Fitness Magazine’s #fitblogNYC Meet & Tweet

#fitblogNYC Meet & Tweet with Fitness Magazine was hands down one of my favorite experiences, period. I remember hearing about the event from previous years and thinking woah, that sounds awesome, I hope some day I will get to go. Dreams came true this year and sure enough I was freaking out when I received my invitation to the event.

 

I really loved that the day was a great mix of socializing, networking and education. I seriously enjoyed all of the seminars throughout the day and did my best to jot down some notes while also tweeting out my favorite takeaways from the awesome speakers:

The New Formula for Fitness Success with Holly Rilinger (I used to work with her at Flywheel!)

• On building her own fitness brand and gaining a following: “People are drawn to authenticity. I’m an athlete at heart and treat my riders like they are part of my team”.
• On the new “7 minute workout” craze: “If you only have 7 min to workout, use that time to figure out how you can find more time to workout.”
• “The magic happens when we sleep”
• She creates a dream board of everything she wants and wakes up every morning looking at that dream board (I think I need to get on that!)
• “It’s good to have a healthy fear because it keeps you on your toes”

CrossFit, Mud Runs, Marathons! How to Stay Healthy in a Hard-Core World with Dr. Marci A Goolsby

• People generally get injured when they take on something too fast and too quickly.
• You have to train to run, not run to train.
• Signs of overtraining: performance drops off, fatigued, more tired than usual, heart rate is elevated, immune system is impacted, periods goes away.

Eat Healthier, Live Happier: Game-Changing Cooking Secrets with the HILARIOUS Carla Hall

• “My biggest fear was hating my job. I couldn’t fathom being 40 and hating my job.”
• “It’s your job to be happy, not your job to be rich. Your heart will tell you where to go”
• “If you’re in a bad mood the only thing you should make is a reservation”
• Essential cooking tools: a good non-stick skillet, backing rack, squeeze bottle for oil, spices like smoked paprika.
• To lighten up a dish don’t take the fat out– you won’t be satisfied afterwards!
• Don’t chuck your culture and tradition for the sake of healthy– find a way to make both work.

My Digital Brand is My Business with Bianca Jade of Mizz Fit, Anne Mauney of fANNEtastic Food and Laura of Laura Sykora

• Develop a voice and specific feel for your blog. Emulate then deviate– see how others are doing it for inspiration but then be unique and find that gap within your interest
• Authenticity and being genuine is SO key.

One of the themes I noticed from all the speakers was how important it is to be authentic when building your own brand. People will like you because you’re you, not because you’re trying to be something fake.

 

Besides the seminars I also had an absolute blast catching up with old blogger friends,  making new blogger friends and meeting people who felt like old blogger friends because we’ve been chatting on the internet forever. It sounds crazy, but it’s true! All in all I learned that we tend to be a friendly bunch of people who are pretty excited to chat with other bloggers.

Finally got to meet Grace after chatting back and forth on the internet forever

Evann who crushed her second half marathon in San Francisco today!

And of course what’s an event without some Swag?

Before lunch we met with some of the sponsors learning more about their products. I am especially excited to test out my new pair of Hoka One One running shoes. They’re incredibly light yet cushiony at the same time.

To say the swag bag was ridiculous would be an understatement– they weighed easily 20+ pounds. When I finally got the chance to dig into the bag this weekend it felt like fitness Christmas with all the new goodies.

I’m especially excited about the Erica Sara Designs bracelet that says “Move Forward” and the much needed Yoga Tune-Up balls that will hopefully help with all the knots in my back.

Total cheeseball moment right here but I left the event in the best mood ever thinking about how much I love the blogging community and how grateful I am to experience amazing events like this one thanks to this little ole blog I started almost 3 years ago. Thank you so so much to Fitness Magazine for such an awesome, inspiring and empowering day!