin B12. Her heart rate was 70 and the doctor noted that the remaining portion of the exam was normal.

Both were deemed by their doctors to be fit for the presidency. It should be noted that a normal blood pressure reading is said to be below 120/80. A healthy total cholesterol reading is 200 or less. The desirable score for the bad cholesterol number is under 100 and for the good cholesterol, it’s 60 or higher. The ideal triglyceride number is less than 150.

What Do Hillary & Trump Eat?

Their age and medical records aren’t all that different. However, Trump and Clinton’s approach to a simple diet is almost as deeply divided as their stances on virtually every one of the vital issues.

Reports are that Trump loves steak, hamburger, French fries, pasta, KFC, bacon, and eggs. His kids have expressed their hope that he would follow a healthier diet.

On the other hand, Clinton is said to take a very strict approach to her diet. One report indicated that she follows a diet created by Dr. Mark Hyman who authored a book called, Eat Fat, Get Thin. The diet consists of tasteless fats. She’s also said to enjoy lamb and hot peppers.

Do They Have Healthy Habits?

Believe it or not, we might finally have a category where both candidates do well. At least that appears to be what the evidence would indicate when evaluating for such things as drugs and alcohol.

According to Mr. Trump, he does not drink alcohol. He also doesn’t take any recreational drugs (though Democrat Howard Dean has suggested Trump’s debate sniffles might prove otherwise). Apparently, the reason for his good habits is that he watched a close family member struggle with alcohol problems and vowed to never let that happen to him.

Mrs. Clinton also does not appear to have any bad habits. In fact, the John Podesta WikiLeaks emails might prove this. One of the emails apparently indicated that her aides had hoped to snap a picture of her drinking a beer in a party setting to make her appear more relatable. No such picture has ever surfaced. With that said, in her coffee table book called An Invitation To The White House, Clinton mentioned that she enjoyed wine ice cream.

Who Has The Mental Clarity And Temperament?

You may need to have a degree in psychiatry to really evaluate the candidates and their overall fitness in this category. The sad thing is that there is even a discussion about this issue in the first place.

Mrs. Clinton suffered a concussion at the end of 2012. We are told that it is no longer an issue to her. With that said, when the email server scandal erupted, she did say she could not recall certain briefings. In fact, she told the FBI more than 30 times that she couldn’t remember when questioned about various aspects of the case. On the other hand, her ability to prepare for such things as debates highlights that her memory can still be excellent.

One thing she never forgets is to knock Mr. Trump on his temperament. She is quick to point out that a tweet will often engage him into a war of words. A quick look at Trump’s Twitter account reveals he does seem to be very willing to take the bait on many issues. With Trump’s 12.8 million Twitter followers and Clinton’s 10.1 million, it’s clear that there are many who are interested to listen to both.

Does Donald Trump Workout? Does Hillary Clinton Workout? 

Past President George W. Bush and current President Barack Obama were known to be fairly active. Neither Clinton nor Trump seem to be all that gym friendly. The might even struggle with a beginner workout plan. 

If Mr. Trump showed the same prowess on a track field as he allegedly does in avoiding paying and presenting income tax returns to the public, he would be as fit as anyone ever to become President with the possible exception of “Honest” Abe Lincoln, a former wrestler. With that said, Trump has been known to golf. If he were to carry around his golf clubs and play nine holes, he could burn around 1,000 calories.

However, he doesn’t show that prowess in a gym and he’s unlikely to carry around his golf clubs so chances are he simply isn’t burning all that many calories. And, his alleged propensity for kissing unwilling women does not account for very much physical exertion either. After all, a kiss that lasts a full minute is believed to only burn about two calories.

Of course, we know Mrs. Clinton is into yoga as she’s claimed yoga discussion accounted for a good portion of her 30,000 deleted emails. Sadly for Clinton, paying a company to delete emails does not work your muscles nor force you to exert much, if any, energy. And, while it does take some physical effort to smash more than one dozen phones into tiny pieces and turn over various other devices to the authorities, it still doesn’t equate to very much of a workout for the muscles or all that many calories being burned. On the other hand, she could burn at least 125 calories per half hour doing yoga.

Who Has The Stamina?

If we really wanted to determine who had the stamina, we’d need to get both Trump and Clinton in a gym and put them through the paces. A good cardio workout would tell the story. With that said, this might be the only thing we won’t see happen in this year’s wild election.

Trump often mentions that Clinton is low energy. He supports this by claiming that Clinton looked exhausted following the debates. Clinton counters that as Secretary of State she traveled to over 100 countries.

The truth is that it is a very hard field to truly measure and one that could be ever changing. Looking at the recent past on the campaign trail is only a brief snapshot. With that said, Trump, who has been trailing in the polls, has been known to crisscross the nation doing as many as three rallies a day in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, Clinton seems to prefer the quiet confines of fundraisers and often sends out high-profile surrogates to speak for her at rallies.

Conclusion

Who will win on November 8, 2016?

Who is fit to be president of the United States?

It’s not the task of any responsible outlet to sway your opinion one way or another.

The truth is that neither appears to be all that physically fit. And, if that isn’t bad enough, they each have such a checkered past that you might conclude neither should ever hold the position of President of the United States.

Whoever wins, don’t follow their example. While both have been hugely successful in generating massive amounts of income, they each fall short in their fitness levels thanks to a sedentary lifestyle.

An American Psychological Association survey found that the 2016 election has been a significant source of stress for 52% of Americans. The good news is that it’s almost over. Get ready to put it behind you. Maintaining a good cardio and strength-training program is a great first step.

By Jeff Andrews