i’ve already done four posts on the fitness and health bloggers conference, recapping each day,
- pre-conference events
- day 1 – blogger-to-blogger session, trade show, break-out session
- day 2 – current research in the field, break-out sessions, zumba, yoga
- day 3 – final breakfast, current research
but i also think it’s important to look at the big picture with one final wrap-up post.
the fitness and health bloggers conference was not your average blogging conference. instead, it aimed to connect the current research in the health/weight loss/fitness field with bloggers and other influencers who can get that information out to our communities. this means that we didn’t hear a whole lot of blogging-focused lectures (there was one optional “typical” blogging session on friday morning). instead, we heard from expert researchers themselves and found out what is really known in the field from evidence-based research.
some of the experts who talked with us included:
- dr. jim hill, who spoke about the importance of evidence based research on health and wellness.
- dr. iñigo san millán, who told us about his research with elite athletes and what they have learned from them to apply to us “normal” people. dr. san millan also led one of the breakout sessions where we saw them do a vo2 max test.
- monika nuffer, pharm.d., discussed how alternative medicines can be integrated with traditional, western, medicine. she gave us some great resources to determine which supplements are the best to use.
- lana bradley is a licensed acupuncturist and talked with us about the theories behind acupuncture
- dana abbey, mls, is a sassy and very active librarian who taught us about reliable resources to use to find health and wellness information online.
- janet helm, ms, rd, talked about communicating health & wellness information via the internet. she also told us about a site the she co-founded called healthy aperture. it’s like foodgawker or tastespotting for healthy foods.
- i talked about ted vickey and dr. adam borde’s presentation yesterday
- dr. holly wyatt talked about weight loss and weight loss maintenance and how they are really two completely different processes and need to be thought of that way.
another thing that really stood out to me from this conference was the facility. the main conference events were held at the anschutz health and wellness center, which is a brand new (as of april 2012) facility. their vision is that healthy living should always be the default choice, so they definitely made that the case in their center.
the fitness facilities are state of the art. members receive training plans that are stored on usb drives. almost all of the equipment in the center is made to allow the usb drives to be plugged into it and then a screen shows up telling the person what to do – how many reps at what weight, it automatically sets the treadmill or other cardio equipment, etc. it’s pretty awesome!
and don’t even get me started on the pool/track/locker rooms.
i want to move to colorado for the sole purpose of being able to use those facilities. honestly, i don’t think i could have come up with something like that in my wildest dreams!
the fitness instructors were pretty great too. they came into our sessions for quick 10-minute movement breaks and led us through stretches and got us moving!
i loved it!
in addition to the fitness facilities, they have an amazing healthy bistro, bistro elaia.
all of the food is made with health and great taste in mind.
i have to say that after eating there several times through the weekend, they succeeded at creating great tasting healthy food!
chef paolo also did a cooking demo for one of the breakout sessions and gave us some great tips to use while cooking at home.
he also made me really really really want to improve my knife skills… he doesn’t even have to look at the food while he chops it!
i can’t write this without touching on the food and the wonderful sponsors.
all of our breakfasts at the conference were sponsored, as was our dinner on friday night. i also got to meet a bunch of the sponsors and other brands at the trade show on friday.
some of the awesome sponsors that i was excited to connect with were:
- choose cherries –> sponsored an amaaaaaazing breakfast!
- driscoll’s berries –> i practically ate my body weight in berries this weekend
- love grown foods –> i was so excited to meet maddy!
- adora calcium supplements
- wellsphere
- attune foods –> sponsored breakfast on friday morning!
- daily feats
- chipotle –> sponsored dinner on friday night
- team refuel – refuel with chocolate milk –> thanks for sponsoring me!
- pure canadian maple syrup
- goodness knows –> sponsored the amazing hike on thursday!
finally, the biggest take-away from the conference for me was meeting so many new blogger friends!
some people who i was a bit star-struck and intimidated by before we met turned out to be some of the nicest people there!
there is no way i can list all of the people i met, so for fear of leaving someone out, i’ll just say that everyone was amazing and i feel so lucky that have had the experience of getting to know them!
whew! did you stick with me on all of that?
very long story made short: everyone involved with the fitness and health bloggers conference, from organizers to speakers to brands to attendees, is pretty wonderful.
full disclosure: i received a scholarship to attend the conference from refuel with chocolate milk. i paid for my own airfare and hotel. as always, all opinions expressed on the blog are 100% my own.
have you ever attended a blogging conference?
if not, why not?!?!
this was a great experience and i can’t wait to attend more blogging conferences in the future!
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