Joy Keller's blog

 I love fitness. I always have. The most frustrating thing for me as an obese child growing up in an obese family was lack of physical activity. I felt trapped inside my body. I couldn’t understand why my body didn’t bend, twist and maneuver the way other kids’ bodies did. Why couldn’t I tumble, use the monkey bars and dodge the ball quicker? I felt like an athlete and I succeeded at some sports; but I never felt as if I lived up to my true potential.  I’ve made it a mission to find that lost athlete inside me in my adult years.

I am leaving IDEA Personal Trainer Institute today--hopefully a step ahead of the "wintry mix"--in a better body that houses a better mind and spirit. I personally believe that a healthy body is the gateway to a healthy mind, but then again I also believe the whole kit and caboodle is intertwined to a point that we don't really know the main influencer. I do know this: I feel better when I take care of my vehicle. This seems to also be the case with the folks who trust me to train them.

Why aren't you at this event? Do you already know it all? In her session, One of the Top 10 Biggest Mistakes Trainers Make and How to Avoid Them, Nicki Anderson listed the know-it-all mentality as one trap personal trainers fall into. "I have a degree and 7 years of experience. I don't need to go to a conference to learn anything new. There's nothing new. I know it all." How can that be possible? I really want to know. Hardly anyone was talking about fascial lines 10 years ago.

I start looking forward to IDEA Personal Trainer Institute around November when all the holiday hub bub starts. I am not a fan of the holidays, but this event is like Christmas to me and it's one gift after another--continuing education, networking, a break from routine and play. After enjoying a nice, full day of the conference I can definitely say I am like a kid who got exactly what she wanted for "Christmas." The key must have been unlocking the power of my psoas first thing this morning in Sue Hitzmann's session by the same name.

I was running from the parking deck, yoga mat in hand, afraid of missing one millisecond of the 2011 Inner IDEA Conference when I was quite literally smacked down by what can only be described as deliberate slowness. You know, relaxation. It was palpable. I felt a twinge of shame for being in a rush. That's how magnetic this micrososm of wellness was at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines hotel. I realized I was going to have to hang up my hurries, which was fine with me. Eventually.

This morning I woke up to a warm fire crackling around me. Turbo Fire, to be precise. While the showcase room at the J.W. Marriott did have a panoply of video-generated fire on multiple screens (you have to check out this room!), the real fire came from Chalene Johnson. She led us through a high-intensity bout of cardiovascular training (better than coffee any day) and reminded us how inspirational it is to combine music with movement and motivation.

I always feel like a bit of a rock star anytime I put a conference lanyard around my neck. It makes me feel as if I have special access to something. And of course, I do. I have insider information to some of the highest quality education, training techniques and philosophies in the fitness industry--right here under my feet at The 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention in Los Angeles. Well, I should say around my feet, beside my feet, behind my feet and above my feet. It’s a bubble. Let me explain.

Every year I return home from IDEA’s conferences a changed woman in one way or another. Sometimes I feel like I come home a better writer and editor because I’ve been immersed in a new world of experiences. Other times I come back feeling like a better person just because I’ve stepped outside myself, met some amazing people, and allowed my head and heart to expand a bit. I’ve worked at IDEA for almost 9 years, and before that I attended conferences as a staff member at the American Council on Exercise. So you can say I am a fan. Why the obsequious build up?

Forget multiplanar. I want multilocation. Why oh why can’t I be in all sessions at the same time? There are so many amazing options to up the ante on education and I am feeling anxious. While I want to be taking notes on the unstable pelvis and how to assess masses and spaces, I also want to be trying out the five different variations on the Turkish Get-up and I also want to take on the heavy rope. Argh! I want it all and I want it now!

Stepping off the airplane, on to a shuttle and into the world of IDEA Personal Trainer Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, is like opening the door from black and white to technicolor. For you younger folks who may not get the reference, this is what happened to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, after the tornado died down and she stepped a pre-ruby red slippered foot on to the beginning of the yellow brick road. I hope I haven’t used this reference before--perhaps I have. Regardless, I do feel as if I’m this close to the Emerald city.