By Lee Moran
Last updated at 12:00 PM on 9th January 2012
Flexing his pecs and showing off his speed, President Barack Obama stripped off for some beach football to round off his Christmas holidays in Hawaii.
As his Republican rivals were deep in preparation for the Iowa caucuses, these photos show Obama had his mind on diving headlong for catches and tossing touchdowns to his friends from the Secret Service.
The 50-year-old looked surprisingly lean on New Year's Day at the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base on Oahu, where he stayed with the first family for their 10-day vacation.
Game player: As his Republican rivals were deep in preparation for the Iowa caucuses, Barack Obama had his mind on diving headlong for catches and tossing touchdowns to his friends from the Secret Service
Game on! Barack Obama was pictured playing American Football during his Hawaii holiday
The football game brought to an end a relaxing and fun-filled 10 days for the President who arrived in Hawaii a week later than he had hoped.
He would have enjoyed an even longer period away from the White House had there not been a stalemate in Washington over the payroll tax cut.
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But he certainly made up for lost time as, within an hour of arriving on December 23, he took wife Michelle out for dinner at one of their favorite hotspots, Morimoto Restaurant.
Then, on Christmas Eve, they spent some family time together with daughters Sasha and Malia in the morning.
Relaxation: The football game brought to an end a fun-filled 10 days for the President who arrived in Hawaii a week later than he had hoped
During the afternoon the couple split their time as Mr Obama went to play golf and the First Lady answered phone calls from expectant children who called NORAD to see where Santa was on his route.
Like many families, the Obamas spent Christmas morning by themselves, opening presents and singing carols. They then attended church services at a nearby naval base and talked with military families afterwards.
Mr Obama had no public schedule when he arrived in Hawaii but his schedule seemed to fill up quite quickly.
The entire Obama clan was joined by their family friends the Nesbitts as they took a drive from their multi-million dollar rented vacation home to the Sea Life Park marine sanctuary.
Beach babies: President Barack Obama walks down to the beach with his family during his 10-day break to Hawaii
While there, the girls were able to release three 18-month-old sea turtles into the wild.
Though he tried to keep a low profile throughout the trip, he and his motorcade was seen driving to and from the golf course a number of times.
Rival: Is Obama trying to compete with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who is regularly pictured topless?
One of his golfing partners was an old high school buddy Robert 'Bobby' Titcomb, who was arrested in a prostitution sting.
After golf that day, the boys were joined by the First Lady and Mr Obama's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng at Alan Wong's, one of Hawaii's priciest restaurants.
In an act of reflection, Mr and Mrs Obama visited the Pearl Harbour memorial and paid tribute to the thousands who lost their lives there 70 years ago. It was his first visit since 2008, when he was president-elect.
And then on New Year's Day, the family went back to their roots by paying tribute to two different generations.
They first visited the grave of Mr Obama's maternal grandmother, Stanley Durham, and later they went to an exhibit honoring Mr Obama's mother, Ann Durham, and the work she did overseas in Indonesia.
It was afterwards that he managed to squeeze in a game of football, the photographs of which some have compared to Vladimir Putin's display of masculinity in promotional pictures.
The Russian Prime Minister is well known for posing with his top off in a bid to demonstrate his power and virility.
Later that night, the Obamas left the girls at home while they joined 10 friends for dinner in the private room at celebrity hotspot Nobu Wakiki. They returned to Washington on Monday, January 2.
Commander in briefs: Obama pictured in 2008 prior to becoming President
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