How to Attend a Fitness Conference

There are many reasons to attend a fitness conference including learning new techniques; finding out about research updates or to obtain continuing education credits so that an instructor can maintain her certification. Some fitness professionals attend conferences for networking purposes. Even people who are not in the fitness industry, but are considering a fitness career, may benefit from attending a fitness conference as a means of getting an overview of the industry.Fortunately, there are a number of conferences to choose from. Here are some of the organizations that present annual fitness conferences:IDEA; DCAC; ECA; Exercise Etc. and AFPAThe URLs for these organizations are listed at the bottom of this page under "additional resources."

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A conference registration
• Hotel reservations (if applicable)
• Transportation to conference
• A notebook
• Your resume (if looking for a new fitness industry job)

1. Scroll to the bottom of this page and look under "additional resources." Check the URLs of the different conferences to see what types of sessions are offered. Choose the most suitable fitness conference by using criteria such as reputation of the presenters, usability of the information for your current fitness job, usability of the sessions for landing a better job and the amount of continuing education credits that are being offered.

2. Determine how much you can realistically spend. If funds are tight, you might want to consider attending a conference that is closer to home.

3. Ask your boss about the possibility of reimbursement if you are already working at a fitness center. If that does not work, ask to at least be reimbursed for the time spent at the conference.

4. Look through the conference catalog. In general, you will be asked to choose a first, second, third and possibly a fourth choice. For your first choice, choose sessions that will enhance the skills required for classes that you are already teaching. For your second choice, choose sessions for classes that you would like to learn how to teach. If you require a given number of Continuing Education Credits (CECs), choose sessions that will help you reach that requirement.

5. Choose sessions that are timed appropriately for your biorhythms. For example, if you never wake up before 7 a.m., the 6:15 a.m. session is probably not a good option.

6. Balance your choices between activity and lecture sessions. Too many activity sessions will be exhausting, while too many lecture sessions will put you to sleep.

7. Take notes during the sessions. However, if you know that you are not going to use the information, do not bother writing it down, because it will only confuse you later on. For example, if you can't follow a specific aerobic combination, don't expect your students to do so.

8. Keep records of the sessions you attended so that you can get your CEC credits.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are looking for a new fitness job, most conferences have a job board. Be sure to bring your resume.
• If the session you want is sold out, there is usually a drop or add booth at the conference. Try your luck. Perhaps someone will drop the class you wanted.
• If the class is still filled up, there is usually a wait area outside of the session door. Get there early, and pray that someone changes her mind at the last minute.
• When all else fails, find the presenter and butter her up. Tell her how disappointed you were that you could not get into her class.
• The fitness conference expo is a great place to buy fitness equipment, clothes and music at a reasonable price.
• Do not wait until the last minute to fill out your session sheet
• Do not lose your session tickets. At most conferences, they can't be replaced.

Resources

• IDEA
• ECA
• DCAC
• Exercise ETC.
• American Fitness Professionals and Associates

Who Can Help Sponsored

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[fitnessfest]

on 9/9/2009 FitnessFest is also a FANTASTIC, affordable fitness and wellness conference in the Southwest for novice and veteran group exercise instructors, personal trainers, aqua instructors and mind/body practitioners. Visit their site at www.fitnessfest.org for more information.