The Empower Fitness Conference

This past weekend was amazing & I'm SO sad it's over!!! It all started last year when I found out about the Empower Conferences that are held around the country. I REALLY wanted to go, but it was expensive & I never ended up signing up for it. As the weekend came & past, I was SO sad that I missed it. Fast forward to the beginning of this year & I started seeing advertisements for the  conference. Then there was a call for volunteers on their FB page & I found out that if you volunteer, you get to attend the conference for FREE!!!

My shift started Thursday night & it was EXHAUSTING!! All of the equipment for the classes had been shipped to the hotel in boxes, so we had to open everything up & get them to the correct room for Friday morning. I had gotten up early to workout as normal that day & this was like a whole other workout on top of that! I was SO tired when I got home from volunteering that night.

Friday is when the conference officially opened & I was hoping to go some time during the day, but I had to continue my job as mom first & drop off and pick up the kids from school, so I wasn't able to attend any classes. I showed up to volunteer again at 5 & we quickly moved a few things around & then we were told we could go attend a class!! I was SO excited since I had missed all of the classes during the day. I chose to go to a Yoga/African Dance class and it was AMAZING!!! I am on a dancer & don't do Zumba or anything that I feel will make me look like a fool. However, the instructor quickly put me at ease and we just had FUN! I really didn't think the two went together, but it was just such a GREAT way to move & I got into it & just let go. I finished up Friday night by deflating a ton of exercise balls, which was fun too LOL We had a bunch of time for girl talk & bonded.

FINALLY Saturday rolled around & I was able to take some classes!! I even got to sleep in & didn't get up until 7!! I went to my first class at 8:45, which was a Vinayasa Yoga class. It was PACKED, but I still really enjoyed the movement & the instructor. After that I went to a Kamagon Ball demo/class. Kamagon balls are kind of like rubber kettlebells, except that they have two handles & are filled with water. The water gives a little extra resistance & it was SUCH a cool class. It was set up like a bootcamp class, & I really enjoyed it & the instructor :) We had a quick break for lunch & then I took a class called Strength & Alignment. We got to work with Leslee Bender, who created Bender Balls as well as PostureFit bars. They are short, weighted bars with a big cushion on them that you can use for many things!! We started off putting them behind our necks, so we could feel proper alignment in our spine. It was amazing to try squats with them & without them, there was a HUGE difference!! I am really fascinated with proper alignment after taking this class b/c I have something weird with my hip that I've always wondered if I could do anything about it. I'm looking into more information on it, as well as any classes in my area.

With each class being over 2 hours long, I was physically tired & just GROSS from working out for 6 hours. I had some time before I had to volunteer again, so I went to a seminar. It was good & interesting, but I felt that I had heard the same things before, but I did leave early & maybe I missed the best part!! Saturday evening was another quick night of moving a few things around & packing them up, but then there was a room we couldn't get into, so we all were able to go home early!! I was SO tired & happy to be able to go home & see my family! I missed them after being gone all day.

All in all, I had a GREAT time at the conference. I wish there had been more/better freebies, but I loved the classes that were offered & I really enjoyed vounteering!! We had an awesome group that was together for 3 nights in a row, so we really got to know one another. I already miss those girls & wish that I had gotten information from them to be able to keep in touch. It was nice to be around people who understand my love & passion for fitness. A lot of times people don't understand it & think it's something negative in my life, but being around fitness professionals showed me that I am not alone. I am definitely motivated to finish my Personal Trainers cert & I am also thinking of getting a Group Fitness cert too. The classes I attended were SO fun, I'd love to be able to go next year as a professional!! :)

The Empower Conference is held around the country, so definitely check out the website & see if/when there's one in your area!! http://empowerfitnessevents.com/events/

Get comfortable being Uncomfortable

I have not been feeling well lately, but I was determined to get outside & run today. It was 60 degrees in Chicago, in January!! AMAZING! The only bad thing is, that it was super cloudy & I could tell it was going to rain when I stepped out to run. I was hoping that I could get in a good 6-7 mile run before the rain came, but that didn't happen. I got to mile 2 & I started to feel some drops and THEN! It began to down pour. I literally felt like I was running in the shower. It rained harder & harder, my feet were soaking wet, the rain was going through my pants & even through my 3 layers on top. Let me tell you, VERY uncomfortable!

SOAKED!!

At first the rain didn't bother me. I enjoyed it, there is something primal about running outside in the rain. Who didn't go outside & play in the rain growing up?! It's something we loved, something different, something new & exciting. I think it's sad that as we get older, we reach for the umbrella, run to our cars, or stay safe in our houses. I mean, I know I'm guilty of it...but I loved getting out there today, to run in the elements. To be honest, I DIDN'T totally enjoy the whole time I was getting soaked, b/c that kind of stuff weighs you down, but it didn't stop me. Eventually the rain let up & I'm sad I didn't go for my goal of 6-7 miles, I ended at 5.

I felt like this thought process, could apply to us, as Americans. We have no reason in our every day lives, to be uncomfortable. We have abundant food supplies, we don't have to be hungry. Our lives are totally climate controlled (which don't get me wrong, I would LOVE for our house to be 80 degrees all of the time), we can go from our warm beds, to our warm cars, to our warm offices, back to our cars, then back home & back to bed. 

Well, I think it's time we start doing something new, something outside of our comfort zones.What have you done lately that was uncomfortable? It is only outside of our comfort zone that we are stretched, taken beyond our limits to learn new things, to experience new things. It could look different for everyone, it could be talking to someone new, trying a new food, start volunteering in a ministry, or even doing a new work out! :) I think it's so valuable to get uncomfortable some times, to connect to new people, new things, or even to discover new abilities/passions inside of ourselves.