Personal Fitness helps you build healthy habits that make you stronger and feel better. You'll check where you are now, set goals, and follow a plan for 12 weeks. It's about your own progress, not comparing yourself to anyone else.
Why it's worth it
This badge is about you against your own starting line. In 12 weeks you'll see real changes you can measure: more push-ups, a faster mile, better sleep, more energy on a long hike. You'll learn how to build a plan you'll actually stick with, which is the hardest part of fitness for adults too. The habits you build now can carry you through sports, backpacking trips, a demanding job, or just feeling good in your body for years.
Start this week
- Write down three things you'd like your body to be able to do better, like hiking a hill without stopping or carrying a heavy pack.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Personal Fitness counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- With a parent, check when your last physical and dental checkups were and schedule any that are due.
- Ask your counselor which assessments you'll use for requirement 4 before you do any testing, so your baseline counts.
Plan ahead: Requirement 7 is a 12-week program, and it can't start until your counselor approves your assessments and plan. Get through requirements 4 to 6 quickly so the 12 weeks can begin, and keep working on the other parts while they run.
Stay safe
- Talk with a parent, and a doctor if you have a health condition, before starting a new exercise program.
- Warm up, build up slowly, drink water, and stop if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, or trouble breathing.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
What personal fitness means to you
Tips for this section: Think about what being fit means for you, like having energy for hikes or feeling good about yourself.
Example for this section: Fitness might mean having the energy to keep up on a 10-mile hike, sleeping better, or feeling confident in gym class. Write a few sentences about what it means for you right now and what you'd like it to mean in a year.
- Requirement 1a
Tell your counselor what a physically fit person is like
- Requirement 1b
Tell your counselor what a mentally, emotionally, and socially fit person is like
- Requirement 1c
Tell your counselor what a spiritually fit person is like
- Requirement 1d
Explain why it matters to be fit in every one of these ways
- Requirement 1e
Discuss how each kind of fitness connects to the Scout Oath and Scout Law
- Requirement 2
Checkups
Tips for this section: Schedule your checkups and ask your doctor or dentist a question or two while you're there.
- Requirement 2a
With your counselor, discuss why a yearly physical exam matters and why it reviews your medical history, allergies, medications, immunizations, and general health. Say when you last had a physical
- Requirement 2b
Explain why regular dental checkups matter, what preventive or corrective care a dentist can give, and why daily care of your teeth and mouth keeps you well. Say when you last saw a dentist
- Requirement 3
Your fitness knowledge and habits
Tips for this section: Talk with a parent about healthy habits you already have and one you'd like to build.
Example for this section: Bring a short list to your counselor: one habit you already have (walking the dog daily), one you want to build (water instead of soda), and one thing you'll avoid and why, like vaping, alcohol, or energy drinks.
- Requirement 3a
With your counselor, explain the exercise you do regularly, whether it covers all four parts of fitness (cardiorespiratory, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, body composition), and how your habits raise or lower your chances of heart disease or other conditions as an adult
- Requirement 3b
With your counselor, discuss the harmful substances you choose to avoid and how that affects your risks now and later
- Requirement 3c
With your counselor, explain which common diseases vaccines can prevent or lessen, and whether you're immunized as your healthcare provider advises and your parent or guardian directs
- Requirement 3d
With your counselor, discuss how nutrition ties into the other parts of fitness, and whether you eat a balanced, nutritious diet
- Requirement 3e
With your counselor, talk about the right healthy weight for you and how you stay there
- Requirement 3f
With your counselor, explain why enough sleep matters and whether you get enough each night
- Requirement 3g
With your counselor, discuss whether you spend good time with family and friends in social and fun activities, and how you help make home life good
- Requirement 4
With your counselor, decide which fitness and nutrition assessments you'll do before, during, and after the 12-week program in requirement 7. Include 4a through 4c
Tip: Sit down with your counselor early so you both agree on which assessments you'll do.
- Requirement 4a
A cardiorespiratory (aerobic) test: time yourself walking or running a mile as fast as you can. If a permanent disability, or one expected to last over two years, prevents this, set up a similarly challenging aerobic test with your counselor
- Requirement 4b
Two strength and endurance tests: sit-ups in 60 seconds or how long you hold a plank, AND push-ups or pull-ups in 60 seconds. If you can't do one safely and correctly, pick a different strength and endurance test with your counselor
- Requirement 4c
One or more flexibility tests, like the back scratch test or the back-saver sit-and-reach
- Requirement 5
Before the program
Tips for this section: Write down everything you eat for three days, including snacks and drinks. Be honest; it's just for you.
Example for this section: Your three-day food log could note breakfast at 7, a granola bar at 10, school lunch, chips after school, dinner, and a late snack, plus water and drinks. Look for patterns like skipped breakfast or no vegetables until dinner.
- Requirement 5a
Before starting the 12-week program, do every assessment you chose in requirement 4 and write down your results
- Requirement 5b
Find your strongest and weakest areas of physical fitness, and pick one area to work on improving
- Requirement 5c
Log everything you eat and drink for three days
- Requirement 5d
Using your food log, set at least two diet and nutrition goals for improvement
- Requirement 6
With your counselor, outline a complete 12-week fitness and nutrition program based on your goals and abilities. It must include 6a through 6f
Tip: Plan workouts you'll actually enjoy, and write them on a calendar where you'll see them.
For example: A sample week: Monday and Thursday push-ups, squats, and planks; Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday a 25-minute jog or bike ride; Wednesday stretching. Warm up before and cool down after each workout. Add your two nutrition goals, like a fruit or vegetable at every meal and water instead of soda.
- Requirement 6a
A warm-up of easy movement or gentle stretching before each harder workout
- Requirement 6b
Aerobic exercise that gets your heart and breathing up for 15 to 30 minutes, three or more times a week
- Requirement 6c
Strength and endurance exercises done in repetitions, aimed at muscle groups such as your legs, core, or upper body, based on your goals and potential
- Requirement 6d
Flexibility moves that arch, lower, stretch, or relax your back, twist your trunk, or stretch your hamstrings
- Requirement 6e
A cool-down of easy movement or gentle stretching to prevent cramps and get more benefit from exercise
- Requirement 6f
A plan for reaching your two diet and nutrition goals
- Requirement 7
Do the program
Tips for this section: Track each workout in a log or app. Check in with your counselor along the way so you stay on track.
Example for this section: Keep a log with date, activity, time or reps, and how you felt. Retest in weeks 4 and 8 and again right after week 12, and compare each with your starting results. Then talk with your counselor about what worked and what you'd change.
- Requirement 7a
Follow your program for 12 weeks in a row and keep a log. If illness or an unavoidable conflict interrupts it for under two weeks, you may pick up where you stopped and add the missed time at the end
- Requirement 7b
Repeat your requirement 5a assessments in week 4 and week 8, and again within two weeks after finishing the program. Show improvement over your starting results
- Requirement 7c
Log what you eat and drink for three days in week 8 and three days in week 12. Show progress toward your requirement 5d nutrition goals
- Requirement 7d
After the program and assessments, talk with your counselor about your results, improvements, what you learned, and how it went
- Requirement 8
Careers or lifestyle. Choose 1 of 2
Tips for this section: Look into careers like coach, trainer, or physical therapist, or try a new sport you could keep doing.
- Requirement 8a
Look into three fitness-related careers, then dig into one through an expert interview, a site visit, or other sources: training, education, costs, job outlook, pay, and advancement. Discuss what you learned and your interest with your counselor
- Requirement 8b
Look into how some part of personal fitness could add to a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Research the education, costs, and organizations involved, and discuss what you found and your goals with your counselor
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A community recreation center or YMCA
Staff can show you how to use equipment safely and suggest classes or open gym times that fit your plan.
How: Go with a parent and ask the front desk whether a staff member can give a short orientation. Ask about youth or free community rates.
A high school or college athletic training room
Athletic trainers can explain how athletes prevent and recover from injuries.
How: A parent or leader can contact the school's athletic department and ask if a trainer would talk with a small Scout group.
Where it can lead
- Physical therapistHelps people recover strength and movement after injuries or surgery; needs a doctoral degree.
- Athletic trainerPrevents and treats sports injuries for school and pro teams.
- Personal trainer or fitness instructorDesigns workouts and coaches clients; usually trained through a certification program.
- Registered dietitianHelps people plan healthy eating for sports, health conditions, or everyday life.
- Physical education teacher or coachTeaches students sports, fitness, and healthy habits.
Ask yourself
- What does being fit mean to you, apart from how you look?
- Which workouts did you look forward to, and which did you dread?
- What got in the way of your plan, and how did you get back on track?
- What changed between your first and last assessments, and what made the difference?
- Which habit from these 12 weeks do you want to keep, and how will you keep it?
Good questions to ask a coach, athletic trainer, or physical therapist
- How do you help someone stick with a fitness plan when they lose motivation?
- What's the most common mistake you see teens make when they start working out?
- How should I warm up and cool down to avoid injuries?
- How do you know when soreness is normal and when it's a sign to stop?
- What does a balanced plan look like for someone my age?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Encourage scouts to start early, since the 12-week program takes time.
- Plan active troop meetings or outings that support scouts' fitness goals.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Doctor or school nurse — Advice on safe exercise and healthy habits.
- MyPlate (opens in a new tab) — Simple guidance on healthy eating.
- Local YMCA or recreation center — Places to work out and try new activities.
- Move Your Way (opens in a new tab) — How much activity teens need and easy ways to fit it in, from the U.S. health department.
- Nutrition.gov (opens in a new tab) — Trusted information on healthy eating from the USDA.
- MouthHealthy (opens in a new tab) — Tips on caring for your teeth from the American Dental Association.
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.