This will be quick. Today our S.Y.N.C with GenerationAction.ca youth (ages 13-19) contest officially kicks off!

We have 10 days of trivia for you, with a daily prize draw for your correct answer to the questions. We will be posting one trivia question a day, on one of our social media outlets. It’s up to you to find it, and then submit your correct answer to get your name into the draw for each day’s great active prize! (trust me they are good! I wish I could enter, for real!)

I will tell you where to check, we don’t want to make it too hard for you! Watch the blog (you are here, www.generationaction.ca). Watch our Facebook group Generation Action by Saskatchewan in motion, and peep our tweets on Twitter!

You can submit your daily answer by commenting on the blog, posting on Facebook, tweeting the correct answer to @Kenji22, emailing kenji@saskinmotion.ca or txting 306-550-9646! So many ways, it’s almost too easy.  

It doesn’t stop there either. Do you have something to say about physical activity, the physical inactivity crisis, or something connected to these topics? Write a blog and submit it to kenji@saskinmotion.ca. You could be selected as a guest blogger on GenerationAction.ca, this is your chance to be heard! Speak up and Act Out now.

You can submit as many complete blog posts relating to the specific topics as you want. Each complete post gets you another entry into the Grand Prize Draw for a $350.oo SportChek voucher! (Nice eh!) Plus if you are selected as the guest blogger not only will your winning post be featured there is an additional prize in it for you! (You can’t go wrong with that)

As I mentioned a second a go, even after all that opportunity to win there is a Grand Prize Draw! (I know right! more winning!) Each day you submit a correct trivia answer you get one entry into the big draw! That makes 10 chances to enter! Plus each complete blog post you submit relating to the required topic earns you that many more chances to win! Wow.

Like I said before the prizes are great, so for the next 10 days (until March 15, 2010) keep your eyes on our socail media, submit, and win!

Go!

You can check out the full contest rules at saskatchewan in motion’s website.

Good luck everyone.

Check out Generation Action by Saskatchewan in motion’s Facebook group for today’s Trivia!

Kenji

Severn Cullis-Suzuki is known throughout the world for her work in the environmental movement. Why then would Saskatchewan in motion invite her to be the guest speaker at out provincial gathering?

There are a few different reasons we choose to team up with Severn. At Sask in motion we are trying to build a provincial movement. We’re trying to promote lifestyle change. An epic goal like that requires leadership on many levels!

Laying the Groundwork

 Severn knows what it means to take a leadership role. She’s been doing environmental and social justice work since kindergarten. By the time she was in grade 5 Severn and a couple friends formed ECO (the Environmental Children’s Organization). Together they raised enough money to go to the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. At just 12 years old Severn took the stage at a plenary session to deliver ECO’s message. During Severn’s address the room of adults was silenced by young girls powerful words of caution.

Severn was awarded the UN environmental Program’s 500 Award the following year. Ever since, Severn has spoken around the world about social and ecological issues, climate change and intergenerational injustice.

Wait!..don’t be intimidated! Severn may take a leadership role on an international scale, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Severn has said that global change starts at the community level.

You Can Too

That philosophy is a huge part of how Sask in motion operates. We try to provide individuals with skills, knowledge, tools, resources, and connections so they can take action and contribute to a making changes that affect our physical activity!

You can take on a leadership role for yourself, and for your family and friends. With every action, this lays a foundation for more efforts in schools, communities, our country and even prhaps on an international scale. You can decide what your actions and goals will be based on what you are comfortable with. The most important thing to remember is that anyone is cable of identifying something they believe in and advocating for that cause on whatever level.

So to recap-> to raise awareness, build a movement and ultimately influence behavior change. We need people to be leaders!

Linkage

One of the other important reasons we wanted to work with Severn is because of the connection between the environment and physical activity.

The connection is there on so many levels, that it only makes sense to team up. At Sask in motion we aim to increase physical activity levels for improved health, social, enviornmental and economic benefits. Severn advocates for the health of the environment which ultimately affects the health of people.

Active Transportation

So many of the ways we can help ourselves go hand in hand with the ways we can decrease or impact out the environment. Active transportation is one of the most obvious examples of this. We provide the power rather than burning fossil fuels, and the reward is green living and acquiring recommended daily physical activity!

Connections Run Deep

By choosing to engage in a more physically active lifestyle people often discover or rediscover nature. By being outside and experiencing the natural world you may develop a deeper concern for conservation and sustainability.

The Greater Good

In the long run choosing to be both physically active and environmentally conscious are (in my opinion) “good” things to do. Being physically active has health, social, economic and environmental benefits. Plus, the environment, in simple terms supports our existence. So it makes sense to make sure we act in a sustainable manner…Don’t ya think?

So that’s the short version of why Saskatchewan in motion and Severn Cullis-Suzuki teaming up make sense.

The Event!

If you are interested in being a part of our Inspiring Action-Jump in 2010! event you can find details at saskatchewaninmotion.ca

The event is going out live through the LIVE Satellite Network and over the Internet. Which means we’re going interactive here people!

As Severn speaks tomorrow I’ll be plugged into the social media world connecting with the world outside the Queensbury in Regina and bringing it back to the event. Meaning - even if you’re not physically at the event you can tune in, and/or follow the discussion, send in your questions for Severn and see what people around the province (or the world) are feeling about the event.

Where To Connect:

Facebook- Event Page: Inspiring Action-Jump in 2010! (confirm your attending the event to comment)

Twitter- Direct message @Kenji22 or use the hash tag #jumpin

E-mail kenji@saskinmotion.ca

Txt- 306-550-9646

(Remember to keep it clean)

If you won’t be able to participate tomorrow post your questions below, I’ll check here too!

This is an opportunity to be heard.. will you take it?

Kenji

I will totally admit to highly enjoying figure skating, of all types. Those people are athletes for sure. Patrick Chan is just a darling; he recovered so well from his not so great first performance. His free skate was beautiful and he finished top ten. I’m sure he’ll back for 2014, plus, what a role model. He stumbled but he got back out there and made himself and Canada proud.

In Ice Dancing, Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir couldn’t have scripted a better result to their Olympics. They have the perfect back story, of being paired up as little kids. They skated with intensity, drive and passion to position themselves at the top going into the final skate. Fully aware of insane pressure the entire country was putting on them. They glided flawlessly through their final routine all the way to a well deserved gold medal.

The best part was Scott’s reaction. He looked like an over dressed hockey player up on the podium. So amped to have won, veins were popping out of his neck! It was great, they were both so happy. They worked for it and appreciated it. Once again, not a bad road map to try and follow for up and comers.

Hockey has been decent, and I’m excited for the game in a couple hours but.. the most exciting thing for me to watch for sure has been Long Track Speed Skating.

One of my bestest friends in the whole world is a speed skater. She skated with Saskatchewan’s own Lucas Makowsky for years. So he is a friend of a friend (yes, I have actually hung out with him in real life, it was a long time ago ..but still)! I remember hearing tales of competitions and practices, and thinking how tough and brave my friend is for excelling at such an intense sport. Now her friend (mine by extension) is at the Olympics! How crazy is that! He has done extremely well in all of his events! I made sure all my neighbors new by cheering way, way too loud at my TV haha. Congrats Lucas.

There is the potential for me to ramble for days about what I know, and enjoyed about every event. Instead I’ll just extend a congrats to all the athletes and a bravo to the medalists. You’ve all been a joy to watch and cheer on.

Don’t ask me to explain the names of the tricks or the scoring system. All I know is when they fly over that lip and force their bodies to do those crazy rotations it’s amazing!

What’s not that amazing, because it was a bit of a given, is that Shaun White of the US won his second straight gold medal. The amplitude and ease of his runs..those were amazing! The dude didn’t even have to do his final run to win, but threw it down anyway and topped his score!

As you can imagine I don’t know the guy; but I get the feeling that part of the reason his runs are so sick is because he has so much fun!

I’m positive to be on his level you’d have to put in some serious work, but boarding for anyone is such a total body workout. The good thing is you may not even notice it cuz you’re having too much fun..until the next day anyway. Then you might encounter some sore muscles, maybe even some bruises depending how often and how bad you whipped haha.  What’s a bruise compared to gliding down a mountain or flying along the lip of a pipe?!

Probably the coolest thing about White’s win, is how stoked he was to win. The Olympic organizers pretty much could have mailed him the gold medal before the games even started. Still when he won he couldn’t believe it. There was fist pumping like nobody’s business at the end of his second/celebratory run. It’s just inspiring to see a guy who has won gold before, and is consistently number one get that amped about a victory. It’s obviously because he loves what he does.

The way I see it he loves getting outside and moving. He just gets a little (by a little I mean a lot) more height and rotation than most when he does.

Have you ever hit the half pipe to see if you’re the next Shaun White?

Kenji

People worry about shape, size, and weight for all kinds of reasons. I think the most important thing to know is that there are healthy ways to meet realistic expectations. People quite literally come in all shapes and sizes, and being healthy is what truly matters.

Fact or Fiction?

Does muscle really weigh more than fat? – I’ve told that to myself and my friends as we’ve worked out for years. (To be clear we hit the gym to be healthy, but for me the healthier I get, the closer I get to my realistic image goals. So it’s really a win/win.) The answer is no! Muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat; 5 pounds or muscle weighs the same as 5 pounds of fat. The difference is in the composition, muscle is more dense than fat, so a person with more muscle than fat will look smaller. I read that fat actually takes up 4 times the space as lean muscle mass…ugh.. I think most of us would have taken muscle over fat any day but whoa!

There is a big BUT!

 Having no body fat is not an option!  You need body fat for your body to function properly and be healthy. I also read (this blog has been very educational 4 me!) that essential body fat protects our internal organs (which sounds important to me!) huh?… who knew?

Now its tricky cuz there is no perfect body fat percentage; age, gender, height and activity level are all factors. Why does body fat percentage matter in terms of being active?

It matters because living an active lifestyle is one key to maintaining your healthy percentage. Also because as you move and build up a larger percentage of muscle being active will get easier!

It’s A Balancing Act

To live an active lifestyle your body needs the right kind of “fuel”. Vehicles burn gas, we burn what we eat and drink. Just like gas, there is the cheap stuff and the premium. Cheap stuff is high in fat and sugar; things like pizza, cookies, pop and french fries. These foods don’t give our bodies enough healthy carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins to function properly.

So what Does?

Premium healthy beneficial foods are things like: complex carbohydrates, protein (ex:Fish), whole grain breads, fruits and veggies! [Check out Canada’s Food Guide for tips.] Again..why is this relevant to physical activity?

 What your body has to burn as fuel has a big impact on how much energy you have to power the muscles you have, and build more lean muscle!

Don’t Forget About..

Water – Why?> you are estimated to be 60-70% water (your blood, muscles, lungs, brain all contain a lot of water). It regulates your body temperature, and carries those nutrients from your premium fuel to your organs. Water transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and protects your joints and organs. (Once again that sounds pretty crucial to me.)[Water Tips]

Sleep – Why?>our bodies build strength and endurance through rest and recovery both during exercise but also while we sleep. Sleep is the time when our body repairs itself on a cellular level. Crazy.. I know!

Big Finish!

What I’m trying to get across in this mess of info is that looking good comes from feeling good. It doesn’t pay to deprive your body; it pays to take care of it.

I’m not a scientist or a PhD so it doesn’t hurt to do your own research. I think what you’ll find is that living a balanced lifestyle including proper nutrition, sleep and physical activity will be the key to looking, and feeling the best that you can be!

Kenji

In honor of the blizzard Saskatchewan just had, I thought I’d whip up a little something about the shoveling we’re all going to have to do.

I live in a condo with my mom so our “yard” area is small at best… Well that small area took me about 20 minutes to shovel!  The snow build up was approaching the halfway mark on our front door. We were quite literally snowed in!

 I had just finished my workout for the day when I decided to tackle the snow pile. By the time I was done clearing a path out to the world, the shoveling had been a more intense work out than the weights I had done.

Safety First

I don’t think I’m nutty about working out but it makes me feel good, and I know it’s good for me. I’ve always done something active at any given time (ballet, gymnastics, b-ball, rowing). I hope to for as long as I’m kickin’ around. To make that happen I know I have to do things properly because it’s so easy to hurt yourself if you’re not conscious of what you’re doing.

Every year shoveling always used to sneak up and wreck my back for a couple weeks when we’d get a good snow. After a few years in a row of that I learned my lesson.  So here are my Snow Relocation Tips! (thanks to truestarhealth.com for their thorough information that I referenced to create my list of tips.)

Snow Relocation Tips

Stretch It Out

It might sound lame but Warm Up before you head outside. Take a few minutes to stretch out your whole body, especially your back, legs and shoulders.  And when you’re done stretch out one more time to help avoid that gross stiff feeling. Plus, stretching when your muscles are warm is the best time to increase flexibility.

It Really Works

You always hear people say Lift With Your Legs! Do it, lifting with your legs will save your back! You’ll prevent injury if you bend your knees when you’re lifting a full shovel, and avoid twisting with a full load. My arms are way weaker than my legs, so I try to leverage the weight on the leg I have forward by resting my lowest arm on it.

Don’t Be a Hero

I often have to remind myself shoveling is not a strong man completion. Don’t Overload  yourself. Don’t try to lift beyond your ability. That said just cuz you can doesn’t mean you should either. Take your time, so you don’t accidently put yourself out of commission.

Resistance

Then there is the temptation to see how far you can toss a shovel full without moving..Push the Pile. Rather than trying to make your body awkwardly throw a scoop full of snow. Use some of your strongest muscles, your legs to push the snow close to the pile then once again lift with the legs.

Play It Cool

Shoveling is a high intensity activity because it gets your heart pumping and requires muscle strength. Remember to breathe, take breaks if you need to and cool down by walking around inside for a few minutes when you’re done.

Check Out What I’ve Got…

For those who like a challenge and something to brag about. You can try building a quinzhee! You can find the directions in Back Yard and Beyond. Enjoy the snow, it’s fun!

Kenji!

I was stuck on blog inspiration for this week – I had a couple of thoughts but nothing I was feeling desperate to share with the world.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Moment!

Then I checked my twitter (have I mentioned how much I love twitter.. I love it! [follow me @Kenji22] haha). There was a message from our communications guru Kim (follow her @Herperki) with a link to a great blog written about exactly what I was struggling with, so helpful! Check it out if you’re stuck -13 Ideas To Inspire Your Blog Content

This One’s For You

A second glance at my direct messages revealed a tweet for my “awesome friend Tim” with another idea about how he stays active playing league rec hockey. So this one’s for you Timma!

My boy Tim is right; the best inspiration for being active is fun! He doesn’t play on his team because they are elite or win every game..(sorry man, you guys are awesome tho!) It’s because a bunch of buds get to play the game they love. They get their competitive spirit going, and take pride in their team. Let’s be honest, the chill time after the game doesn’t hurt either. But if it wasn’t for the hockey, that bunch of guys wouldn’t hang out nearly as often. (Smart sounding summary of my point—activity is a social catalyst)

The Science—or Not

My original plan was to get into the scientific stuff about the chemicals your body produces when your active but; all the articles are really long and would require research into the meaning of strange multi-syllable words. Perhaps a subject for another time, I’m going to stick with the fun!

Life Experience

In grade 9 one of my favorite teachers ever got me and my friends into rowing. We were never at any kind of competition level, but it was cool. I have a competitive spirit for sure. So I may have gotten intense and tried to make us into world champs. Much to my dismay it never happened. Lol. We did spend a lot of time at the marina and gained enough skill to move from an 8 boat to a 4 (the more people the less balanced you have to be on your own). For a while, we took it pretty serious and did dry land training too. We all knew we would never be Canada’s Olympic team or anything, but it motivated us to be active, even off the water.  Plus, learning to row on Wascana lake in Regina pre “big dig” gave my friends and I some now hilarious oars covered in seaweed stories for our crew.

No Rules

You don’t need a league to regularly have a mostly friendly competitive game, family drive way b-ball games can get nasty depending on who’s playing.  Hit the school yard for b-ball, or the ball diamond, or the park for football, soccer or cricket, or fly a kite. Whatever! They’re all a good time and good for ya too!

One With the Fun

Sometimes being around a bunch of people isn’t my idea of fun either. So I hit the bike path. Either on my bike or my long board, on which I am a hot mess! Ok… just a mess, but it’s a blast anyway. Plus, I get an ab workout from laughing at myself.

Any good stories out there..share em’ in the comments below!

Keniji

Happy New Year to you all!

I wanted to share with everyone a lengthier version of an e-mail I sent out to all of the contacts I’ve made at the 08’and 09’ Student Leadership Conference. As well as the participants of the Lieutenant Governors Youth Forum.

Anyway I’ll get right to it; here’s what I want to share with you:

Generation Action has gone live! It is our “youth” blog, written be me, Kenji. – I write about physical activity all the time, but it’s unique cuz I make links to anything relevant. A lot of the time the topics of the blog are things you may not have thought of as being related to physical activity.

We have our new facebook group, Generation Action Saskatchewan in motion. You can also find the group by finding me, Kenji (Kendra Kenji Schmidt)!

We’re all over the social media scene cuz everyone here at the provincial office is part of the twitterverse (twitter) too. You can follow me @Kenji22 or follow the provincial office @inmotionsk.

Here is the straight up truth. Only 15% of kids and youth are getting enough physical activity to receive health benefits. I am not cool with that.. are you?

Our generation is set to be the first to have a shorter expected life span than our parent’s generation. – How is that possible with everything we know? The science is simple; to be healthy we need to be active.

The lifestyle is the hard part. That is the part we all usually need a little help with. We all need to help each other keep activity interesting. We need to come up with good ideas to motivate and engage people. We’ve gotta advocate for policy that enhances a lifestyle where activity is encouraged.

A bunch of us need to say “no thanks” to all the health problems and disadvantages that come from leading sedentary lifestyles. Then say “yes” to the benefits and joy that come from being active, and reconnecting with the natural world.

I know there are so many problems and things to worry about in the world so you might ask why worry about being active? Making the choice to be active is something you can directly and immediately impact. It’s your life and unlike bigger issues you don’t have to wait for anyone else to make a decision to change for the better, it’s all you! You can choose active transportation, or join a class, or take a hike, or swim in a lake. While physical inactivity is a huge issue the solution is straight forward. Move forward, one day at a time, get active and stay active!

That whole bit made it sound like living active will be hard work. Honestly though, some of my best memories are from biking around the neighborhood with my friends, and my time being involved with sports and dance.

If you’re interested in receiving the same kind of e-mails as these guys send me a quick e-mail (kenji@saskinmotion.ca) to let me know.

Have a great active weekend everyone!

Kenji!

Today is the gold medal game dudes!

Now I’ve never been a hockey player myself but I’m definitely a fan. I’d go so far as saying I’ve tried to play, but actually classifying my actions as “playing” might be a different story. Haha.

I consider myself decent at lots of stuff but skating is not one of them! Let alone stick handling and shooting..eshk, me attempting any of that would not pretty.

Thankfully there are many people who are amazingly talented at hockey! So even though I can’t be impressive, I can be impressed by the athletes who do it right. It’s always cool watching the pro’s live and on TV. It’s a good laugh watching my buddies play rec hockey for something to do. It gets intense watching my cousin play in the highway hockey league all winter too. 

Luckily for Saskatchewan this year’s World Jr. Hockey championship was held here. Two cities, my home town, Regina and S’toon welcomed some of the best young players from around the world to play for gold.

First Hand

I wasn’t able to catch team Canada play live, I did get hooked up with some tickets though (thanks Dad)! I made it to three games and got to see Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic and Finland hit the ice.

It was good clean hockey with some future greats working to be noticed by the big leagues. It was inspiring to watch and reminded me why I used to play competitive sports. Now I’m content to go out and giver’ a go! It’s not about winning or losing anymore. It’s just about giving something a try, or getting a rush, more often than not a laugh. Usually at my own expense, but that’s cool. Being involved with sport and competition at different levels all my life gave me the confidence to try something new. It might seem completely out of my element, like snowboarding initially did. All the skills I’ve developed throughout my life helped me do alight though. I’m no star, but I did ok!

I think that’s what is so deadly about watching any competitive sport. It can be inspiring, and usually fires me up to do something myself.

What makes you want to get out there and play? For me, the competitive spirit is more than enough motivation.

 Kenji

Where did a new year sneak up from? It feels like only a year ago we were all freaking out about Y2K and ringing in the new millennium. (Ah good times at a 60s/70s/80s disco throw back party with the fam- it was hilarious watching people relive their glory days.)

Resolutions

So it’s a new year and that means a fresh start, big plans, and resolutions of course! What exactly is a resolution anyway? (ps.- I love dictionary.com) Basically its deciding on a course of action. What you’re gunna do; how you’re gunna do it; and when you’re gunna do it by. You set a goal and aim to succeed! Sounds good to me, but we all tend to be great at working out what we want to accomplish; it’s the follow through that’s a bit more dicey!

I’ve made and shall we say graciously abandoned many resolutions myself. Usually involving working out and getting in shape. I hit the gym, or take some classes for a couple weeks but then something happens. One day I decide to “take a day off”. Inevitably taking that one day off usually spells the beginning of the end of that resolution. Then without fail there is a mid-year resurgence of the New Year’s resolution,  in which I give it one more shot! This time when I quit I say: “it’s ok, next year!” It’s a vicious cycle haha.     

It’s the dawn of a new era

Not this year though!  Oh no, this year there will be no resolution. Instead this January 1, 2010 will mark the first day in a gradual endeavor towards a lifestyle change. See I think I figured out why (for me anyway) resolutions don’t work…

I get this idea in my head of getting toned, being active and eating healthy. Rather than ease into things slowly I toss myself off the deep end. I get up at 5 am and work out. I throw out all my junk food and vow to eat 5 small meals a day. For the first week it’s awesome! I’m like a healthy lifestyle machine. Then… like clockwork, that day where I’m really tired and decided to skip the work out comes.  A couple days after that, the candy isle at 7-eleven is empty and my list of reasons why I gave up is written.

This year through I’m resolving to have no resolution. Instead I’m going to remind myself everyday that no one else will look after me. It’s up to me to make healthy choices for myself every day. [So I guess that is a resolution, but you get what I was trying to do there ]

I think I can, I know I can

The best part is why this new plan is going to work! It’s all about accountability. Here I am every day spreading the word about living a healthy active lifestyle .. well step up Kenji! It’s time to lead by example. If I expect my family and friends and all of Saskatchewan to be active, I better be too!

As the quotable fridge magnet my lovely co-worker gave me for Christmas says, “Be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi”

Are you all about the resolutions? What is yours for this year? Fill me in on your thoughts below… maybe there will be something I missed in my new lifestyle plan.

Good luck!

Kenji