IDEA Personal Trainer Institute March 2013

Alexandria, VA, begins to grow on me, and the proximity to Raleigh has a lot to do with it. The much smaller size of the conference itself with only about 800 participants (as opposed to 5000 for the IDEA World event) makes it feel almost intimate. It’s funny to compare this conference to its big brother. The absence of group exercise instructors makes it a lot more low key, and the reduced noise level is most welcome to me.

Since Sue Hitzmann presented at this conference, 3 time slots for lectures and/or workshops were automatically assigned because I use any opportunity to re-learn the MELT material. As such, her sessions were the highlights of the conference for me, particularly her one lecture on chronic pain. The rest of the sessions were informative. I enjoyed the one with the Dynamax ball but will first need to get a non-weighted beach ball to practice before throwing 6 lbs. at my clients. The other sessions may have provided some insights to newer trainers but – let’s face is – I am a veteran now in the field. So I should feel good if there is no ‘take home’ message in some cases because it is already there.

The next two conferences are already on the books. The IDEA World Fitness conference will be in August in Los Angeles, and the Personal Trainer Institute in 2014 will mean another trip to Alexandria.

If you are interested in all conference notes, you will find those on my web site http://www.meltnc.com/page718.html.

I Joined a CSA

Since last week, I feel particularly virtuous. I have joined a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) and have started indulging in truly fresh vegetables which I pick up once a week.

The concept of my chosen farm is a little different from others: I get to pick from a list which is forwarded to me once a week. I can also skip a week if I want to. What had prevented me from joining before where the stories of people getting delivery of whatever vegetable is abundant, and while I like vegetables in general, I did not cherish the thought of a box full of one which I may not be particularly fond of.   

So now I am off to expand my vegetable horizon, and have already encountered a new one: Red Russian Kale.  Courtesy of the internet, a recipe was quickly on hand, and it was a wonderful choice. Picking vegetables from a list works really well for me because I am not an adventurous cook. If I don’t know what to do with it, I don’t buy it unless I am reasonably sure that I can eat it raw.

I am looking forward to a year of fresh veggies. In case you want to know: go towww.wildonionfarms.com and see for yourself.