The National President’s Challenge has started and it’s not too late to join in on the fun!  President Bush, President’s Council Member Eli Manning, Acting Surgeon General RADM Steven Galson, MD, MPH and Council Members kicked off the National Challenge on March 20th by calling on all Americans to participate in an active lifestyle. 
All it takes is 30 minutes of activity a day (60 minutes for kids aged 6-17), 5 days a week for 6 weeks.  You can log your activity @ www.presidentschallenge.org on a personal activity tracker, and watch as you work your way towards earning an award.  It’s easy, fun, free……and you CAN do it!

You can sign up through April 3rd.  To register or learn more about the National President’s Challenge, please visit www.presidentschallenge.org where you’ll find a variety of promotional items you can use to encourage your employees, organization and family members to participate.

In recognition of this challenge, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports will be acknowledging governors of the top five states, as well as companies and schools with 35% completion rate. Check out the map on their website to see how Indiana compares to others!

This is a great way to stay motivated with your workout plan and encourage others as well!

Watch President Bush and Eli Manning talk about the importance of physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices at this link:  http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/256.0/popup/index.php?cl=7070400

The National President’s Challenge is a program of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.  www.fitness.gov

A Healthier Nation: It’s Everyone’s Challenge!

Now is a great time to put all excuses aside and start an exercise program that will help you feel, look, and live better!  Before you begin, you should start with an assessment that shows where your health and fitness level stands.  More importantly, you should be aware of what risk factors may prevent you from performing certain exercises and what habits you should break in order to make your fitness program effective.  Doctors and nationally certified personal trainers can help you perform detailed fitness assessments-and they will discuss the results with you in a way that relates to your goals.  They can help you design programs that are safe and effective-in addition to giving you the motivation and accountability that many of us need! 

You can perform smaller assessments on your own time by using some health calculators that are provided by many trusted health-based websites on the internet.  If you have any questions about your results, make sure you ask a doctor or other health professional so you understand what the results mean for you. 

Department of Health and Human Services

National Heart Lung Blood Institute Obesity Education Initiative

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/index.htm

• Calculate your Body Mass Index
• Body Mass Index Education & Information
• Portion Distortion Information
• Menu Planners
• We Can! Program

Health Status Internet Assessments

http://www.healthstatus.com/

• Health Calculators
• Newsletters & Tips
• Online Videos
• Free Membership
• Medical Directory
• Health News & Articles

Discovery Health

Interactive Tools Center

http://health.discovery.com/tools/center/center.html

• Interesting Tools & Quizzes
• Videos & Podcasts
• Physician Ratings
• Health News & Forums

University of Maryland Medical Systems

UMMS Health Calculators

http://www.healthcalculators.org/

• Organized List of Helpful Calculators
• Health, Fitness, and Medical Calculators

Revolution Health

Calculators

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/calculators

• Weight Management, Health Risk, and Nutrition Calculators
• Trackers and Symptom Checkers

In addition to these tools, there are many physical fitness assessments that you can do to help you discover your starting point and measure your progress throughout your program. 

1. Walk a mile.  See how long it takes you to walk a mile, and use this time to measure yourself throughout your program to see if you are getting faster.
2. How many push-ups can you do in 1 minute?  After a few weeks of strength training, try this one again and see if you are getting stronger.
3. Measure your waistline.  Sometimes the scale isn’t the best measure of weight loss, because muscle weighs more than fat.  So measure your waistline right at the level of your navel to see if you are losing inches!
4. Count your pulse.  Measuring your heart rate is an extremely important assessment of how hard your body is working.  You should measure your heart rate before you exercise and immediately after you exercise.  Check to see how fast your heart rate comes back down to your pre-exercise count.  The faster it comes down-the more conditioned your heart is!
5. Are you flexible?  Yes, flexibility is just as important as strength and cardiovascular endurance.  Tight muscles can lead to aches and pains-and they can prevent you from moving in your full range of motion!  Take a seat on the floor with your legs out in front of you and place a tape measure in between your legs.  Reach forward and see how far you can move your hands up tape measure.  After a few weeks of daily stretching, try it again and see how far you get!

Take a look at some other health tools you may find helpful!

Nutrition

My Fats Calculator and Guide

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3046074

Interactive Food Pyramid Guide

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Portion Distortion Quiz and Information

http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/

Recommended Health Screenings

American Diabetes Association

Diabetes Risk Test

http://www.diabetes.org/risk-test.jsp

HealthierUs.gov Program

List of Recommended Health Screenings

http://www.healthierus.gov/prevention.html

We can all take advantage of the wealth of information and tools that can help us get healthy and stay healthy.  But these tools are only as good as you make them, and it is up to you to stay motivated and stick with your program.  The best way to do that is to consider your healthy eating plan and fitness program as a part of your everyday lifestyle-and not something that you do every so often.  If you need help figuring out how to make your health a daily priority, contact me at ealight@gmail.com for some tips on incorporating healthy living into your life!

Looking for a convenient way to make fitness a part of your everyday schedule?  If so, you might want to consider one of the fastest growing and most beneficial additions to the health and fitness industry:  workplace wellness programs.

There are a growing number of wellness businesses in our area that provide a range of services like health and fitness assessments, personal training, group exercise classes, wellness education seminars and more!  Health professionals have created a variety of organizations to help bring these features on-site at any business, school, or other group setting, so employees and members have the chance to incorporate health and fitness into their increasingly busy schedules.

Starting one of these programs at your office can provide many physical and mental benefits to employees and improve the overall workplace environment.  Research shows that people who exercise regularly are more attentive, concentrate better, suffer from fewer illnesses, and sleep better.  This directly affects the workplace atmosphere because an attentive, healthy, and well-rested employee can have more productive and enjoyable days at work!

And employees aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits.  By making health services available on-site, employers can boost morale by showing care for each individual’s physical and mental well-being.  Also, by helping employees become healthier-employers can cut down on health insurance expenses.  Healthier living means less doctors appointments and prescription medications! 

Even the State of Indiana noticed the widespread benefits of workplace wellness programs and decided to help make these services available and affordable to our community.  In May 2007, the Indiana legislature passed a bill that created the “Small Employer Wellness Program” (Ind. Code § 16-46-13) and the “Small Employer Qualified Wellness Program Tax Credit” (Ind. Code § 6-3.1-31.2) to encourage small businesses to partner with registered vendors to provide wellness programs to employees and receive a tax credit for money spent on these programs.  This legislation is an important step in increasing the popularity of workplace wellness programs.  You can find more information about Certified Wellness Programs and browse certified vendors by visiting the Department of Health’s website at

http://www.in.gov/isdh/programs/wellness/index.htm

Below are a few companies that provide these types of services in your area.  Each company has a different approach and focus, so make sure to shop around and find the vendor that works best for your work atmosphere and will help you create a community of health, fitness, and wellness!

FIT-Biz! 

http://www.fitbizinc.com

National Institute for Fitness and Sport

Corporate Services

http://www.nifs.org/

Spectrum Health

www.spectrum-health.org

If you know of a corporate, workplace, or other executive wellness program company that should be added to this list, please send me an email at ealight@gmail.com.

Succeed Personal Training was founded by two personal trainers that know the formula for success.  Bill and Chris Dean have used their combined 20+ years of experience to create programs that will help people stay motivated and committed on their paths to personal fitness.

You would learn after meeting Bill and Chris that their attention is focused on establishing a trusting relationship with their clients and paying attention to the details that make programs work for an individual’s goals.  Their programs are designed to help create a life-changing experience that will help bring forth opportunities for success.

In addition to personal training, Bill and Chris Dean put their efforts towards promoting fitness and wellness opportunities in the community that will help people become more active.  They have helped establish programs like a physically and mentally beneficial Yoga Therapy class in Zionsville and helped places like the Wayne Township Schools Administration design, build, and staff a fitness facility on-site.  These are only a couple ways the Succeed team has helped our community become aware of and have access to fitness and wellness programs.  They plan to continue collaborating with people interested in starting programs, and I encourage you to check out their website at http://www.succeedpersonaltraining.com/ to see if they could help you!