ABSTRACT
Theodore Roosevelt became an instant hit as president. One of the most popular chief executives in American history; he was especially celebrated for his impressive reservoir of energy That was an irony; for as a boy he had been frail, nearsighted, and sickly: To compensate for his physical weaknesses, he dedicated himself to athletic development. He spent long hours in his home gym, lifting weights and working out with a punching bag, and as an undergraduate at Harvard continued to box at the school gym. An exponent of the "strenuous life," Roosevelt also became an avid outdoorsman. As president he would even leave the White House at night to run around the Washington Monument-to burn off excess energy; he explained.
