2012 Fitness & Health Bloggers Conference

The 2012 Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference will take place June 22-24 at The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center in Denver, Colorado. See below the agenda for an explanation of each session.

2012 AGENDA AND CONTENT

Thursday, June 21

9:30 AM            Meet at hotel for optional excursion to the mountains hosted by goodnessKnows (details here – space limited to 20)
10:00 AM          Meet at airport for optional excursion to the mountains hosted by goodnessKnows (details here – space limited to 20)
6:45 PM             Optional cocktail party for FitFluential members

Friday, June 22

7:30 – 8:30        Blogger Breakfast with Attune Foods

8:30 – 11:20      Fitness & Health Blogging – Advice from the Experts
This is an optional morning for those who blog or are interested in blogging, brought to you by FitFluential.

• 8:30: Basics of Blogging: Finding a niche, setting your goals, selecting a URL, blogging software, plugins, SEO, design, etc.
• 9:20: Ethics & Legalities
• 9:50: 20-minute fitness break
• 10:10: Creating a Community: Reader Comments, Twitter, Facebook, Connecting with Other Bloggers, etc.
• 10:50: Q&A / Group Discussion

11:30 AM           Registration, tradeshow, small group tours of The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, and lunch on your own (finishes at 1:15 PM)

1:30 PM             Conference Welcome

1:45 PM             Keynote Speaker: Dr. James O. Hill on the Importance of an Evidence-Based Approach to Health & Wellness

2:30 PM            Current Evidence on Achieving and Maintaining Physical Fitness with Dr. Iñigo San Millán

3:20 PM            20-Minute Break

3:40 PM            Four Cohort Breakout Sessions (each attendee is assigned to one cohort and will rotate through the four topics)

• Cooking Demo in the on-site healthy cooking demo kitchen.
• Fitness Center Lab visit where professional athletes are tested to achieve athletic performance enhancement.
• Consumer Research Grocery Store and Restaurant where theories of everyday healthy lifestyles are tested
• Communication via the Internet Discussion: Discuss how best to communicate health and fitness information via the internet.

5:00 PM           Optional Exercise Classes

6:15 PM            Casual Dinner courtesy of Chipotle

Saturday, June 23

7:00 AM           Optional Exercise Classes

8:00 AM           Breakfast courtesy of Choose Cherries

9:30 AM           Current Evidence on Integrative (Alternative) Medicine with Dr. Lisa Corbin

10:20 AM         Locating and Assessing Health and Wellness Information on the Internet with Dana Abbey

11:05 AM         20-minute Fitness Break: Inserting Fitness Into the Workplace

11:25 AM         Communicating Health & Wellness Information via the Internet with Janet Helm

12:10 PM          Lunch on your own

1:30 PM            Cohort Breakout Sessions at Anschutz Health & Wellness Bldg.

2:40 PM            Cohort Breakout Sessions at Anschutz Health & Wellness Bldg.

3:50 PM            Cohort Breakout Sessions at Anschutz Health & Wellness Bldg.

5:15 PM            Break / Optional Exercise Classes

6:30 PM             Dinner at Anschutz Health & Wellness Bldg. on the Green Roof

Sunday, June 24

7:00 AM            Optional Exercise Classes

9:00 AM            Real-Life Use of the Internet in the Fitness World with Adam Bordes and Ted Vickey

10:10 AM           Current Evidence on Weight Loss and Weight Management with Dr. Holly Wyatt

11:20 AM           Final Group Discussion and Q&A With Colorado Center Staff

12:00 PM           Presentation of State of Fitness & Health Blogging Survey Results

12:30 PM           Conference Finish

Topic Sessions

Fitness & Health Blogging: Advice from the Experts: Friday morning will be optional for bloggers (or would-be bloggers) to learn more about the intricacies of blogging. Presentations will be given by experienced health and fitness bloggers from FitFluential and topics will include finding a blogging niche, determining which software to use, design, ethics, legalities, creating a sense of community, etc.

Current Evidence on Weight Loss and Weight Management: What is the biggest single factor affecting the health of Americans? Weight management. We are now bombarded with pitches for weight loss products and plans. But what really is the best way to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight? Dr. Holly Wyatt from The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center will review current evidence on weight loss and weight management.

Current Evidence on Physical Fitness: How much exercise do you really need to be fit? Learn from Dr. Iñigo San Millán of The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center what the best way to achieve and maintain physical fitness. Current theories and studies on cardiovascular and muscular fitness will be presented and examined.

Current Evidence on Integrative (Alternative) Medicine: Do those natural pills recommended by your friend really work? Has Does bikram yoga have any proven health benefits? Should you meditate daily? Dr. Lisa Corbin from The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center will provide an overview of the current evidence on integrative (alternative) medicine.

Locating and Assessing Health and Wellness Information on the Internet: Part of blogging about health and fitness is the ability to locate and assess good information via the internet. We all know it is possible to find information to support your view, whatever that view might be. However, as a blogger, it is your responsibility to seek out quality information from reputable sources. Dana Abbey, Health Information Literacy Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (MidContinental region) will show you how in this session.

Communicating Health & Wellness Information via the Internet: Let’s say you have done the research, found reputable information to support a position, and you then write about it on your blog. How do you as a communicator of health and wellness information get your point across in a believable, effective way? Learn from expert Janet Helm some of the rules of effective communication via the internet, especially as it relates to health, wellness, and fitness.

Four Cohort Breakout Sessions: We will break attendees into four cohorts and each cohort will rotate through a series of four hands-on sessions led by experts at The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.

• Cooking Demo: Learn healthy cooking techniques in the Center’s cooking test kitchen.
• Fitness Lab: Learn about current techniques for maximizing your fitness and watch a professional athlete be tested for physical performance.
• Grocery Lab: Learn how The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center tests and analyzes shopping habits of everyday Americans in this grocery lab.
• Communication on the Internet: Discuss how you can best communicate health and wellness information via the internet, with moderators Jerry Perry and Lisa Traditi of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Library.

Optional Exercise Classes: Four times during the conference (Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning) we will have optional fitness classes led by fitness experts atThe Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. This will be your chance to get outside (or in the gym) to learn about current fitness courses, running techniques, new trends, etc. See the Activities page of this website for details.