Melbourne Fitness & Health Expo

This past weekend myself (Dr Adam Rowney) had a trip to Melbourne for the Fitness & Health Expo. The Fitness & Health Expo is a chance for the public and members of the fitness & health industry to see the latest in available services and products.

There are three main aspects to the expo:

• Competition (INBA, MMA, CrossFit etc...)
• FILEX convention (this is for industry members to hear speakers on various topics and to partake in workshops by various individuals and companies)
• Fitness & Health Expo (the main attraction for the general public) 

I want to start by saying a massive well done to my friend Claire who was competing for her first time in the INBA Figure fitness competition. I think the best way to describe figure fitness that it is a half way point between bikini modelling and bodybuilding. It requires hours of training, preparation and dedication to get to the figure that they get on the stage; so well done.

The main point of the expo however is to demonstrate the latest and greatest to the industry professionals and to the public. There is some great advice and displays there, with my favourite being the VIVObarefoot shoes. I think these are some of the best barefoot shoes available, they have a wide range and are well constructed as a genuine barefoot shoe. (If you have further questions about barefoot shoes feel free to contact myself; or checkout the VIVObarefoot website)

However, the majority of the time I watched as many companies and so called "experts" pushed products and advice that as far as I'm concerned, are of no benefit or even detrimental to someone's health. This included certain supplements, nutritional weight-loss advice, types of exercise & equipment. Some of which just doesn't make physiological sense & some that have even been shown in multiple high quality studies to be on no benefit or even detrimental to someone's performance that were being pushed as the latest and greatest. So just as a warning, please think about what you are buying into when someone is selling you a product or giving advice. If it doesn't make sense or your are unsure, research it yourself or contact a health professional that you trust and ask them about it.