Take the IDEA World Fitness Challenge!

How daring are you? What will it take for you to risk the status quo and stretch beyond your comfort zone to create a new success story for yourself? You’ll have hundreds of opportunities to challenge yourself with brand-new programs, equipment and research, inspiring personalities, groundbreaking experts and in-depth education opportunities at the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention™, August 11-14, in Los Angeles.

Here are some of this year’s not-to-be-missed highlights:

• Keynote speaker Apolo Ohno is the most decorated American Winter Olympian and author of Zero Regrets: Be Greater Than Yesterday (Atria 2010). He was just 19 years old when he won gold and silver medals at the 2002 Winter Games. Four years later, at the 2006 Olympics, he returned to win three more short-track speed-skating medals. When he made history by earning another three medals in 2010, Ohno was 27 years old. He will share his inspiring personal story and give you his secrets for achieving focus and mental toughness in every aspect of life.
• In his keynote address, Daniel G. Amen, MD, best-selling author of Magnificent Mind at Any Age (Three Rivers 2009) and The Amen Solution (Crowne 2011), will challenge what you know about the brain-body connection. He is assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, and medical director of Amen Clinics Inc. in Newport Beach and Fairfield, California; Bellevue, Washington; and Reston, Virginia. Amen Clinics have the world’s largest database of functional brain scans and use a sophisticated brain-imaging study called SPECT, which has helped identify seven different types of anxiety and depression, six different types of attention deficit disorder and five different types of obesity.
• New to the fitness convention this year is the IDEA World Showcase Room, a large, high-energy presentation and workout space at the JW Marriott hotel. Top-name presenters and their guests will deliver unique fitness experiences. “Big” music, lights and sound will set the stage for the dynamic performances that everyone will be talking about. Showcase Room presenters include Tony Horton, Louis Van Amstel, Chalene Johnson, Rodney D. Carson (with a Marine Corps-inspired boot camp workout), Brett Hoebel (the newest trainer on The Biggest Loser, with a kickboxing/capoeria workout) and personal trainer “Top Guns” Douglas Brooks, Todd Durkin, Fraser Quelch and Peter Twist.
• Take the challenge at IDEA World 2011! There will be a unique challenge (physical, mental or inspirational) in every educational session throughout the weekend. Those chosen will receive an IDEA Individual Challenge Medal and an opportunity to win fabulous prizes. IDEA will also present the C360 Challenge during the fitness convention which will lead up to the finals on Sunday.
• Attention, personal trainers: Over 50% of this year’s fitness convention programming is designed with personal trainers in mind. The IDEA World Personal Trainer Convention is a collection of more than 150 sessions targeted to personal trainers and offered as a subset of the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention program.
• At IDEA World you can earn up to 20 CECs from ACE, ACSM, AFAA, BOC, NASM-CPT, NESTA, NETA, NFPT, NSCA-CPT/CSCS and W.I.T.S. When you attend the Premier Seminars, you’ll have even more CEC opportunities.

Full Day of Premier Seminars Thursday, August 11
You can also choose from 16 Premier Seminars. These in-depth, all-day sessions give you the opportunity to expand your skill set and grow your career or business. Additional fees apply for Premier Seminars.

Here are just a handful of the seminars (for a complete list, see www.ideafit.com/conference/idea-world-fitness-convention-2011/premier-seminars):

• Schwinn® Indoor Cycling Instructor Training Course, presented by Julz Arney and Jay Blahnik
• Kranking® Fundamentals Instructor Training, presented by Yvonne Juarez
• Corporate Wellness—The Multibillion Dollar Wave of the Future, presented by Mark Kelly, PhD
• Training the Fascial Lines, presented by Douglas Brooks, MS, Cassidy Phillips and Peter Twist, MSc
• Gray Institute: Functional Assessment Strategies & Program Design, presented by Gary Gray, PT, and Lenny Parracino
• STOTT PILATES® Mat-Plus™, presented by Sally Belanger

For detailed session descriptions, the event schedule and more information on the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention, see www.ideafit.com/conference/idea-world-fitness-convention-2011.