Take the Million PALA Challenge!: Graehm Gray
As you all know, my pal Nerdel and I are big supporters of the Presidents Challenge and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move programs. The intent of both of these fantastic programs is to get all Americans, young and old, into better shape. Both programs encourage you to eat healthier meals and snacks at school, at home, at work and whenever you go out to eat! And both programs emphasize the need to perform some type of physical fitness activity each and every day. The Presidents Challenge program has many individual activity categories based on age and lifestyle and you can earn many cool awards and medals by registering your fitness performance.
Here’s a little history: On September 14th, 2010, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius along with the co-Chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition-Dominique Dawes and Let’s Move Executive Director Robin Schepper, launched the Million PALA (President’s Active Lifestyle Award) Challenge. The goal of the Million PALA Challenge is to get 1,000,000 youth and adults, from all over the United States, to sign up and participate in the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) over the year. The ending date is slowly approaching-September 2011.
How does the Million PALA Challenge work? “The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, or PALA, can be earned by taking part in 60 minutes of physical activity for kids (30 minutes for adults), 5 days a week… for 6 weeks. The program is a starting point, a way to lift yourself up and begin to include activity into your daily routine. And if you’re already getting regular physical activity, you can earn a PALA too. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to get your heart pumping and your sweat flowing. Get healthy at your own pace and create your own team of family members and friends! Whether you’re located in sunny California, or in a deep freeze in the northeast, the President’s Challenge offers an array of activities from jumping rope in your back yard to shoveling snow in your driveway. Whether you’re 6 or 106, take the challenge and earn your PALA.
Even one of the busiest ladies in the country, First Lady Michelle Obama, earned her PALA with help from the family trainer and Council member Cornell McClellan. Her activity log included dancing with Sasha and Malia, walking Bo, the dog, and climbing the White House stairs. If she can find the time to exercise, so can you!
The Epidemic of Obesity: As we are all aware, the majority of adults in the United States are over- weight. And the percentage of adults and kids that are considered obese, is rising. We have an epidemic of obesity (adult and childhood) and it is not only a domestic-United States issue-it is a global problem. Each nation must focus its efforts in order to gain some sort of control of this epidemic. How do we do it? Well, programs like the Million PALA Challenge, Let’s Move and The President’s Challenge, are part of the US national response to this growing problem. Local nutrition and fitness programs in the community setting are gaining strength and support. Schools must assume a leadership role since they have direct interaction with our kids for 7 hours a day, five days a week. Large corporations and small businesses need to help by implementing physical fitness programs and positively reward employees that participate. Many sectors of the food industry have already started to increase their education efforts as well as the delivery and distribution of healthier foods. It must be a combined support in order to adequately deal with this enormous problem. But everyone must do more!
My friends, are you in the best shape you can be in? Come on-be honest-we all need to get into better shape. We need to eat healthier. We need to exercise more and get physically fit. Let’s face it-there is still room for each and every one of us to improve. What are you waiting for? We all need to support the Million PALA Challenge! Nerdel and I are going to take the challenge-why don’t you!
To begin, visit www.presidentschallenge.org and either create an account to track your activity online or download the paper log sheet, encourage a friend or family member to join you and then start moving!
Stay fit and healthy The Nerdel Way.
To learn more, please visit the following links:
- Official website of the Million PALA Challenge: www.millionpalachallenge.org
- Official website of The President’s Challenge: www.presidentschallenge.org
- Official website of Let’s Move: www.letsmove.gov
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