My weekend at Healthy Living Summit

I’m back in my regular routine after a great weekend at the Healthy Living Summit! I had always wanted to go, and being in the Boston area, this was a great chance for me to check it out. And boy, was I happy I did. This is my whirlwind recap.

Going in to HLS, I had only met one of the bloggers in real life. I wasn’t sure how things went, if everyone already had plans for Friday night, etc. I checked in and went to register, gave my last name, and a Heather said “Michelle? HI!! I’m so excited to meet you!”. And I was nervous no more.

I went upstairs and checked out my great bag of goodies.

I tweeted Chase (we’ve been Twitter/blog friends for years and I was excited to meet her in person!) and asked if she wanted to meet up and grab something to eat and we went for a stroll and brought some dinner back, ate it, and got ready for the cocktail party. I have to admit, I did not take many pictures all weekend! Case in point, the only pictures I have from the cocktail party involve me in Groucho Marx glasses.

Saturday morning I got ready for a day of workouts and workshop. Clad in my exercise clothes to go have breakfast with a large group of (mostly) females I didn’t know, I felt like I was back in high school at summer volleyball camp. But, I was wearing my new purple Reebok RealFlex shoes that we were given so… I felt good.

(I was also wearing shorts. I swear.)

After breakfast we went into the pavillion to try out CrossFit… I was super excited.

We learned a little bit about the philosophy and methodology of CrossFit, then went over air squats and jumps, and did a five minute workout. It was short, but great. I would definitely be interested in finding a CrossFit box and getting after it.

I spent the break showering, checking out, bringing my luggage downstairs and then back upstairs to the room I was lucky to be sharing with a Elizabeth, and getting back downstairs for sessions.

Throughout the course of the day, I went to: Blog Photography Basics with a Gretchen, Blog Design Bootcamp with a Julie, I am the Blogger in Your Neighborhood with a Holly, Meghann, and Clare, and The Fuzzy Grey Areas of Blogging with Rachel, Dori and Teri. They were all great! I felt most clueless in the blog design and photography areas, so I was especially happy that sessions were offered for that, and I love learning about photography… (note to self: get a Gorilla Pod, stat). I also really enjoyed the keynote speakers presents by Wild Harvest, who taught us about recipe development. I pulled a lot away from these presentations and am definitely looking forward to implementing all the new tips and tricks… thanks, ladies!

I have no pictures from my Ultimate Bootcamp workout but… trust me. It was awesome. It was a great mix of strength training and cardio, there was some partner work, mostly solo stuff, all intense. I left feeling proud of myself for going, weak from taxing my muscles, and foolish for forgetting a water. I kind of felt like a raisin. I also wish they offered this workout in the Lowell area, I really liked it.

I went out and grabbed dinner in Harvard Square with Chase and Gretchen. How have I never hung out in Harvard Square? Its so cute! We had a great time chatting and laughing, and before I knew it, it was time to head back so I could tuck Rich in.

He was exhausted after holding that weight up all day.

HLS was a great weekend with lots of laughs, new workouts, healthy food and great information. But my favorite part was the people. It sounds cliché, but everyone was so friendly and open. It was definitely something I would do again. And I would make sure to have my water with me.

Have you tried anything new lately?