Smart Meetings

HEALTHY MEETINGS: Fun and Funky Fitness

Author: Julie Keller
November 2008

Columns

Whether you are an exercise junkie or a sporadic fitness enthusiast, your workout routine while on the road will definitely be a break from the norm. Instead of throwing up your hands and giving up on all exercise options, why not think outside of the box and partake in an unusual (or perhaps even off-the-wall) fitness experience. For you, or for your attendees, it can add an interesting twist to your next event.

“Traveling is the perfect opportunity to try a new workout that you normally don’t do at home,” says Alice Oglethorpe, senior associate editor at Shape magazine. “You aren’t in your usual routine of work-gym-sleep, so this is the time to shake things up a bit.”

If you’re meeting in an intriguing or exotic location, check with your venue to see what sort of indigenous-type offerings are available. In Hawaii, for example, several hotels offer hula-themed fitness classes. The Kahala Hotel & Resort (Honolulu) features a 45-minute Hula Aerobics session that includes low-intensity stretching and gentle
balanced movements, while the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa (also on the island of Oahu) features Hip On Hula, a locally influenced, 55-minute hip and thigh workout.

Meeting-goers who hope to enjoy the gorgeous greens of Scottsdale (Ariz.) can take a swing at the FORE-MAX Training Class ($85) at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. This golf-specific program helps improve anyone’s game with specific exercises intended to increase strength, flexibility and stamina, and avoid common golf injuries. Still other fitness options have nothing to do with your meeting destination and everything to do with technology.

At several Westin properties, including The Westin St. Francis, San Francisco and The Westin Bellevue (Wash.), it’s all about the Wii, a hot, action-packed video game system from Nintendo.

As part of the company’s branded WestinWORKOUT fitness and wellness program, game setups are available in the fitness areas at several properties. Exercisers can break a sweat with such games as boxing, tennis and bowling with Wii Sports, or be led through various exercises, including yoga and strength training, via Wii Fit.

Another way to get fit is to exit your event site altogether and take advantage of the interesting workout options
available at an area club. Crunch, which has seven locations in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles, has a number of fun choices, including the Fire Fighter Workout, which features moves based on drills used by the FDNY, like running up and down stairs, crawling through smoke and breaking through ceilings and walls; plus Urban Rebounding, a class that is conducted entirely on a mini-trampoline. Other classes, such as those that incorporate bellydancing, striptease moves, martial arts and more, can be found at Crunch, Equinox and other gyms throughout the country.

More off-site fun can be had by going back to your youthful roots and planning an action-packed group outing. At Urban Recess in Portland (Ore.), female fitness aficionados can have fun with their workouts via the Recess Class, where grade-schoolthemed team activities like jumping rope, racing opponents around an obstacle course, playing Duck-Duck-Goose and more are taken on by participants.

Or, get your attendees moving with Adult Dodge Ball, a growing group-workout trend. Pickup games and tournaments for adults who pine for their pint-sized glory days are available in most major cities.

When it comes to fitness during your next event, get creative, and your options are only as limited as your imagination. Says Oglethorpe, “Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with a new form of exercise.”