The Highlight of 2014 IDEA World’s Blogfest: Jillian Michaels! {Day 2 Recap}

Happy Hump Day everyone!

This week is going by fast for me, partly because I’ve been trying to catch up on work and rest the past few days. I was beat after having a busy schedule, so much fun, and little sleep while at IDEA World! Speaking of which, today I’m recapping day two of the convention. Let’s get to it!

My Friday began with a 7 AM bootcamp workout with Caroline and Moe, who are both fitness instructors in Boston. I met both of these women the first day of Blogfest, and immediately thought that they both were super cool. Caroline and I already had been following each other on Twitter, and I recognized her from social media. This seemed to be a theme at IDEA World, which made it even more fun because you’re meeting people you already virtually “know.”

The ladies led the group through a cardio/body weight workout that definitely started the day in a sweaty, awesome way! Bootcamp class group shot:

Afterwards, Cassey Ho, the creator of Blogilates, gave a presentation on turning your blog into a money-making brand. She was witty and relatable, and one takeaway message I got from her lecture was the importance of finding your own voice.  

Next on the agenda was the highlight of the conference for me: Jillian Michaels speaking right in front of me!! I’ve talked about Jillian on the blog before because I own so many of her DVDs (a review of her Yoga Inferno DVD can be found here) and am a huge fan of her. I was pretty much geeking out when she walked into the room.

Some of the other Blogfest attendees talked about how different she was than they’d expected, but I think that Jillian’s personality was exactly how I pictured it to be. In her DVDs, her real personality comes through more so than on The Biggest Loser. She seems kick-ass but at the same time kind hearted and authentic. Pretty much I love her!

Jillian’s speech was full of great life motto one-liners and pieces of advice. Here are a few powerful ideas that I jotted down:

• Passion is everything.
• A great teacher is going to be the best student.
• Having an open mind is imperative to being a well rounded, healthy person.
• Failure is an entry point for learning. Fear can be paralyzing and corrosive, but we’re all worthy of being successful if we work hard to achieve our goals. Ask yourself, why not you? 
•  We can’t live without fear, but we can live our lives without regret if we always try for the things we want.
• When you respect yourself, you command respect from others.

After the lecture, I bounced around the IDEA World Expo hall on a Jillian Michaels’ high. I nabbed this cute bracelet from the Momentum booth that says Live every day with intention. They had so many pieces that I adored. Below is a photo of Carrie (another fun person I met at the conference!) and I showing off our bracelets:

After our lunch break, Blogfest resumed with a blogger panel session featuring three successful bloggers. One of the panelists was Julie from PB Fingers, whose blog was the first healthy living blog I ever read! I had a chance to chat with her for a bit, and she was just as sweet in person as she seems on her blog.

Next up: the second workout of the day, which was a yoga session with Tara Stiles. She’s the founder of Strala Yoga in NYC.

(Brittany and me)

Tara led us through an hour-long yoga flow class. It felt good to stretch out after a high-impact bootcamp workout in the morning – especially since we sat for hours afterwards, which seems to tighten my muscles up.

Following yoga was one more blogger session, and then the closing party of Blogfest. I had such a blast at Blogfest and am so happy that I attended! I enjoyed being part of a smaller, more intimate event within the larger event of IDEA World. The sessions were great, and it was a lot of fun getting to meet other bloggers. I’m excited to try out the fun swag that I got from the event (a few things pictured are from IDEA World in general):

I’ll definitely be talking about some of the above items as I get to try them out!

During the conference, I stayed at my cousin’s place nearby, so my Friday concluded with a dinner date with her. I practically inhaled this crispy tofu dish, which had sesame noodles and veggies underneath it. Must.recreate.soon! It was so yummy.

I stayed in Anaheim for some post-Blogfest weekend fun at IDEA World, so stay tuned for my recap of that soon!

Tell me… Are you a Jillian Michaels fan? Any celebrities that you have totally geeked out at? Any questions about Blogfest?