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Spring IS coming

Although this winter has not been particularly harsh nor cold, it is still winter, making it difficult to get out after school and work to be active.  However, spring will be here soon and the call of substantial evening light and warmer weather will lure many of us outside.

Don't get caught being out of shape. Hit the spring running!  This is the perfect time of year to commit to exercise and healthy eating.  There are few food centered holidays in the Spring to derail your good intentions. The nicer weather and longer days make it easier to get outside without extra gear to slow you down.  Birders and gardeners have plenty to look for by getting outside.

Start tracking your PALA+ today and you will be a winner by Easter.  Online or on paper, track your exercise and eating.  After six successful weeks, you will have earned your PALA+!

President's Challenge Site Back Up

If you tried to log into the President's Challenge website before Jan. 24, you would have noticed that it had been shut down due to being compromised by hackers.

Happily the site is back up and you can start logging your fitness information again.

Today is the perfect day to commit and recommit to your fitness goals.  You can earn a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Plus by spring if you start recording your workouts and healthy eating choices this week.  Having a goal will make the last dreary days of winter fly by and you will be ready for biking, running, gardening and spring fun!

Congratulations to our latest PALA winners!   Well done on working out over the holidays!

Dawson Lewis

Sarah Easter

Challenge Yourself Fit in 2012!

A New Year is a great time to recommit to fitness.  Refresh your fitness goals with the President's Challenge this winter.  If you haven't already, you can earn a PALA + or earn a medal as a Presidential Champion.  If you are already working towards these goals, you can challenge yourself to try new activities, particularly ones that strengthen muscles and bones.

Need a little more motivation to get fit?  Join us on Martin Luther King Day afternoon from 1PM-5PM for our family fitness event for a free afternoon at the SD Discovery Center.  We will be premiering our "Let's Move South Dakota" exhibit with fun hands-on stations for family fitness.  You can start 2012 strong with fun family fitness activities.  Make a commercial (or coffee) break exercise motivator.  See why water is the "sweetest" drink for your health.  Join us at our cooking class to prepare a delicious soup recipe from the Emmy award winning Food Revolution television show.

Help us get the word out about this event by printing out the poster and posting at your workplace or church.  You can also pass it out to friends.  We'll see you Monday Jan 16!

First Silver Medal!

Congratulations to Thomas Kropp the first Let's Move SD Discovery Center Presidential Champion silver medalist!  Well done!  Thomas is well on his way to earning a gold medal by the Summer Olympics.

Start 2012 strong by getting a jump on your New Year's Resolutions to get fit and eat better.  Commit (or recommit) to completing a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Plus (affectionately known as PALA +).  You don't have to wait to New Year's to eat better or exercise more. You can start today and be halfway to earning your PALA + by January 1.

The best part is you don't have to give up the holiday fun. You can find new celebrations.  Instead of baking dozens and dozens of cookies, make whole wheat pancake mix.  Cook the pancakes in metal cookie cutters for a fun holiday dinner!

In lieu of watching TV, go for a walk to collect sticks and come back to build a fire in an outdoor fire pit. (You probably will want to lay in wood other than what you collect.)  Yes it will be chilly but fun!

Buy or make a dozen footbags, (aka hacky sacks) put away the breakables and let everyone try their hand ... er foot... at it.  Start easy by dropping the sack on knee and popping it back up to catch it.

Nutrition goals are easy too.  Eat smaller portions, pick the low/no sodium alternatives, drink water instead of sugary drinks.  These everyday choices add up to better health.

Medal Race!

After you earn a President's Active Lifestyle Award PLUS , switch your challenge to Presidential Champion to work towards earning medals.  The more you exercise, the more points you earn.  The more points you earn, the faster you will earn a medal.

We have a medal race kicking off in January 2012 as a countdown to the London 2012 Summer Olympics.  But don't wait.  You don't have to be young, athletically gifted or part of an elite squad to earn these medals.  You just have to go out and do something physical.  Get started today!

Finish Strong!

The members of Let's Move SD Discovery Center are doing well in working towards their President's Challenge Awards.  We have 7 bronze medal winners who are on track to earning silvers by the summer Olympics in July 2012.  We have 3 more people who have earned their Presidential Active Lifestyle Award.  Well done!

If you are member of the group and have fallen off in tracking, don't despair.  You can restart tracking today and earn your PALA by the end of the year!  Finish this year strong and healthy.

If you are just starting or re-staring your PALA adventure, you will notice that there is a new element: PALA +.  PALA + adds a healthy eating goal to your workout goal of 5 workouts/week.  Each week, you add an additional healthy eating goal such as choosing lower sodium versions of foods or adding whole grains to your menu.

Keep up the good work(outs)!

Anne