I said it last year and I’ll say it again. IDEA World is the best fitness convention out there. Every second is packed with information and inspiration. And sweat.
I was not able to attend the convention in its entirety last year since I had to leave California for a wedding, but this year I made sure to fully immerse myself in everything. I stayed from start to finish and am now sitting on a plane bound for Charlotte feeling 100 percent exhausted and elated all at the same time.
A few months ago, I was asked to attend IDEA’s inaugural Fitness BlogFest conference that took place in conjunction with IDEA World and speak on a panel all about blogging and share some tips and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Thanks to my friends at Reebok who were kind enough to cover my travel, I was able to make it out to Anaheim and had a wonderful time connecting with fellow fitness professionals and bloggers, meeting some of you guys (!!) and spending lots of quality time with a few of my closest blogging friends.
IDEA World Fitness Convention and BlogFest: Day One
BlogFest took place on Thursday and Friday of the IDEA World convention, so I did my best to jump back and forth between the fitness conference and the blogging conference since they occurred simultaneously. With two of my biggest interests (fitness + blogging) colliding, I really wanted to attend both conferences and found juggling so many interesting sessions a little challenging at times, but did my best to attend what I could and make the most of it.
My first official day at IDEA could not have started on a better note. Gina, Heather and I kicked things off with a ridiculously sweaty 7 a.m. BodyPump class led by two master trainers, Josef Matthews and Jericho McDuffie.
(I tried to tag those of you who asked via Instagram, but my black top and deep purple capris are both from Reebok. They are super comfy! The pants are thick enough to hide any lumps and bumps and stay up perfectly during squats. The top is part of their yoga line and has quickly become my favorite top to wear to barre classes. Hooray for built in cups and sweat-wicking material!)
I was dying to take BodyPump at IDEA last year but ran out of time so I knew it had to happen this year. I had high expectations for the class because BodyPump is one of my all-time favorites and I knew Josef is one heck of an awesome instructor since I took his GRIT class at IDEA last year. Jericho and Josef took us through a 45-minute version of BodyPump (the biceps and triceps tracks were omitted to save time) and I walked away knowing I was going to be crazy-sore. Oh my poor, poor hamstrings!
Jericho and Josef did a great job of keeping the class engaged and laughing (Josef’s dance moves were quite entertaining!) and the class passed by in a flash.
After BodyPump, Heather, Gina and I did our best to towel off and rush to the BlogFest welcome session that included presentations from Lorna Jane and Reebok.
Thanks so much to both companies for the goodies!
Opening Ceremonies
Directly following the BlogFest welcome was the official IDEA World opening ceremony that began with a few upbeat a cappella songs from The Filharmonic, a great group featured on The Sing Off, one of my favorite shows!
As a big-time fan of a cappella music, I loved listening to them and naturally brought up a few of their songs on YouTube afterwards and found out they’re going to be featured in Pitch Perfect 2. Keep an eye out!
The opening ceremonies welcomed conference attendees, presented an award to the trainer and fitness instructor of the year (congrats to Douglas Brooks and Krista Popowych!) and introduced all of us to Augie and Lynne Nieto.
Augie Nieto is the founder of Life Fitness and incredibly respected within the fitness community. He was diagnosed with ALS in 2005, but Augie’s positive attitude and determination left all of us riveted as we watched a video of him walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. He continues to train three hours a day and his spunk was apparent to everyone in the room. I wish I could’ve had the chance to chat with him in person, but I sent a tweet his way after the presentation to express my gratitude and was very excited when he replied. Too cool!
Augie and Lynne currently dedicate a lot of their time to Augie’s Quest, an organization committed to funding research and drug development aimed at ending ALS. Since 2011, Augie’s Quest has raised nearly $40 million!
The keynote speaker and winner of the Jack LaLanne Fitness award was introduced next and Diana Nyad, the fearless swimmer who, at 62-years-old, swam 103 miles from Cuba to Florida, took the stage.
Her speech was fantastic. She had the entire audience riveted with stories of perseverance and bravery that she told with humility and humor. (I now have her documentary on my “must watch” list!)
Expo
Following the welcome ceremonies, most attendees walked directly into the expo to explore the various vendors and check out tons of fitness equipment, apparel and workouts and enjoy lots of food and beverage samples.
Some expo standouts for me on the first day included the K9 Fit Club (a workout for people and their dogs!!!), super cute Fivesse gym bags, Piloxing and Booty Barre demos, Dirty Energy bars, Reebok Spartan workouts, Food for Life millet bread and maple water.
BlogFest: Working With Brands
After overloading on awesome samples, we walked back to catch a session all about working with brands at BlogFest with Kelly Olexa of FitFluential, Whitney English and Tracy Hollywood. Here are some key takeaways I jotted down:
- Your blog and social media accounts are your resume. When it comes to working with brands, what you already have out there is your resume. Brands are looking for content and writers with personality who have an engaged audience. Whether your main audience is on your blog or other social media platforms, having an active and engaged audience is key. Take the time to interact with people who follow you.
- Before signing a contract with a brand, read it thoroughly. More and more brands are writing exclusivity into their contracts. It’s important to take the time to read contracts you sign to ensure you’re not agreeing to more than you bargained for.
- Reach out. Don’t be afraid to reach out to brands you already know and love to try to cultivate a partnership. Brands enjoy working with bloggers who already adore their products!
- Consider adding a case study to your media kit. Adding details to your media kit that explain positive results from your past campaigns can help brands see what they can expect from a partnership with you.
- Relationships are incredibly important. People within the industry talk and talk a lot! Don’t burn bridges and be professional and gracious.
PiYo
After sitting down for a couple of hours and taking notes, getting up and moving sounded awfully appealing! Another workout was on the agenda for the day and BlogFest attendees were fortunate enough to attend a PiYo class led by the creator of the workout, Chalene Johnson.
(Pic from BlogFest Instagram)
Chalene took us through the workout two hours after she had two teeth extracted and was a total spitfire! She was full of enthusiasm and made it easy to feel motivated to workout. It was easy to see why she is so successful!
(Pic from HappyHealthyCLE Instagram)
I was pumped to try PiYo after hearing all about it from my friend (and IDEA roomie!) Katy who teaches PiYo in Orlando. After experiencing the class with the incredibly charismatic Chalene, I totally understand the hype. It’s fast-paced and incorporates lots of body-weight strength moves and yoga and pilates-inspired exercises. I am now on a mission to find PiYo near me in North Carolina. (I also think it would be an awesome class to teach!)
BlogFest Happy Hour
With our final workout done for the day, we all headed back to our rooms to shower (and use a ridiculous amount of dry shampoo) before meeting up and heading back out to the BlogFest happy hour!
Hooray for a reunion with Courtney!!! I missed that hot mama so much! Even though we stay in touch, I haven’t seen her in person since she was pregnant with sweet Lucas who is now a year old. We were way overdue for some quality time and I loved sipping on some wine with one of my oldest blogging buddies!
After happy hour, we went out to dinner and the wine kept flowing as we ate a delicious dinner at The Ranch. It was a great evening to cap off a great day!
More IDEA World and BlogFest fun to come!
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I would love to attend next year. Reading everyone’s review it looks really exciting and very informative.
It looks like you had an amazing time!!! I love the idea of these conferences. Although I’m a new blogger, I would love to attend next year. The fitness classes look amazing and the blogging tips would be great! Glad you had fun 🙂
It is such a great conference! I’d love to meet you there next year!!
How fun!! Those fivesse bags are adorable! And I love all of your outfits. Super cute!
Looks so fun and glad you enjoyed Chalene’s class! Not quite warming up to PiYo the way I wanted to but I LOVE her TurboFire series as well as ChaleneExtreme. Hmm, I haven’t done one of the Extreme workouts in a while, must put that on the to do list! 🙂
This is such a fun post! It looks like you had a wonderful time. So nice you got to catch up with your friends too 🙂 Do Ryan and Sadie get along without you while you travel, or it it pizza and beers and tears until you return? I bet they missed you so much! Can’t wait for recap #2!
Ha!! You’re in the right ballpark… They did lots of hiking and walking together while I was away… But I’m pretty sure a trip to McDonald’s happened, too. 🙂
You know how you were excited when the IDEA speaker tweeted back at you? That is how excited I get when you reply to me, haha! 🙂
Regarding Ryan and Sadie: that is adorable! Guys and their fast food trips! But they keep their abs with their metabolisms…not fair haha!
McNugzzzzz!!!!!
Looks like a blast! As a new blogger, I really appreciate you sharing some of the wisdom you gained from the conference 🙂
I’m planning to share detailed notes from the sessions in upcoming blog posts as well. Hope you are loving blogging!!
It looks like a great time! I would love to go next year!
Major thanks for posting those tips! I read them all word for word and I agree with everything you said.
Never even heard of PiYo but sounds awesome! Was it challenging???
It was, but the class we experiences was more of a breakdown where Chalene would stop and explain things between songs. I’d love to take the class without the breaks. I have a feeling I’d love it even more!
Well that just looks like so much fun! I love all of your outfits too! And I’m jealous you got to try Piyo!
I am so jealous!! i think i may have to think about attending next year! i’m still trying to build my brand… i’m not a full blogger, but i do most of it through IG…
There are PIYO Dvds that JUST came out! i’m doing them right now and LOVE integrating them into my HIIT workouts and lifting! I feel like my muscles are much happier now! lol! Glad to see you enjoyed the class!!
Loved this post! And it made me relive just how awesome IDEA was! So glad I got to spend some quality time with you! I feel like I’m already having withdrawls… xo
How fun! It sounds even better because it included both learning workshops and workouts.
Ok Everything about this conference seems awesome and fun..but K9FitClub!?!?! That is just brilliant!
I know!!!!!!!!! Right up my alley, too!
I really wanted to attend this year but I had a fitness certification training this year. Next year I’m going for sure!
How did your training go!?
Really well! I have to video tape myself in order to receive my certification and I’m so nervous!
Oh I’m going to have to go to this one day, it looks like so much fun!
Looks SO fun! maybe I”ll have to try and go next year! I loved seeing everyone’s pictures pop up on IG all weekend!
Looks like you had a great time. I’ve been hearing a lot about Piyo too, I’d love to try it at some point.
That seriously sounds like SO much fun! And, thanks for the blog tips!! It’s always nice hearing tips from bloggers that are making it happen! I had no idea that IDEA was this amazing (<—is that super corny or what?!? haha). I seriously would go to California for it!
So much great stuff happening!! I’d definitely love to go to the IDEA convention one day. It’s awesome that there’s a blogging AND fitness side of the conference. Ahh and now I want to try all these cool fitness programs!
Sounds like a really fun and informative conference! I love that there was pretty much something for everyone. Can’t wait to read your other recaps – please share everything! 🙂
Just wanted to say that your hair and abs look amazing in your happy hour pics! Hope you are enjoying the convention!
Her abs were amazing! Hard work pays off!
Looks like such an awesome time! I would love to attend this conference next year!!! I had the opportunity to hear Diana Nyad speak at my sister’s graduation this past spring and she was so inspiring. It was 90 degrees and sunny outside but I would have listened to her all day long.
Looks like you had a blast!! Love your last outfit! You look so cute 🙂
Blogging and Fitness??!!! Can there be any better pairing?! Having the best of blogging and the best of fitness in such a small place is pure gold!
I’m sure the opening ceremony for IDEA must have been so emotional after hearing Augie’s story and Diana Nyad’s speech.
It is my first time hearing about PIYO but by the look of it I think I have to add it to my fitness bucket list!
By the way I loved your outfit for Blogfest Happy Hour!
You totally rocked that crop top! Holy abs, girl! 🙂
Fun recap–felt like I was there again! It was nice to meet you!
Julie where did you get the gray top and maxi skirt?! Adorable!!
BodyPump, Lorna Jane, Reebok, some of my favorite bloggers…sounds like the PERFECT day! 🙂 So glad to hear you had a blast. I’m thinking the IDEA Convention needs to be a must for me next year!
It looks like such a great time! I hope to attend some conferences next year. 🙂 That top and maxi are adorable! Bonus-your abs looks amazing in them.
Thanks for the recap! Can’t wait to read everyone’s reviews!!
I so wish I could’ve attended and absolutely want to next year! Looks amazing!!
Whoa PiYo looks intense!! I’ve never seen it in action!
Love that grey crop top!! While I’m no blogger, IDEA sounds like something I would absolutely love
I was checking out every picture you posted from the weekend. I so wish I could’ve gone to both conferences this year. And yes, Josef is definitely an awesome BODYPUMP trainer, and I’ve attended a couple of his trainings and workshops over the past few years as a Les Mill instructor. Love all your workout gear. Thanks for sharing your experience. Keep it coming!
Julie, I LOVE the crop top you wore to the happy hour. Where is it from?!
I am itching to try a BodyPump class. You always make them sound like such fun. One day I will move near a gym where they are offered!
Next time… heels please.
I’m on it!!
Dang girl, look at those abs! The whole conference looked like such a positive and wonderful experience!
what a fun weekend!
This conference looks amazing! I’ve never heard of it (new blogger) but am interested! Do you get invited or just book it? Also, just had a friend become a PiYo coach – she absolutely loves it! Thanks for sharing!
Anyone can attend! It’s open to all bloggers!
I LOVE PiYo! I’m in week 5 of it right now. Love the fact that you don’t need weights but just your body weight to tone your body. It’s a great workout.
This whole experience looks amazing!! I’m sure ya know this, but Josef & Jericho are dating, and so when they do trainings/events together, I think it’s so cute!
I trained in PiYo a few years back, and liked it, but it wasn’t for me. But that’s ok! I love that there are so many programs out there so everyone can find a class or niche they love 🙂 Can’t wait to read more about IDEA–makes me want to find a way to go next year!
Totally didn’t know this!!!!!! Just texted Gina & Heather to tell them this because we thought Josef was a total babe. 🙂
🙂 Yep, they’re a very gorgeous –and power–couple, to say the least!
Love your outfit! Also: so jealous of your body pump class! It’s been like 2 years since I’ve taken it (no gym membership) but I do miss the classes! Bicep and triceps tracks were my least fav, so the class you took would have been perfect for me 😉
Great recap! Love seeing all the fun pictures and hearing about your experience at the conferences. Thanks for sharing your takeaways with us too!
Sound like an amazing time! Hopeful that someday I’ll be able to attend IDEA and see all the excitement firsthand. Thank you for sharing those blogging tips, too…as a still-new(ish) blogger, I’ll take any advice I can get my paws on. 🙂
So fun! I’m trying out my first PiYo class this evening. Our gym is offering free class passes this week!
That’s great advice regarding working with brands! Thanks for sharing your takeaways!
That looks awesome! The PiYo looks great too, I have heard a ton of buzz about it and would love to try a class if I could find one in Atlanta. What I really want to find, though, is that canine fitness class! The one thing I don’t like about my dog (literally the only thing as I am obsessed with every other aspect of her life) is that she doesn’t like running with me. She will run about a half of a mile then she decides it’s “walking time” and refuses to move past a slow saunter for the rest of our time outside. I would love to find a class in which we could both get in better shape!
Thanks for leaving the tips on working with brands! My blog isn’t to that point yet but I do hope that one day I get there and I love reading advice from bloggers who have been successful in marketing their site and brand.
Wow. I just realized I’ve been following your blog for over a year now since I remember you going to IDEA last year! haha Time flies!! 🙂
Thanks so much for reading for so long! 🙂