Where I'm at

This past weekend I attended the Can Fit Pro (Canadian Fitness Professionals) 2009 conference in Richmond, BC. I actually got up at 7 am, packed my huge purple lunchbox (which is more like a lunchcylinder) full of goodness and I spent the entire weekend at the hotel where the conference was being held, from 9am until 6pm on Saturday and then 9am until 4:30 on Sunday, and I registered for every time slot available. The cool thing about the conference is that anyone can attend! You don't have to be a Personal Trainer, or Group Instructor or whatever; if you have a passion or an interest in fitness you can sign up, which is great. You do have to pay though ;)

By the end of it all I was feeling a bit tired yet delightfully stimulated. I had learned SO MUCH and had the chance to interact with a ton of ladies from all walks of life who share my passion, and since we usually had about 45 mins to 1 hour off between workshops, we had time to chat, walk around, wait in line for 30 minutes at the hotel Starbucks just for tea and check out the trade show which showcased a lot of industry related material - everything from CDs with all types of music to get you pumped, to Bosu/Swiss balls, bands, weights, rollers, weights and protein bars, to name a few things. I was in heaven.

There is quite a bit of information crammed into each session, which runs about an hour to an hour and a half, and I tried to sign up for a wide variety of presenters and topics, to not only broaden and diversify my own knowledge, but to see how each niche viewed the other. I had also heard of a few presenters by reputation and was very interested in seeing them myself. I was pretty intent on getting my moneys worth, and I also wanted to accumulate as many credits as possible (I need 4 per year to ensure I recertify as a Personal Trainer, which I easily aquired in the first day), so I didn't really care if it left my brain feeling a tad fried by the end. The many presenters, each with their own specific lecture theme and style and the obvious differences in everyone's idea of what works best for them was wonderful, and a testament to the fact that there is not only one way to get fit and to stay fit nor definition of what fit is. Many ladies appeared to be in their fifties and sixties, others had quite a bit of extra weight and almost all more looked like regular, everyday women - moms, employees, bosses, wives, they all showed up and took an active role in their own lives, and were interested in taking care of themselves in order to be a better person for the people around them. (Side note - there were actually men there too, but not a whole lot. I sat next to Tommy Europe during one session, whom you may know from "Last Ten Pounds Bootcamp" or "Bulging Brides".)

On Sunday night when I got home, BF asked me how the conference was and I said "Great, I learned a lot. I really really liked it actually." Being the astute observer he is, he sat on the couch next to me, looked me in the eyes and replied "Really? Tell me about it". I responded ''Do you really want to know?"' and before letting him finish I grabbed my notebook and pen and proceeded to give him a 2 hour run through of the whole thing - what I learned, what I liked, what I didn't like and what I loved. Bless his heart, he was so interested. He smiled and nodded at me, maybe noticing the excitement in my eyes as I enlightened him with all of my newfound knowledge. A couple of times I stopped throughout to ask if I was boring him, but I knew I wasn't (or if I was, he would have the class enough to never let me see it, which would be a feat as I am equally observant). He listened and got almost as excited as me! The best part was not only that I felt like I really cemented what I had learned on the weekend by ''teaching'' it to someone else, but also that I am lucky enough to have such an amazing person in my life that cares so much about me and what I have to say. For that, I am beyond greatful.

I bet you're dying to know what I learned. At least I hope you are. You probably don't care at all, you're just humoring me, but hey, at least I'll never know since I can't see the deception on your faces. I have studied and read about all things fitness and health related for many years; when I was a young teen my father subscribed to Flex Magazine and MuscleMag International and I read them for years the way my friends watched Young and the Restless. I thought Dorian Yates seemed like such nice guy and Mike Mentzer's HIT Training was insane. Ronnie Coleman and Vicky Gates made a great couple and wow, Craig Titus is such an arrogant ass, someone needs to give him an atomic drop. Instead of Cosmo or Glamour, I read Oxygen. I've always kept in the loop about what's cutting edge in the industry, what works and what doesn't, how to do certain exercises properly etc. It's interesting and fun for me, the way some people like gardening or watching football. This weekend added to my repertoire of knowledge and taught me enough to change the way I view certain things. And I will share all this with you, in doses. I hope you tune in to listen.

If you have any questions, send them to me and I'll try to answer in an upcoming blog, or in a personal email to you.