2012 off to a physically active start!!!

Jan. 3, 2012: Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you had a chance to do some physical activity during this holiday season, not only to burn some excess holiday kcals, but to have a better life and enjoy the holidays more. ;-)

Most of you know things were rocking for us here at Team Medina. We had our traditional New Year's Day hike up Blue Mountain on Jan. 1, and then I had a great game of paintball (another very physically active fun!) on Jan. 2 since the clinic was closed yesterday. If you want to see some pixs of all of these, check out the following URLS of these albums on Facebook:

Sunrise hike

Noon hike

Paintball

Also, I joined and started an account on MeetUp (meetup.org) and started the groups, "Physical Activity Evangelists and Trainees" and "Team CycleFit". Will see how posting events there will go. If you're on MeetUp, join those groups so I can grow my numbers there.

Stay tuned for more PA related stuff in 2012!!!

Fitness more important than weight - San Bernardino County Sun

Fitness more important than weight - San Bernardino County Sun

Check out this article that just came out on the front page of the Sun newspaper. Dr. Sallis is the former president of the American College of Sports Medicine and the founder/creator of the Exercise is Medicine program. The other exercise prof. they interview in there is someone from Beaver Medical Group that you may know. ;-)

Have a happy and physically active 2012!!!

New Year's Day Sunrise Hike!

Join us for our 17th Annual New Year's Day Sunrise Hike up Blue Mountain. This year, we will have TWO (2) hikes for those who can't get up before dawn on 1/1 2012. Check out the information below and hope you, family, and friends join us for a great way to kick off the new year!

When: Jan. 1, 2012. 5:30 AM and 12:12 PM

Where: Blue Mountain, Grand Terrace. Meet at intersection of Palm Ave. and Honeyhill Drive. (For Google map location, click here.) It's a little over 2 miles to the top.

Who: Anyone interested in starting off the new year with this mountain top experience! Families, dogs, kids...all welcome!

What to wear: Dress in layers...the weather can be warm or freezing. Fortunately, it hasn't rained on us in all these years (knock wood!). Tennis/running shoes are ok to hike up this dirt road to the top.

What to expect: The hike can be strenuous in spots, so feel free to take breaks. It's about 2 miles to the top. Once at the top, I will pass out cups of sparkling cider so we can toast the sunrise as it comes up. Also have someone give a short New Year's day inspirational talk, and then you're free to enjoy the view or head back down!

For more info: Ernie Medina, Jr., cell: 909-747-5935

Special thanks to Dr. Leonard Sigdestad for lending me the key to unlock the gate and giving us permission to do this every year!

Fitness trumps body weight!

12-7-11: Yet another reason to get more physically active!!! A new study just came out showing that your fitness level is more important indicator for risk of death than your weight (or BMI)! Read the full story here:

Physical fitness trumps body weight in reducing death risks: new study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association

2012 Sunrise Hike

12-05-11: It's that time of year again for our 17th annual Sunrise Hike! Like the past few years, it will be on Blue Mountain (Grand Terrace), thanks to my veterinarian, Dr. Leonard Sigdestad (one of the land owners of Blue Mountain).

TWO hikes!
This year, I've decided to have both a sunrise hike AND a noon hike, so for those of you how party late on NY Eve, you can still join us for a hike.

Check out the info below and hope to see you there!

What: 17th Annual Sunrise Hike

Who: Anyone who wants to start the new year off on the right foot! Feel free to invite your family, friends, co-workers, frenemies...all are welcome!

Where: Blue Mountain, Grand Terrace (Googlemap Palm Ave and Honeyhill Drive, Grand Terrace, and you'll get the exact meeting spot where to park)

When: Jan. 1, 2012. AM hike - meet at 5:30 AM; PM hike - meet at 12:12 PM. We will start hiking shortly after these meeting times.

Why: A tradition I picked up from my stint teaching English and Bible in Japan. We'll hike up to the top, where we will have a New Year's inspirational talk and toast the sunrise as it peaks over the mountain range. All drinks (sparkling cider, cups, etc.) will be provided.

Wear: Dress in layers, especially in the AM when it can be quite cold before sunrise. Noon hikers can dress in a lot less. Has never rained on us so we should be ok. It's a dirt road, so you don't need hiking shoes--old tennis or running shoes are fine.

For more info: Dr. Ernie Medina, Jr., cell: 909-747-5935; emedinajr@mac.com; see event on FB soon or check back on physicalactivityevangelist.blogspot.com.

11-11-11 Blue Mtn Hike

11-29-11: Finally getting a post about our hike up Blue Mountain we did on 11-11-11 at 11:11 AM. It was a total blast, great weather, and had over 30 people (and quite a few kids).

Check out the pictures in my Facebook album (you don't need to be on FB to see this album).

Thanks to Shelly and her mom, Joyce, for giving me the idea to do this in the first place! They made it up farther than they did last New Years, and plan to make it all the way to top this coming New Year's Sunrise hike!

For more info or to get on the New Year's Day Hike List, send me an e-mail at PAEvangelist@gmail.com and I'll be sure to add you to our list for future updates and notifications.

Next hike: New Year's Day Sunrise Hike, Jan. 1, 2012, meet at 5:30 AM at Palm and Honeyhill Dr., Grand Terrace.

1 in 3 teens overweight/obese!

11-18-11: A very sad study that just came out talks about how 1 in 3 kids are overweight or obese, none were eating all the recommended amounts of healthy foods, and less than half were getting the recommended amount of physical activity!
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You can read more about this story here.

Solutions? Here's my top 10 list. What do you think? What can you add?

1. Parental involvement and modeling
2. Use technology to our advantage, don't just bash it!
3. Exergaming
4. Mobile fitness apps based on game principles (like Mobile Adventure Walks)
5. Make it FUN!
6. Parent involvement/modeling!!!
7. Do a variety of things
8. Think outside of the box
9. Make it social
10. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT/MODELING

As you can see, if we're going to get a handle on this childhood obesity epidemic, PARENTS must be involved in the process!!! Not just by signing them up for soccer and then dropping them off or sitting on their butts on the sideline, but ACTIVELY getting involved with physical activity themselves!!! Participating WITH their kids.

A physical active lifestyle is caught, not taught, so the parents need to be passing this on to their kids if they want their kids to be active for a lifetime.

Problem is, the parents themselves are NOT physically active, so we need to find ways for the WHOLE FAMILY to be active. If you need help with that, contact me via e-mail or text and this PA Evangelist will do what he can to help you and your family.

Dr. Ernie Medina, Jr., DrPH
cell: 909-747-5935
xrgamer1@gmail.com