Big Sky

This past weekend I went to the AF National Conference at Big Sky, MT. I drove up with Maya, who works at the Springville location. We left Thursday morning and arrived around dinnertime that night. As soon as we checked into our room we started digging through our bags to see all the free stuff we got. There were gloves, a hoodie, magazines, workout log, a bandana and a whiskey flask! The theme was all about cowboys and everything "BIG".

We had an outdoor BBQ style dinner that night. It was so cold! I think the temp was around 35-40 degrees. Good thing my friend who used to live in MT warned me how cold it can get. We ate dinner and crashed after the long drive. Most of the other attendees stayed up partying...

The next morning we were at Bootcamp workout at 6:30 am. It was TOUGH! I decided that it's all about the voice. If you talk in a tough, no nonsense voice, your class will assume that you are a killer trainer and respond. We did tons of push ups, bear walks, ran stairs, squat hops, plyometric lunges, etc. etc. Needless to say, I was still feeling it on Sunday! But the good news was that we got to keep the medicine balls, stability balls, and other stuff they used for the workout. Sweet!

Here's the view of the pool from the fitness room/sauna

I liked the teepee and adirondack chairs around the plaza. The weather was so nice- it was perfect during the day. Friday night was the Montana themed night so it was all about cowboys, poker, cigars and the bar! I was a bit surprised, being in the Fitness industry, that people were so ready to take part in some of this stuff, but that's cool. It was a fun night- we tried to learn Texas Hold Em but I think our dealer just got annoyed that Maya and I were clueless. We just started betting big to make it interesting. We didn't take advantage of rolling cigars or the free AF tattoo you could get. Seriously!?

Here's Maya and I with the Big Sky peak in the background- such gorgeous scenery

This was the view from our room- I felt like I was out right in the woods. Loved it.

Classes, classes, and more classes. By Saturday I was SO done with sitting in conference rooms and listening to (albeit positive, upbeat seminars) the mumbo jumbo. I think I have ADD. I can't sit that long!

Thankfully, on Friday we got to get out of class and do a fun ropes course. Other than the 30 minute detour/hike we took up the mountain (remember this was the same day as the bootcamp!) it was thoroughly enjoyable. We got some bad directions but finally made it to the ropes course. My battery died so I am waiting for those photos...

We had some corporate team-building activities to do as well- those were ok. The best part was the AF team members, they are so impressive. We met people from around the US and around the world, and everyone we met was incredibly sincere and kind. Such a great group of people to be around. 

Saturday night was the big finale and celebration. They give out awards to the top franchises, top grossing clubs, the Success Stories of members and trainers, etc. We saw the most inspiring stories of people who overcame physical impairments, lost significant amounts of weight (200+), and club owners who touched their communities, etc. It was great. Here's the crowd in the big ballroom during the Celebration.

After a 2 hour event, we were all starving! It was after 9pm and we couldn't wait for a big dinner. This was supposed to be a formal night so our expectations were high. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster... it took an hour for us to wait in 3 different lines. They had a meat carving station, salad/sides, and desserts. Ah well, by 10:40 we finished our dinner and headed to bed. The next day we were leaving early so we just wanted to crash. How can sitting in conferences all day be so draining?!

Packing up our stuff on the last day was a challenge. We had accumulated some extra stuff and attempting to do it all in one trip was amusing. I ended up kicking my ball down the stairs as I walked to the lobby. I had 3 bags on each arm. Can't believe I didn't fall on my face!

It was good to have a few days away from it all. We drove right through West Yellowstone so the scenery was just amazing and so serene. I didn't see anything other than a coyote, but I loved the views and everything else. Good Times.