Fitness Blogger Meet and Tweet: #FitBlogNYC 2014

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the 2014 Fitness Blogger Meet and Tweet, better known as #FitBlogNYC.

#FitBlogNYC is a conference hosted by Fitness Magazine that brings together bloggers, awesome brands and inspirational and influential speakers for a great day filled with fitness, learning and fun. The event was held at the Mercedes Club in Manhattan, just like last year.

We started off our rainy morning with checking in and grabbing breakfast before getting started with the seminars. Breakfast was fruit salad, vegan scones and muffins and juice from The Squeeze.

The seminars began with a welcome from Fitness Magazine’s Editor-in-chief, Betty Wong. The first speaker was Holly Rilinger, former WNBA player and fitness trainer.

She shared some tips for fitness success:

• Work out smarter – not longer. Maximize the time you have and it is possible to get a good workout in 20-30 minutes if you work hard, especially using HIIT.
• When you plan out your weekly schedule, plan your workouts like important events. You wouldn’t just skip a work meeting or interview, so why do you just skip workouts?
• Make a dreamboard. Put the things you want to achieve in front of your face to remember what you really want.
• Sleep is as important as your workout. If you are working out and not getting enough sleep, you might just be wasting your time.

Next up was Dr. Marci Goolsby, from the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. She spoke about how to stay healthy in the hardcore world of marathons, mus runs and crossfit.

• Don’t go to fast. Ease into new workout and don’t ignore aches and pains.
• Learn the different between good pain and bad pain. Soreness and DOMS are normal, but if the pain you are feeling is causing you to limp, impairing your workouts and lingers it might be an injury.
• Working out during pregnancy is great – it helps mommy and baby during delivery and recovery. If you already workout then continue, if you’re just starting, ease into the new exercises.

The final speaker before lunch was Carla Hall, host of the TV show The Chew. She was the speaker that I was most excited about hearing and she kept us all laughing and shared some great tips for following your dreams.

• You know you have found your passion when you have your ‘Aha moment’ – you are working so hard but you don’t care because you are doing what you love.
• When trying to turn your passion into your career, work with people who are already doing it. See if you actually want to do it, don’t just quit your day job and hope for the best.
• When it comes to cooking, don’t over think technique. Use spices to add variety to your meals. You can make chicken 15 different ways by using different blends of spices.
• Her cooking philosophy is to cook with love. If you’re not in a good mood, the only thing you should be making is a reservation.

After hearing all the amazing speakers, we had some time to grab lunch and meet with all the different sponsors. The sponsors included Balance Bar, Dermalogica, Eddie Bauer, Hoka One One, Luna, Oster Versa, Pure Protein, Tonalin and Tria. We got to try some delicious green smoothies and protein shakes, practice our planks with Tonalin, get awesome shoes and tops from Hoka One One and Eddie Bauer and get some skincare advice from Dermologica and Tria.

Next, we headed for lunch, which consisted of two delicious salads, a huge spread on roasted veggies, grilled chicken and apple crisp cups. It was all soo good!

After lunch, we headed back for the last panel – My Digital Brand is My Business by Laura Sykora, Anne Mauney and Bianca Jade.

Their biggest message was to be authentic. Very often, bloggers lose their voice when trying to monetize and make money off their blog. Be yourself, work with other bloggers, not against them.

After the panels were over, there was a run with Hoke One One, but I had to leave early because I had to pick up the little man. Instead I headed to the exit and picked up my goodie bag. All of the sponsors were ridiculously generous and we all left with bags filled to the brim with goodies. A huge, huge thank you to all the sponsors!

I had an amazing time catching up with blogger friends and learning from some amazing women. I can’t wait until next year!