11 Old-School PE Activities That Felt Like Torture
These old-school PE activities often turned gym class into a mental and physical trial, blurring the line between fitness and punishment.
- Alyana Aguja
- 3 min read
Many physical education programs from past decades prioritized toughness and competition over inclusion or safety. These activities, often celebrated as rites of passage, frequently left students anxious, sore, and humiliated. While meant to promote fitness, they often felt like institutionalized endurance tests wrapped in polyester gym shorts.
1. The Presidential Fitness Test
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Once a year, American kids were forced to run, stretch, hang, and heave their way through this dreaded test. Pull-ups, the sit-and-reach, and that impossible one-mile run weren’t just exercises — they were public humiliations. It wasn’t about health; it was about who could suffer quietly while the gym teacher shouted at you.
2. Dodgeball (The Old, Unforgiving Kind)
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Before soft foam balls, dodgeball was a survival game played with rubber balls that could leave a welt. The “cool kids” targeted the slow ones, and if you wore glasses, good luck. It felt more like sanctioned bullying than a physical education activity.
3. The Rope Climb
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No harness, no mats, but just a thick, scratchy rope dangling from the ceiling like a test of primal dominance. If you didn’t make it up, you hung there while the rest of the class watched, snickering or gasping. Splinters, burns, and shame were all part of the deal.
4. Shuttle Runs
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The beep test’s evil cousin, shuttle runs involved sprinting back and forth between two lines until your lungs gave out. It was less about athleticism and more about collapsing in sweat while your classmates yelled “hustle!” through their own misery. Even gym teachers seemed to enjoy the pain it caused.
5. Wall Sits
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You’d squat against a wall with nothing but your willpower to hold you up, thighs burning and eyes twitching. The teacher would pace like a prison guard, barking out the seconds like minutes. It was somehow both excruciating and boring.
6. The Sit-Up Challenge
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Before people cared about proper form or back health, this was a contest of raw endurance. A partner sat on your feet while you flailed upward, neck strained, and tailbone bruised. There was no glory, only abdominal regret.
7. Indian Runs
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A cruel group activity where the slowest person had to sprint from the back of the line to the front over and over again. It was a twisted relay disguised as team bonding. By the end, everyone was exhausted, but only the fastest kids were smiling.
8. Bear Crawls
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Hands and feet on the floor, you’d lurch across the gym like an overheated toddler in pain. Your wrists would ache, your legs would shake, and the floor always smelled faintly of mildew and defeat. Nobody knew why we had to do it, but we did it anyway.
9. Bleacher Runs
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Coaches loved sending kids up and down the stadium bleachers like they were training for the Olympics, or the Hunger Games. Knees screamed, ankles twisted, and one misstep meant you were tumbling. It was high-risk cardio with very little payoff.
10. The Medicine Ball Throw
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That awkward, sand-filled orb was either too heavy or too light, depending on how you grabbed it. You’d have to throw it as far as possible while your classmates watched and judged. It somehow managed to be embarrassing and physically pointless at the same time.
11. Jump Rope “Gauntlets”
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Two kids would swing a long rope while the rest lined up to sprint through one by one. If you mistimed your entry, you got whipped in the face or legs with nylon. When it was your turn to turn the rope, the real pain was in your wrists and resentment.