Michelle Obama
Fit Tech
First Lady Hands Out Fitness App Prizes
As part of Michelle Obama's marvelous Let's Move campaign, this week the White House awarded $60,000 in prizes to students who competed in the First Lady's fitness apps for kids contest. The big winners: A group of students at USC who designed an app named "Trainer." (Apparently creative naming wasn't a high priority). "Trainer" is a little like Gigi Pets from the 90s, except now the digital creature lives on your sweat. You work out in front of an interactive webcam, and as you thrive, so does your little digital friend. What's particularly cool is that it might really work to motivate kids. Recall the virtual flower garden app and how grownups were all about sweating to make their garden grow? Flowers, perhaps not as inspiring for the younger set. But dogs and dragons? Totally. Next up in First Lady fitness-related contests, a competition to create healthy school lunch recipes kids actually like.
First Lady Fitness
Just One More Reason Michelle Obama is Cool
She throws awesome White House dance parties. She hula hoops. And now, photo evidence is in: Michelle Obama has pretty good football form as well. Video evidence, over on the NFL's website, further documents her sweet moves. Speaking to kids gathered in New Orleans for the NFL's Play 60 clinic, she said, "We want you guys to grow up strong and healthy...You can't live on soda and chips and all that. You can't. Sorry. If you could, I tell you, I would. But you can't. You've got to have vegetables and fruits." True true. Also, in case you haven't already, please look closely at the photo and notice how awesomely buff her arms are. Just saying, if I had a locker, I would put her picture up inside of the door.
Poet Laureate
The Awesome White House Dance Party
Michelle Obama is glorious. We all admire Obama arms, and most of us agree she’s some kind of fashion icon, at times daring, at times over the top, or sometimes a little too obsessed with J Crew. Whatever the case, there’s a country-wide admiration for Jackie O. 2.0, and I’m celebrating her further for her stake in America’s health. Yeah, she’s had some diet news buzzing about her, and is campaigning against childhood obesity… but even cooler than that is the White House Dance Party she threw Tuesday. And more are planned! How awesome is that? No word on whether the president got into fits of the Macarena, but I hope, for everyone’s sake, he fist bumped (or, if you’re FOX, “terrorist fist-jabbed”) the White House dance guests SUPER CR3W.
White House Recipes
The Obama's Snack Bars Will Torpedo Your Diet
The New York Times has done a little analysis of the "healthy" fruit and oat snack bars the Obamas have been serving at the White House. Yeah, not so healthy. Well, healthy in terms of being packed with almonds and cashews for protein, but a little troubling in the calorie department: A 9-by-13-inch pan of the bars contained at least 3,350 calories. Cut them into small pieces (24 slices per pan) and they have 143 calories per serving, which isn't horrible but which is more than a chocolate chip cookie. But the real trouble, the Times says, is they're so good you can't stop eating them. Dangerous recipe after the jump.
More...On The Street
Barack Obama Really Wants You To Go To This Pilates Studio
Same West Village Pilates studio as last week, continued love for the Obamas. Not anything on the order of the Times Square Obama coat ad, but still seems a little suspect. At the same time, the Obamas do get me all excited to work out, so...
New York
First Lady Fitness
Major League Baseball Signs On To Michelle's Let's Move Campaign
Yesterday, Michelle Obama visited Camden Yards in Baltimore to announce a new partnership between Major League Baseball and the Let's Move campaign to end childhood obesity. To the assembled crowd she said, "How many kids are getting 60 minutes, a whole hour, every day just to play? Let me see some hands. All right, we got these two. I know I’m getting mine in." I'm supposed to feel excited thinking about kids playing, and I do, but I'm equally if not more excited thinking of a true blue grown up like the First Lady getting in a whole hour of PLAY every day. Pardon my moment of unabashed fandom. Michelle's Major League Baseball public service announcement after the jump.
More...Presidential Fitness
Michelle and Barack's Super Secret Love of Pilates
Who knew the Obamas were into Gyrotonic? According to the internet, no one other than this West Village Pilates studio. The closest documentation I can find is Michelle telling Oprah she'd like to try Pilates. Maybe when the studio says the Obamas, they mean some cousins, also surnamed Obama...
Quotes
Michelle Obama Lays Down The Law
"We need to take this issue seriously, as seriously as improving under-achieving schools, as seriously as eliminating youth violence or stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS or any of the other issues that we known are devastating our communities.”
— Michelle Obama at the 101st Annual NAACP Conference yesterday, discussing childhood obesity and the urgency of the her fitness and healthy eating campaign
Point Counterpoint
I Hope My Award From Barack Comes With a Special Note From Michelle
I just signed up for the Presdiential Fitness Challenge, and now I'm only 80,000 activity points away from getting a "Presidential Champions" gold medal! Presidential Fitness awards used to be just for kids. But not anymore, and I'm glad. As a kid, I never got the stupid awards thanks to my gross deficiency in the pull-up category. But now, I'm going to get a shiny medal, and shiny medals make me feel good. Here's how it works for grown-ups. You've got three categories:
More...