The last time we went to a fitness expo we were motivated by guilt. We had been eating out and doing wine tasting and it was time to get back on track. A couple weekends ago Spokane hosted a health and wellness expo, so Chrysa and I went, guilt free this time. Since getting my personal training certification we have really been on a roll concerning fitness. The Spokane expo was a great opportunity to investigate some variety for our routines and to compare and contrast expo experiences.
The L.A. expo was a huge, glitzy affair. The event was packed with shirtless bros and scantily clad women pimping themselves out to sell blender cups and resistance bands (which we purchased). There were also body builders, YouTube sensations, and Ninja Warriors. The L.A. expo was, in all the best ways, an assault on the senses.
The Spokane expo was much, much more mellow. Replacing the carved out of granite fitness models, were nice older ladies offering to take your blood pressure. This gentler, low key event, was going to be right up our alley, especially for Chrysa who was coming straight from working an overnight shift.
Chrysa and I started by walking around, doing a bit of recon, and making notes of the booths we would visit. While getting our heart rate and BP tested, we verified that I have the heart rate of a dead person. We also discovered that you can test bone density by doing an ankle based assessment, and that Chrysa has better vert jumping skills than we thought.
Like the L.A. expo, this one had some competitions going on. The day were we there they were hosting a kind of Cross Fit games thing. It was pretty cool to see the various feats of strength and endurance these athletes can perform. However, while I found their skills and physiques impressive, I still don’t think Cross Fit is for me. It just doesn’t look like fun. I’ll stick with my routine for now.
Watching the competition got us into a participatory mood. Chrysa tried the Cardio Barre demo, and did really well, of course she was a natural. I did the obstacle course challenge and killed it. It was great to see all of the training paying off. You never know, American Ninja Warrior may be in my future after all.
Chrysa has always been fascinated with the rowing machines at the gym. Apparently Spokane has a rowing based gym and luckily they had a booth at the expo. Chrysa and I went head to head in a VR rowing race. It was a blast and a hell of a workout. I can see myself adding rowing into my training mix.
After rowing, things kinda fell off the rails. This is the first fitness/health and wellness expo I have ever been to that had a beer and wine garden. Chrysa had been awake all night, and I never turn my nose up at a chance to do some day drinking, so we bought some tickets. Our tickets included a keepsake tasting glass and five tasting of whatever we wanted. We started with mimosas and worked our way up from there. For the next little while we worked our way through ample pours of wine and beer, while chatting with the bartenders and fellow fitness enthusiasts. By the end of the tasting we had successfully negated any health benefits we had gained from the expo, so… mission accomplished!
We further nosedived by going out for pizza and beer afterwards. It’s interesting… we went to the L.A. expo out of guilt and left the Spokane expo feeling guilty. Maybe we aren’t on such a fitness roll after all. Hmmm… where’s that rowing brochure.
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