Hello, friends! I finally got back from Blogfest and got my life together yesterday. Today I’m back with a recap of the week! Please keep in mind that Blogfest is a sponsored event hosted by Sweat Pink as part of the Idea World Convention. I did not have to pay to attend the conference (but I did cover my travel arrangements.)
Wednesday – Strong by Zumba Certification
I went to the conference a day early so I could complete the Strong by Zuma certification! In case you never hear of Strong by Zumba here is a description from the website:
Stop counting the reps. Start training to the beat. STRONG by Zumba®combines body weight, muscle conditioning, cardio and plyometric training moves synced to original music that has been specifically designed to match every single move. Every squat, every lunge, every burpee is driven by the music, helping you make it to that last rep, and maybe even five more.
And here is a little taste:
What they’ve done is pure genius. They design a highly efficient workout first, then design the music to match the workout. HIIT will never be more motivating, ever! It was a drenched in sweat, kick your ass and go back for more type workout. It was also super fun to meet celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins!
I’ll keep you posted on my progress getting through the online modules, and I’m sure I’ll post some videos while I learn choreography! Stay tuned!
Thursday – Blogfest Day 1 Session Highlights
Make Your Old Content New Again – Katy Widrick
I freaking love Katy, if you haven’t met her, she is the sweetest and most down to earth person ever. I hired her to help me facelift the blog this past year which was a huge help! This session was a great reminder of all the ways you can continue to repurpose and reuse your content. I have Katy’s book, Make Your Old Content New Again and highly recommend it! If you weren’t able to attend Blogfest this year, that would be a great resource for you!
5 Most Important SEO Elements – Lindsay Valdez
Lindsay covered the basics of Search Engine Optimization known in the blog world as SEO. She also clarified what tactics of SEO were the most important for results.
Idea World Opening Ceremonies
The awards and keynote speaker are always incredibly inspiring and motivating. My favorite part of this year was Todd Durkin, who received the Jack Lalane award and he ended up being our keynote speaker as well.
Blogger Peer Review Session
During this time we had some time to look over each other’s blogs and provide feedback.
Friday – Blogfest Day 2 Session Highlights
modelFIT Sculpt presented by Propel – Triana Cristobal
I’ve never taken a barre class before, but my guess is that would be the most similar thing I could think of to this type of workout. From their website:
From their website: “At model fit, we move through multiple planes of motion to effectively target small, stabilizing muscle groups all over the body. Strengthening these small muscles creates a long, lean aesthetic and functional strength.”
Blogfest Keynote Speaker – Todd Durkin
My favorite line from this keynote presentation was world class performance requires world class personal care. He emphasized that life is not a sprint and it’s not a marathon, it’s a series of sprints followed by recovery. I think the message was something that especially resonated with the entrepreneurs in the room, but is also something for everyone to remember.
Guest Blogging – Everything You Need to Make Money – Amanda Vogel
This isn’t an area I’ve ever tried to pursue, so it was interesting to learn a little bit more about it. What I learned was that you need to be consistent and have a pitch in mind.
Developing Long Term Brand Relationships
A chance to sit down with representatives from sponsoring companies GymGo, Great Lakes, and California Figs to hear a little bit about how they form relationships with bloggers. Although the questions were the same as last year, the answers were very different. What I got out of this session was that it varies widely by blogger and company.
Networking Happy Hour
I was looking forward to this since I had so much fun last year. This year did not disappoint! I had a great time meeting new RD friends Chrissy (Snacking in Sneakers) and Mandy (Nutrition Nuptials) who are also in the fitness world.
Saturday – Idea World Convention
Sports Nutrition by Nancy Clark
Nancy Clark is pretty much a sports nutrition legend, so I knew I had to see her speak! Her message was loud and clear. Carbs aren’t evil; they are vital for optimal survival. She got a ton of questions about intermittent fasting and ketosis. Her answer was perfect, and she said that nutrition recommendations should always be personalized/individualized. A Dietitian is the best way to get personalized nutrition advice. She never said whether or not she thought those types of eating patterns were good or bad. Instead, she said it’s a conversation for a Dietitian and an individual. Bonus, I also got to meet one more RD in the session. I’ve followed Whitney’s blog (To Live and Diet in LA) for a while; it was great to meet her in person as well!
TRX Programming
I worked a lot with TRX when I worked at TI Fitness. Although I haven’t been doing much with them (because I don’t have one) I was interested in learning programming. This was a great session full of sweat and learning!
p90X – Tony Horton
I jumped into this session for a little while just because I wanted to try out p90X. I’ve never done it before, and I wanted to give it a try. Sadly the session was modified a great deal because it was on concrete in the center of the expo room. I didn’t want to get shin splints, so I didn’t stay for the full workout, plus I was looking forward to the next two workouts and wanted to save my energy.
WOW Workout with Todd Durkin
I loved this workout for a lot of reasons. First, because Todd Durkin fills a room with fire, energy, and positivity. Second, because he showed us the power of teaming up and cheering on others. For the first part of the workout, he lined up the whole room into two rows and paired us with the person across from us. One person would do a movement while the other one cheered them on. It’s crazy how much hearing someone cheer for you makes you more likely to go a little harder. The second part of the workout was a series of 3-minute circuits that were also partner style. The last part of the workout he has line up, and we did different relays, it was EPIC.
Zumba
After that workout, I didn’t think I would have it in me, but there is always some left for dancing amiright? I have not done or taken any Zumba classes since last year. Every year I leave saying I want to be a Zumba instructor so badly, but then I keep hearing Zumba is on its way out. I think I even heard it called the mom jeans of the fitness world. UGH, so sad, I’m hanging in there with it ride or die style. Just don’t know if I want to invest in a cert that is dying? Thanks to Megan for capturing this video!
Conference / Las Vegas Eats
The best part about traveling was eating my way through Vegas with one of my best friends, Megan from Skinnyfitalicious! Last year during this conference we really hit it off and have been friends ever since so we were both looking forward to going round 2 this year. We had a blast during the conference and trying to find places to eat outside the Westgate.
I can tell you one thing, if you stay at Westgate don’t plan on eating unless it’s room service. The first morning I ordered room service, and it was delicious. The buffet and other places we tried to eat in Westgate sucked. So, every night we ventured outside of the hotel to eat. My favorite places were all in the Venetian.
- B & B Burgers and Beer – I got the Caprese bison burger bunless with the best side salad ever! Plus my Sangria was strong enough for BOTH of us to finish.
- Chica’s – They had the BEST chips and dip platter ever; it came with plantain chips. Now if that isn’t awesome I don’t know what is!
- Canonita – They gave me a free shot because I told them it was my birthday. I might have been not 100% sober when I said that, but hey, my birthday was this month! We went here on the last night, and it was a blast! I ate a ton of chips and dip, plus the meat out of my tacos.
The Sponsors, Expo, and Swag
The expo was a bit smaller this time around which I was a bit disappointed in. I’ll be sharing some of my favorites on Instagram stories but the Blogfest “swag” was pretty exciting!
Other Blogging Conference Recaps:
What’s your favorite conference you’ve ever been too? What conferences should I be attending next year?
Looks like a great time!! I’d love to go to a blog conference. There’s SO much to learn and it’d be a great way to network.
I used to take Zumba 4-5 times a week in college. Although it was more hip-hop than traditional Zumba. I LOVED it and wanted to get certified, too, but there were never any courses convenient to where I lived at the time.
I like the hip hop versions a bit better too!
That sounds like so much fun! I hope I can make it next year. I still love Zumba, also it is still super popular at the gym I teach at.
Really?!?!?! Where do you teach at?
i wish I could have partied with you and Megan! But it looks like you made out alright without me… le sigh.
You were with us in spirit! I even said to Megan “Suz isn’t here, I hope she’s pregnant, do you think she’s pregnant???? She never said anything after the frozen embryo transfer, I really hope she isn’t here because she is pregnant!” I’ve been thinking of you!
Always an adventure with you!
I was so jealous of all the social media posts about this conference – it looked amazing! I may have to sign up next year. And Nancy Clark is the bomb – I met her at SCAN this year and I just love her <3
This looks like so much fun! I don’t think we have any conferences in Japan =) One day though! I would totally go just for the food!
Ha ha the only reason to go right?
Hi Kelli! So sad I missed this year’s BlogFest, especially with the change of location to Vegas. I have worked with Katy before too, and she is SO good at helping regular people understand technical blog stuff — LOVE THAT. Also, how fun you did the ZUMBA Strong training, now I want to try that workout. Looks like an amazing time! Thanks for sharing so I can get a little taste of what I missed out on!
Ah I’m so sorry I didn’t come up to you and introduce myself, it’s the shines in me, lol. The Todd Durkin workout was one of my favorite parts of the conference, I wish I could remember a lot of the moves we did. And how fun were those super bands!