I’m three days out from FitBloggin’, and I’m still taking everything in. The conference was very well organized, with everything taking place on time and a packed schedule. Every moment that I wasn’t in a session or fitness class, I was talking to other bloggers and PR professionals, browsing the Expo Hall, or eating delicious food during one of their meal/snack breaks. There was zero downtime because I wanted to make the most of everything on offer, and there was a torrent of valuable information to take in! Not to mention the fact that I was at the conference hot on the heels of two other events (Never mind everything else that’s been going on) and I averaged 1 hour of sleep each night during the conference.

So all that being said, I’m trying to sort through my thoughts as I also catch up here. You know that scene in Johnny Mnemonic where they upload so much data to his brain that his head almost explodes? That’s a little how I felt by the end of the conference. 😉 But I mean that in a good way – the conference covered everything from SEO and business practices to yoga and workouts in between; there were also emotional discussions about personal topics, not to mention learning hundreds of names, Twitter handles, and entering tons of giveaways with a variety of hashtags. It was awesome!

So, I thought I’d start off my recaps by going over the discussions I attended. These were more casual panels where a speaker introduced a topic and encouraged the audience to introduce themselves and participate.

Dealing With Injuries

This was the first discussion I attended at FitBloggin’ and it was great. Led by the awesome Deb Roby of Weight For Deb, Dealing With Injuries was a panel near to my heart and experiences. Anyone who has followed my blogs recently is aware of the injury I sustained while using a stair machine at the gym which dislocated both my kneecaps and destroyed my mobility for years. The fact that I could even consider coming to this conference and walking around the hotel all day – never mind going to the fitness classes! – was a huge victory to me after suffering for so long and I thought this panel was the perfect way to start out my FitBloggin’ experience. It was wonderful to commiserate with others who had dealt with long-term, debilitating injuries and their often-overlooked or misunderstood consequences. There were many other young women who had similar stories with knee injuries and pointed out how it can be difficult for outsiders to look at someone who appears “Healthy” and understand that there is anything wrong with them. I love that FitBloggin’ is for all individuals who have an interest in health and fitness – you could be a personal trainer, or you could be someone who hasn’t been able to work out at all due to injury; all are welcome and can gain something from this conference.

Stop Keeping up with the Joneses

Stop Keeping up with the Joneses was the session that I had the pleasure of live blogging! Headed by the wonderful Liz Paul of Prior Fat Girl, this discussion covered the “Comparison trap” and how we sabotage our fitness goals and accomplishments by feeling inadequate to others. I’d love for you to click on over to the FitBloggin’ blog and check out my transcript/overview of the session!

Getting Paid vs Paying Blogger Dues

This was a fabulous two-hour roundtable discussion led by the lovely Leah Segedie of BookieBoo & Mamavation. Getting Paid vs Paying Blogger Dues was a unique opportunity to discuss business strategy in person and at length with others in the industry, all coming from slightly different perspectives but sharing surprisingly similar experiences. With emerging industries like social media, the business behind blogging can leave many outsiders puzzled and I really enjoyed hearing from others who do what I do on a daily basis, understand, and manage the exact same kind of workload I do. I found this to be one of the most valuable sessions I attended – two hours probably sounds like a very long discussion, but the time whizzed right by. I truly enjoyed listening to and chatting with everyone who was in attendance.