The Greatest Show on Earth

You might think that after planning the IDEA World Fitness Convention^® for so many consecutive years we’d be weary of the process. Not so! We are more energized by it this year than ever, owing to some of the fabulously creative concepts our team has developed to make every detail of the 2005 event next month in Las Vegas (July 5–9) exceed your expectations. That can be a tall order, considering that we’ve set out to fulfill that objective each of the 23 times we’ve planned this event for you, our treasured members.

Our IDEA Fitness Fusion^™ event in Chicago at the end of April was a sold-out success that has refueled us for this final stretch before IDEA World Fitness, now just a month away. It was excellent to see so many of you in the Windy City and to hear firsthand how you have embraced the Inspire the World to Fitness^™ initiative and managed to get so many inactive people moving. Well done! We are moved and humbled by your successes, and we’re eager to hear more.

Our team shook off the road, unpacked from that trip and began putting the final luster on the plan for the upcoming convention in Las Vegas. As you’ve seen in the brochure, on www.ideafit.com and in the convention updates (including our final update on page 74), the depth and variety of the 2005 program schedule are unsurpassed. There are 10 diverse tracks covering the gamut of specialty areas in a fitness practitioner’s inventory, and they will be taught by the most elite corps of fitness presenters ever gathered on the planet in one place for a week.

Equally exciting are the exhibitor turnout and the array of new “experiences” that await you in the IDEA Fitness & Wellness Expo. In addition to knock-your-socks-off education and the vast product knowledge (and terrific bargains) you’ll amass in the expo hall, you’ll see two very talented keynote speakers and witness the 2005 IDEA Health & Fitness Awards presentations. When you get a second wind each evening, we have some wonderful receptions and a dance party lined up at which you can relax, network and kick up your heels a little bit (or a lot!). Even measuring by our high standards for the convention, this is shaping up to be “the greatest show on earth”—at least for this year.

There are many of you who have come to the IDEA World Fitness Convention repeatedly, and we are grateful for your loyalty and support. We can’t wait to see you next month to catch up on your challenges and successes of the past year.

If you have not yet attended IDEA World Fitness—or if it’s been a few years since we’ve seen you—we hope you’ll attend this year and revel in the complete Inspire the World to Fitness experience. There’s nothing comparable to being thoroughly energized by real stories about how others are helping to turn the tide on obesity and inactivity in their communities. Who knows? An idea you pick up or one you share with colleagues at IDEA World Fitness could be just the spark that lights the fire of health and activity for an individual, a school, a senior center or an entire town. No matter what your motivation for attending the convention this year, we guarantee it will be a positively memorable 5 days. Hope to see you there!

Lactate: Not Guilty As Charged, page 23. What really causes “the burn”?

Family Play Circuit, page 34. When clients cry “no time” and use their kids as an excuse, point them to their local playground.

Special Populations CEC Section, page 48. Earn continuing education credits while you learn more about metabolic syndrome, balance training for older adults and personal training for clients with neuromuscular disorders.

13 Great Reasons to Attend the IDEA World Fitness Convention^®, page 74. Still unsure about attending? Read this final update to get yourself off the fence.

Group Exercise Section, page 93. This array of articles is dedicated to exploring challenges and solutions for teaching overweight and obese participants.

Surviving a Job Termination, page 120. It’s not really the end of the world—it just might be the beginning of something better.

Yours in good health,

Kathie and Peter Davis