 |
Greetings from the office of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program! You have received the June 2009 issue of Fitness is Fun, the official email distribution of the President's Challenge. These monthly emails will keep you updated on our programs, activities of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and other current information pertaining to health and fitness.
Fitness Question of the Month for June: What is your most unique activity to stay fit?
Please respond via e-mail to the President's Challenge at preschal@indiana.edu. We'll include the most insightful responses in the July issue of Fitness is Fun.
Have you or someone else motivated a group of children or adults to lead a healthier life?
E-mail us your story at preschal@indiana.edu and it could be featured in next month's newsletter! Be sure to check out a few of the responses we've gotten near the end of the newsletter! |
 President's Challenge
The National President's Challenge (NPC) is currently under way and will end on July 24, although we encourage everyone to keep logging their activities and being active well beyond this date. The NPC is an opportunity to get America up and moving, and everyone aged 6 and older is encouraged to participate. All you have to do is be active five days a week for six out of eight weeks, and you can log your activity at www.presidentschallenge.org.
The amount of time you need to be active depends on your age. If you're 6-17 years old, you should be active for an hour per day. If you're 18 or over, 30 minutes per day is all it takes. For more information about the 2009 National President's Challenge, please read the 2009 Fact Sheet 2009 Fact Sheet. |
The President's Challenge is now on Facebook
We have started a new group on Facebook called "President's Challenge." This group will provide members with instant news items that relate to the program, and will also announce new program events. To join the group, you must first register your own Facebook profile at http://www.facebook.com/.
Upon successfully registering, please perform the following steps to join the group.
- From the home screen, find the search box in the top right corner
- In the search box, enter the terms "President's Challenge"
- Find the group with the President's Challenge logo, and click on the logo
- Once in the group page, click the link under the logo that says "Join Group"
Upon completing those steps, you will be ready to start receiving the most up to date information about the program and chat with others about all things PC! |
Presidential, National, and Participant Emblem Changes
We now have Presidential, National, and Participant Emblems featuring 2009 embroidered on them at discounted rates (discounted rates only available online). We suggest getting these collectable versions of emblems in order to commemorate the year that the award was earned. Earlier this year we began to phase out the Presidential Emblems #1-12. These items have now sold out. For information on how to obtain the 2009 emblems visit https://www.presidentschallenge.org/order_center/index.aspx. |
Certificates with Presidential Signature
We now have certificates and medals featuring the signature of President Barack Obama. These items are very popular so please order early!
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
Childhood Obesity Conference
WHERE: Los Angeles, CA
WHEN: June 9-12, 2009 The 5th biennial Childhood Obesity Conference is the largest gathering of professionals focused on the prevention of overweight pediatric patients in the nation with over 1,800 in attendance. The conference is devoted to providing the most pressing and innovative issues related to childhood obesity. For more information, please visit http://www.cce.csus.edu/conferences/childobesity/09/ IDEA World Fitness Convention
WHERE: Anaheim, CA WHEN: July 7-8, 2009 "Join us along with 5,000 fitness professionals from all over the world at the 2009 IDEA World Fitness Convention in The OC (Anaheim), California. Experience the excitement, rejuvenation and education and share our mission to inspire the World to Fitness." For more information, please visit http://www.ideafit.com/conference/idea-world-fitness-convention-2008 "Get Out" Conference
(AAPAR)
WHERE: NH Ski Resort WHEN: December 3-5 2009 Teachers, professors and recreation professionals are encouraged to attend the first-ever winter "Get Out" conference at the Gunstock Mountain Ski Resort in Laconia, New Hampshire. Sessions will include: dressing properly for winter sports, how to purchase and fit equipment, teaching snow sports at your facility, starting a snow sports club, and the basics of snow sports, taught by certified instructors. Community leaders, snow sports instructors and snow sports industry leaders are expected to attend the conference, in addition to physical educators and recreation professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.aahperd.org/aapar/template.cfm?template=getout.cfm
|
Special Features Weight Watchers
The Momentum Walk-It Challenge encouraged all Weight Watchers meeting members and Weight Watchers Online subscribers to get active this spring. Between April 12th and June 6th members were encouraged to set an activity goal for themselves - such as walking 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) - and Weight Watchers would provide the tools needed to reach that goal. Members could join or create a walking team, or sign up for a 5K event and get a FREE 8-week online training program to help track the goal.
Upon joining the Momentum Walk-It Challenge participants received three items:
- An online training program with daily support email from coach Jenny Hadfield of Active.com
- Encouragement to stay active from other Weight Watchers members and online subscribers
- A free 6-month (3 issues) subscription to Weight Watchers magazine when you signup for a 5K event
Weight Watchers is also an advocate of The President's Challenge. When participating in the Momentum Walk-It Challenge, participants qualified to receive a special President's Challenge Award from Weight Watchers.
With nearly 90,000 Weight Watchers members participating, hundreds of photos and testimonials arrived each day!
No Child Left Inside urges families in Connecticut to get out and get active in nature. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has started this initiative to revive interest in their state parks and other natural attractions. Parents and children are encouraged to get outside together and be active while enjoying nature.
Although this initiative is unique to Connecticut, the ideas behind it can easily be adopted to any part of the country. Look for parks, forests, and waterways in your area. Rent a kayak and take your family on an afternoon excursion or take a hike through the nearest state park. Endless opportunities await!
 THE GREAT PARK PURSUIT 2009 HAS BEGUN!
Hundreds of Connecticut families have accepted The Great Park Pursuit Challenge to visit different State Parks, Forests and Recreation Areas over a seven-week period as part of a unique Connecticut State Parks Family Adventure! Follow your favorite teams as they compete against other families statewide, decoding clues that lead them to some of Connecticut's most beautiful places. All for a chance to win cool prizes and become more active! Even if you are not a registered team, you can still come out to the events and enjoy the fun!
|
News & Research Articles
Some News You Don't Want to Take Sitting Down
Washington Post
May 12, 2009
Benjamin Opipari
If you sit for too long, you will die. Or at least you may die earlier than those who get up and move around during the day, according to a study published in this month's issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
The study explored the relationship between sedentary behavior (that is, sitting) and premature mortality by observing a group of more than 17,000 Canadians ages 18 to 90 who took part in the 1981 Canada Fitness Survey. Survey participants rated themselves on how much time they spent sitting in any given week: almost none of the time, a fourth of the time, half of the time, three-fourths of the time, and almost all of the time. During the 12 years that the study followed the subjects, 1,832 of them died. The Researchers found that the mortality rate was almost three times higher among the least active than it was among the most active.
The effects were consistent regardless of sex, age, smoking status or body mass index. They were "independent of leisure time physical activity," the researchers said. In other words, sedentary behavior is not the same as lack of exercise; even physically fit people who exercised regularly still seem to risk premature death if they sat for prolonged periods during the day.
The authors noted that people in the United States "spend an average of 55 percent of their day in sedentary pursuits" such as watching TV, eating, working at a desk and riding in a car. "In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods," the authors wrote.
Those extended periods, they said, result in "metabolic alterations" that cannot be compensated for even if the individual exceeds the daily minimum physical activity guidelines of the American Heart Association. To reduce your chances of premature mortality by sitting, the authors suggested, increasing your level of daily physical activity and reducing the time you spend sitting per day by taking breaks every 60 to 90 minutes. To read more, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051102095.html?referrer=emailarticle Lean Times Bring Workouts Home
Wall Street Journal online
Anjali Athavaley
April, 16 2009
The recent recession has caused people to cut back on everything from travel to dining out. Now, it has spawned a low-budget fitness movement. These low-cost and easy alternatives range from dusting off old dumbbells to jumping rope or kickboxing in front of the television. Some people have found creative options for their workouts, like investing in a Wii Fit videogame, pooling money for a group personal training session or taking a yoga class at a local college.
Your pulse is racing, you are breathing hard, and sweat is pouring out of your pores. This is what happens not only when you are running or riding or even exercising in a gym. In more recent years, people have been visiting dance and exercise studios to keep fit and burn calories. Quite a few actually prefer dance to any other type of exercise. The question most people ask is if it is more effective than regular exercise.
|
Fitness Question of the Month What do you do when you get bored with your current fitness routine?
We take our kids to state parks and hike trails. They enjoy finding new things, like once we found salamander eggs in the water and took a picture before putting them back. They are getting exercise but just see it as good fun. If you get a state park pass in the fall or winter it costs less sometimes and the 1pass is good for all the South Carolina state parks.
~RJ C.
I am a Pre-School Teacher. Here in Phx AZ during the summer the temps can soar to well over 100 degrees! We do not go outside in the afternoon! Most of our activities are done in the early A.M. We have water play as well. But in the afternoon I teach children music and movement. This helps the children to move around and stay in shape. I let them march around with instruments or we play songs that have specific body movements like the Freeze Song where children will march around until the song stops and then they freeze in place. The pent up energy that children have can be channeled into something positive!
~Lisa C.
Since my son is in a wheelchair, I couldn't go on the hikes with the group we have in our church. So, I decided to form a group for single parents and their small children and do easy hikes with wheelchair access. Quite a few parents showed up and that's how I met my husband J
~Dianna I.
The database for the President's Challenge is a great personal log. There are awards for reaching specific levels or goals of activity. However, setting a goal or a number of goals can help break the routine of training and exercise. For example, goals can include: Run a 5 K, complete a triathlon, enter an open water swim, complete a race every month for a year, etc. Goals help motivate and keep you on track.
~David L.
I remind myself that I would be as bored watching TV and one step behind reaching my goal. Every day you do not work towards your objective is a wasted day. The only true, unbreakable tenet of exercising is KEEP AT IT.
~Jose C.
This time I'm vowing to set short weekly goals... treadmill for a week, use my Wii fit for a week, do a step DVD for a week, then try Tai Chi for a week. I Figure a week at a time will keep me from getting bored and a 1 week goal shouldn't be too hard to accomplish!
~LaNita B. |
Motivation Have you or someone else ever motivated a group of children or adults to lead a healthier life?
I've never been one to do things on my own. I don't like being myself in anything I do. In January of this year I signed up for the Mississippi Makeover Challenge. 12 weeks of extreme fitness for one hour per day, Monday through Thursday. About two weeks before it started I was getting really nervous about it. I considered myself to be very unfit. I mean, I could walk a mile or two and occasionally I'd get on a treadmill two or three times per week, but, intense fitness for a solid hour four days a week? I was really concerned. Not to mention my cholesterol was well over 250. I had also heard about the program from other people like the Biggest Loser workouts times 100. Since I was on this venture alone I decided to recruit a few of the girls in the office to walk with me every afternoon during our break. The first week was great-there were about 5 of us ladies walking and we all started to feel empowered. It wasn't enough for me. That Friday I sent an email to the entire office with what I now call "The Business Office Healthy Workplace Challenge".
I wanted to start a challenge among the employees in the office. I asked that everyone get on the scale and let me record their beginning weight and measurements of their waist and hips. For 9 weeks we would watch what we eat and exercise at least 20 minutes per the final weigh in I would measure their waist and hips. I created an Excel chart of the progress to keep record. It was fantastic. The original 5 grew to 17 men and women. Each week I sent a motivational email to make sure everyone was still on track. People would reply and tell me how they appreciated what I was doing and how I really inspired them to be fit and healthy. It wasn't just about looking good, but about feeling good and getting healthy. A few girls even quit smoking!
My own fitness challenge (Mississippi Makeover Challenge) ended one week after the Business Office Healthy Workplace Challenge and although I did outstanding, my group at the Business Office did AMAZING!!! Our winner lost 17 lbs and 4 inches off of her waist. Everyone lost weight and inches and what's better is they keep asking me when we're going to do it again!!! Our Business Office Healthy Workplace Challenge will kick off again on June 1st and I'm just as excited if not more to once again lead the group to a healthier lifestyle.
|
Special Thanks!
We would like to extend a special thanks to all of the President's Challenge Advocates. Please visit the Advocates area on the http://www.presidentschallenge.org/ web site to see how companies, organizations and groups are making a difference with the President's Challenge.
|
SPOTLIGHT ON ADVOCATES!
Make A Splash is a national child-focused water safety initiative created by The USA Swimming Foundation.
Make A Splash works by aligning the nation's top learn-to-swim resources in an effort to save lives. Make a Splash educates parents through a national awareness campaign, saves lives through grassroots learn-to-swim programs and reaches thousands of children through wide-reaching in-school curricula.
The initiative aims to reduce youth drowning, especially among minorities and create opportunities for children of all economic and ethnic backgrounds to learn to swim by the 3rd grade.
How to get involved:
- Find a place to learn to swim. Then make sure every member of your family is safe around the water.
- Sponsor a Swim Lesson for a child who may not otherwise be able to afford one by visiting www.makeasplash.org.
- Join the Local Partner Program and become a provider for your community.
- Wear the Make A Splash water drop to raise awareness of this important issue.
|
Feedback!
We would like to hear from you. If you have any topics that you would like to see addressed in Fitness is Fun or any comments regarding this list, please let us know. You can provide them by emailing us at preschal@indiana.edu.
To view past issues of Fitness is Fun visit our website: http://www.presidentschallenge.org/. Enter the site by choosing the appropriate category, then click on "news/research".
| |
|
|
