This year kicked off right with the LA Fit Expo, where nearly 60,000 expected attendees were on hand to share their love of fitness and health.  

The conference and exhibition was held Jan. 23-24 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. With so much going on at the show, it was hard to know where to go first.  And, with the two-day format, attendees packed the floor to get in as much as possible.

The showfloor had exhibitors, martial arts demonstrations and competition, group fitness classes, attendee competitions, such as body building and exercise, and the Healthy Eating Pavilion, where education classes on nutrition were held.

“I am already losing my voice, but the attendee excitement is great,” said Jackie Locascio, graphic designer of Healing Tree, a first-time exhibitor of the show. “We have seen great interest in our products as they are made of natural materials. The attendees here are looking for new items that can help them stay healthy, and so having a booth here made sense.”

Attendees had their overall health and wellbeing in mind, and also were looking for new products to assist them with their fitness goals. “I am looking for items specifically to improve my workout routine, such as a good pre-workout drink supplement,” Angela Gomez said. “At this show, I get to test a lot of new products coming into the market, and see what I like.  That makes this show so much fun to attend.”

The Healthy Eating Pavilion was a popular area on the showfloor.  Speakers Sean Torbati and Marc Lobliner of Tiger Fitness reviewed their take on nutrition.

“Nutrition is key for good performance and good health,” Torbati said.  Lobliner commented that “sometimes you need to go back to basics, reviewing your core strength, cardio and eating habits.”

There was also a strong focus on women’s health and fitness.  Speaker Tanji Johnson had standing room only at her nutrition talk. “The focus should be on striving for progress, not perfection, and as women, we sometimes feel we need to be perfect.  What I want to see is a message of empowering women to be healthy versus thin. If you focus on health, the body will come,” said Johnson. 

One complaint some attendees made was the competing noise of the different activities on the showfloor.

“Some of the educational sessions on nutrition were very hard to hear, with the attendee competition just a short distance away,” said attendee Allen Kim. “But I love seeing the demonstrations on new products, and being able to try them out. It gives me new products and techniques to take to my clients. It is a bit noisy, but there is plenty to see and experience.”

The exhibitors, however, were very happy with the hustle and bustle. “This has been a great turnout, and we are seeing a tremendous reception of our products,” said Mike Fransz, vice president of marketing at Pro Yo Frozen Yogurt.

He added, “Many consumers are looking for new ways to increase their protein intake, and our patented formula allows that in a liquid form without added suspension. This is our second time exhibiting at Fit Expo, and this show is such a natural fit for us.”

If you missed this show, you have not missed out on the latest fitness trends. There are two upcoming Fit Expo shows.

Fit Expo San Jose will be held May 21-22 at the San Jose (Calif.) Convention Center, and Fit Expo Anaheim will be held Aug. 27-28 at the Anaheim Convention Center.