MyFuelUp adventure at the LA IDEA World Fitness Conference
Two weekends ago, I joined the MyFuelUp team at the IDEA World Fitness Conference in Los Angeles, CA spreading the word on nutritional timing and meal planning with the MyFuelUp app. I was amazed by the amount of new products, equipment, supplements, sportswear making their appearance on the market as well as some familiar vendors such as Reebok One, Rock Tape, Rumble Roller, and Rise Bar. I had to stop by the mobility section for the latest tools for myofascial release and recovery. The most interesting highlight on the expo floor in the recovery/healing section was the BFF. At first, I was thinking car buffer? Isn’t this used to wax cars or something? And of course, the demo guy went straight for my leg right along the IT band. Felt awfully good. I should have ask him to handle my left shoulder from the early morning session at CrossFit Mean Streets. Having the recovery section on the expo floor was a wonderful site to see and thank goodness.
The three days of the conference was exciting, intense, exhausting and well worth it. The reward at the end of a long day was the amazing modern contemporary loft in downtownn LA we called home. The gym and pool in this luxury building was my fitness lifesaver. The most under use room in hotels and this particular building are the gyms. And such a shame. The sparse but very clean facility had a set of treadmills, one Concept 2 and kettlebells to use. Perfect and enough equipment to hit an early a.m. sesh while everyone slept in and I failed to sleep in, still on NYC time.
One Early AM Session
4 rounds
Then 10 Rounds: 10 Kettlebell Swings (American), 10 Burpees
All this exercise and surrounded by fitness, a girl gotta eat! Luckily, I was in company with a team who enjoyed eating whole foods and close to being paleo and gluten free. We put the GPS feature on the MyFuelUp app in play on the nights we dine out as a team. Michael Vento, founder of MyFuelUp, notifications popped up on his Apple watch promptly. The notifications were on point reminding him to not miss a meal. Dianette and Greg Puckett were our foodies extraordinaire on this trip and my taste buds thank them. I forgotten how foodies eat and enjoyed having hearty meal conversations revolving around bacon. My kind of peeps. Breakfast, lunch, and healthy snacks were planned with trips to the grocery store walking distance from the high rise. We received an amazing recommendation for SooWon Galbi in Koreantown. Portions were definitely bigger and worth the price for the amount of meat for 5 people. No marinated meats in this round, just the whole cow on the grill. That's Paleo!
All this good food and we are fuel up to exercise. I wasn’t sure if the team was open to taking a trip to the OG, Brick Crossfit for a workout. Michael was up and open to sip the Kool-Aid. Normally, I wouldn’t call ahead for the WOD (workout of the day). Since I was bringing a guest who is new to CrossFit and unfamiliar with the foundational movements, safety first and fun was the priority.
40 DUs UB or 80 SUs UB (5 burpee penality if you break)
The combo of jet lag, 9 hours of Day 1 at the conference, late night dinner which I might as well called “breakfast” caught up with me. Everything seem to move in slow motion and I couldn’t lunge in straight line. Fail. Uh oh is right. During the workout I was trying my best to stay awake. So tempted to low bear crawl to corner of the studio floor to pass out. Michael was in his own world of fitness suffering. It was quite entertaining to see Michael learn how to jump rope. His mixed emotions of excitement, fear and anxiety reminded me about my first CrossFit experience. He was quite sore for the remainder of our time in Los Angeles.
During the weekend, I took the opportunity to learn about the teammates various fitness and nutrition regime based on their lifestyle. Lucky for us, healthy and active was the common denominator. Surrounding yourself with like minded people kept us accountable with our fitness and nutrition during our time in LA. Sometimes things don’t go as plan when not on your home turf. Workouts are not the same and dining on food off your regular prepared meals can be a bit frustrating for some. However, moments like these are the perfect opportunity to refresh your current routine by overcoming the challenge to adapt, to learn more about yourself and grow from the experience. Use it as your motivation to take your fitness and nutrition to the next level when you come home.
