Fitness Managers Fuel Their Passion at Must-Attend Event

You’ve got the passion to succeed in fitness management—now you can fuel that passion with new energy, ideas, skills, connections and motivators at the action-packed 2014 IDEA World Fitness Convention in Anaheim, California, August 13–17.

The IDEA World Fitness Convention could well be the healthiest place on earth this summer, with 12,000 personal trainers, group fitness instructors, mind-body professionals, and fitness facility owners and managers from more than 60 countries coming together to experience the best education and top new trends in the industry.

With over 360 educational sessions on the widest range of health, fitness and wellness topics available anywhere, IDEA World Fitness is set to be the industry event of 2014. Courses are taught by the most-respected experts in the field, and the convention offers a unique opportunity to get to know leaders and representatives from the finest fitness and wellness brands in the world.

Featuring World Record-Setting Athlete Diana Nyad

Few people know more about passion and commitment than 2014 IDEA World Fitness Convention keynote speaker and long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, who has been called “the toughest athlete in the world” and who completed her historic Cuba-to-Florida swim last year with the mantra, “Find a way.” Nyad will share her harrowing and remarkable story as she accepts the 2014 IDEA Jack LaLanne Award, presented by Elaine LaLanne, at the Opening Ceremonies.

The Opening Ceremonies will also feature the legendary 2007 IDEA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Augie Nieto, founder and retired chief executive of Life Fitness and chairman of Octane® Fitness. Nieto will share his courageous journey to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the disease he was diagnosed with in 2005.

In 2014, by popular demand, the IDEA awards—the “Academy Awards of Fitness”!—are returning to the Opening Ceremonies. You’ll learn from the inspiring career paths of the 2014 IDEA Program Director of the Year, IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year and IDEA Group Fitness Instructor of the Year.

A Whole New Experience for 2014

Brand-new sessions, presenters, equipment, activities and entertainment will be shaking things up this year for an awesome IDEA World Fitness experience, featuring opportunities for you to accelerate your professional and personal success:

• For the first time, IDEA World Fitness is collaborating with Yoga Journal to bring you the preconference Yoga Journal LIVE! event, which will help you refine and expand your yoga programs and support your staff. See www.ideafit.com/world/yogajournal for more details.
• The first-ever IDEA Summer Games, brought to you by Les Mills, will let you (and your staff) battle it out on the outdoor Grand Plaza for gold, silver or bronze medals. Scheduled competitions include Runner’s Revenge; Strength and Conditioning Match-Up; Speed, Agility and Quickness Challenge; and the Les Mills GRIT™ Games Competition.
• For the first time, IDEA is partnering with Hay House Publishing to bring you Transformation Saturday, your opportunity to hear keynote presentations from four best-selling authors and groundbreaking speakers in the field of personal transformation.

Hot Tickets at the Event

Here are a few more can’t-miss convention highlights:

• Be sure you visit the IDEA World Showcase Room, featuring Jillian Michaels, Tony Horton, Tara Stiles, Todd Durkin, MA, and other fitness celebrities in high-voltage concert-style workouts.
• Browse, test and sample products and services from 300 top industry brands in fitness, wellness and nutrition at the IDEA World Fitness & Nutrition Expo Hall. Plan your budget now so you can save money on equipment and license fees.
• Encourage staff to compete to win IDEA’s popular Inspiration Medals in creative challenges offered in select sessions.
• Wear your colorful tropical attire for the IDEA Opening Reception Luau, Thursday night, in the Expo Hall.

Programs for Fitness Managers and Owners

Convention sessions give you an opportunity to explore new markets, techniques, skills and ideas. Find out how to invest in the ideas and strategies that will bring you the strongest and fastest return, from marketing and sales to team building and building more profit into your operation. Learn to create in-club programming that sparks member interest, and discover how to hire superstars, deliver useful feedback to your instructors and trainers, turbocharge profits and more. Here’s a look at some of the top featured areas on the program for business owners, fitness managers and program directors:

• Hiring and Employee Retention
• Technology
• Group Exercise and Group Training for Profit
• New Revenue Strategies
• Marketing and Sales
• Team Building and Culture
• Leadership

Build Skills and Revenue With Preconference and Postconference Courses

It’s important that staff stay current on CECs and other relevant training. One of the best professional opportunities at IDEA World Fitness is the specialized training available before the event—and this year, for the first time, in-depth courses are also being offered after the event. All preconference and postconference courses offer a certificate of completion. For more information on certification details, prerequisite courses, materials provided, etc., see full course descriptions at www.ideafit.com/world. This year, you and your staff can choose from 13 preconference and 4 postconference courses.

A Mecca for Fitness Managers

The 2014 IDEA World Fitness Convention will be packed with powerful opportunities to get a high return on your investment, including networking connections to help you open doors; expert strategies for expanding your income; and 5 eye-opening days of new research, programs and products to set you apart from competitors back home.

Fraser Quelch, 2011 IDEA Program Director of the Year and the head of training and development for TRX, recalls how attending an IDEA World Fitness Convention changed his career. “My relationship with TRX began at IDEA World Convention in 2004. From that one meeting, my career took a tremendous turn, and I’ve had the opportunity to experience and help shape some incredible things! There is simply no better way to boost your knowledge, grow your career, and network with the best in the industry. IDEA attracts the brightest in the business and the best thought leaders in the world. Even if you tried, you would not be able to leave an IDEA event without a raft of fresh ideas that will redefine you as a fitness professional.”

For more information, see www.ideafit.com/world.