11:00 a.m. I have an hour and a half before the first lecture I plan to attend, so after grabbing my daily can of Lo-Carb Monster, I check out more booths at the exhibition hall. Things are hopping. Hany Mikhaiel, the Better Body Maker and Los Angeles 97.1 talk radio show host, is interviewing fitness celebrities. Workout apparel is on display and being snatched up by eager buyers (even though the sayings on the tops are not always grammatically correct). I've already got a couple of favorite places to visit (besides the Monster stand). Apex has a new, low sugar Chocolate Cappuccino with Caramel bar that gets my own personal vote for best tasting bar of the Expo. (Apparently I wasn't alone — as I am signing up for one of the classes later on, I see another attendee with a box of them under her arm.) Plus I find a no-calorie, sugar free sports drink called Aqua Pro that's pretty tasty. There were also some interesting contraptions — for example, the Power Hook, which makes heavy dumbbell work easier, more effective and more versatile. The Power Hook booth is surrounded by guys with very big biceps.

12:30 p.m. Speaking of dumbbells, the next event I'm attending is a talk by Judith Sherman-Wolin, author of Smart Girls Do Dumbbells. While Sherman-Wolin isn't telling women to heft the kind of weight that might necessitate using Power Hooks, she does point out that resistance training is the one way to change the physical appearance of your body. Yes, dieting will result in weight loss, but you'll just be a smaller version of what you were before. If you want to lift that fanny, tighten those abs and keep your upper arms from flapping in the wind, then you've got to lift a few dumbbells. Those of you who visit our website frequently often already know that you need strength training to keep your muscle mass as you age, and that muscle mass burns more calories than fat mass. Sherman-Wolin not only explains all this, she lives it. She's old enough to have two grown children, but she's in great shape. How many women her age can wear form-fitting gym clothes... and look so good in them? I can promise you that the few who can pull this off lift weights!

2:00 p.m. It's a rainy weekend in Pasadena, which means I miss out on the chance to be ordered around by Boot Camp trainer Tina Castaldi (her classes were scheduled to be held out of doors). But I still get a killer workout thanks to 24-Hour Fitness trainer Sandra Augustin, who offers up a class called "Leg and AbXpress." With the help of a Step Bench, we are given 45 minutes of concentrated, no-pause leg, glute and ab work. Am I going to be sore the next day? Most likely! Am I going to love the results? Most definitely!

2:45 p.m. I'm late for the next lecture I want to attend, so make a mad dash for it. Appropriately, it's entitled "7 Strategies to Avoid Burnout." Chris Snook of Action Potentials offers a candid and extremely practical talk that covers not only burnout, but developing a strategy to achieve goals. He explains how successful people put ideas into action, while most average people don't even know how to get started on their dreams (a big reason why so many people are stressed out). So what are the 7 strategies to beat burnout? They are 1) Get started, 2) Get excited, 3) Get committed, 4) Get your center of influence excited, 5) Get financed, 6) Get systems and 7) Get focused. How do you do all that? It's a method that can't exactly be wrapped up in one paragraph, so you'll just have to track Chris down at Action Potentials and ask him yourself.

 

3:30 p.m. I'm back at the exhibition hall. Earlier in the day, fitness women were parading their fat-free physiques for the Obus Forme/ Iron Man NPC Figure Competition. These women, I am convinced, are not of this earth, and I feel the same way about what's going on at the exhibition main stage now — the Met-Rx Strongman Pro. There are a bunch of big guys doing some very heavy lifting! I am sucked in by the absolute concentration these strongmen exhibit as they lift barbells containing several times my weight. Weights like these would flatten a mere Power Hook! Boy am I glad these guys are on my side. (At least, I hope they're on my side....)

4:30 p.m. My last stop of the day is at the Yoga Tech class, held by Sandra Augustin. It's a basic, stretchy Yoga class that's not too taxing on overworked muscles, but that still offers solid flexibility training along with muscle toning. Much to my chagrin, I can't find a mat. Later on, I discover that someone placed them on the other side of the entrance to the room. So I miss the workout, but grab a few shots.

Next page >> Sunday, February 20 — the Fit Expo as Aerobic Workout >> Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Feature Index