Be Fit With Biray

Last year when I attended SXSW Interactive, I was sitting on the audience side of this panel. A panel of four presenters (whose tech-geek lifestyles had hindered their health) shared the non-tech related things they did to reverse the ill-effects of their sedentary behaviors (such as walking, yoga, etc). While panelists’ insights came from experiential perspective, at some point they entertained discussions outside the scope of their expertise (like diet and exercise prescription) and neglected to focus on anything tech-related or its potential interactivity in fitness.

My hope was to go back this year and share the ‘fitter’ side of tech by showing how people could actually *use* web 2.0 tools to jump start their personal fitness journey. In a way, my goal was to pick up where last year’s session left off. I suggested a wide-array of fitness-related (and non-fitness related, but web-based) tools available. Check out the list here.

My co-facilitator for the session was David Eckoff, a ‘tech-guy’ into fitness. He shared his experiences on how he overcame the barriers of sedentary, techno-driven lifestyle in order to adopt healthier habits.

Several conference attendees at our session wrote the following reviews. Feel free to check them out: Omar Gallaga, Tracy Russo, and Laura Moncur.

[Also, here is a picture from the session.]

I am looking forward to my second year attending SXSW interactive conference in Austin, Texas. Although I am only able to stay for one day (Friday), this year I will be moderating a “Core Conversation” with co-facilitator David Eckoff.

Our session is entitled “Reduce MySpace between My Waist & Thighs so Wiki Live Longer” – the description is as follows: Is being too ‘plugged in’ 24/7 destroying your health? There’s good news: web 2.0 technologies can help you optimize your fitness! Come learn and discuss. Our session is Friday, March 13th at 5pm.

During our conversation, we hope to engage attendees in a discussion about the health consequences of living in a techno-driven world. Obviously, we all depend on technologies for many of our daily conveniences. And some would even argue this has enabled us in making our lives more sedentary. However, I think there could be more positive sides to our technological influences and believe people can actually use web 2.0 tools to improve their health and fitness, not take away from it.

I look forward to sharing some of these tools during our conversation and learning from David’s experiences, as well as, my fellow colleagues and SXSW participants at this year’s interactive.

Get ready to ‘rawk’
(@befitt)

Fitness professionals are often told that they should take advantage of podcasting as a marketing tool. And while there are plenty of certified trainers and instructors out there, there are only a handful of them who share their exercise expertise through podcasting. (This does not include the fitness podcasts that guide you through a workout.)

One of my favorite podcasts is the Quick & Dirty Tip’s Nutrition Diva, hosted by Monica Reinagel, a board-certified Licensed Nutritionist and a professionally-trained chef (and opera singer!). She shares regular tips about nutrition and diet in about 5 minutes! Her episode topics are very relevant and easy for anyone to understand.

Besides having timely content (often in response to listener questions), this Nutrition Diva does an excellent job ENGAGING her audience via Twitter and in Facebook. Her responses are quick and personal. Also, Nutrition Diva recently launched a ‘widget’ that allows anyone to post her episodes on the web. Grab the code below by clicking on “get this widget”:

For those personal trainers or health coaches who want to get involved in podcasting, listen to Nutrition Diva and learn from her example. Even if you don’t want to create your own podcast, you can still benefit from knowing what podcasts to recommend. As a college health instructor, I often include these podcasts into the design of my course (especially during the nutrition unit). However, you can just as easily embed the Nutrition Diva widget on the side bar of a blog or website as supplemental information for your clients, too!