Right, where to start. Biggest fitness show in Europe and I got to be there for 2 days. I made sure that I experienced as much as I could in the time that I was there. Friday the 17th, otherwise known as the trade day, kicked of as expected. Promoters included suppliers of supplements, foods and training kit attended meaning there was a bit of everything to suite everyone. The 18th was the first day of two open to the public, so was absolutely manic, maybe a bit too busy for some as stalls did become a bit crowded at times.
Supplement companies present included all the major brands (like Met-RX, USN, NRG, Optimum Nutrition) and many new start-ups offering alternatives to the mainstream giants. Some provided weird and wackey new supplements or flavours, others provided different blends of your favourite supplements. Some of my favourites were the seed based shake supplied by one manufacturer (the name escapes me, sorry!) providing a very good blend of protein while adding in all the natural fats and vitamins obtained by nuts and seeds.
Another was the crazy new creation by Phd, a superfood blend designed to supercharge your body. Trust me, this is a case of something looking disgusting, but tasting amazing. The green, slimy looking sample is offered to those who wish to try, and those who do are refresh by the fantastic blend of flavours, with a hint of whichever primary flavour your sample had. You can almost feel the cleansing properties of this supplement as it hits your stomach. Well worth a look.
I managed to catch some of a talk by Rehan Jalali, a well renown nutritionist. He delivered an interesting talk on the benefits of supplements, correct eating and the advantages of having specialist examination of blood samples to investigate the best composition of nutrients to feed your body.
A strong presence of the show this year was the inclusion of bulk food providers. Many butchers were present offering bulk purchase options from their online stores with home deliver. Some were offering frozen deliver, others offered fresh products to the door. All suppliers offered amazing quality and ranges of meats at incredible prices, far below your local supermarkets. There were even less common options available, like chicken sausages, bison burgers and alligator steaks. I have to say, the burgers sold at some of the stores tasted amazing. I had an ostrich burger myself, shame its not available at all stores!
While your exploring the vast exhibition hall, your surrounded by celebs and sponsored athletes. Seeing all of these idols is a big inspiration, as they are even more impressive in the flesh than in the photos. I managed to have a word with a big favourite of mine, Steve Cook. Its always good when your idols are as awesome in person as they are in Youtube videos etc.
Overall I would say that the Expo was an improvement on last years show. It has definitely grown, though the organisers may have been a tad optimistic in the sales of ticket which too the shine out of the Saturday for me, mainly because of the need to shuffle and weave through crowds for the entire day. However the turnout from the industry was incredible, the presence of so many big names and athletes bought the standard of the show up, creating an environment that left many I spoke to inspired and with a hungry desire to go home and train harder than ever. If you can get there for the last day, go, it'll be worth it!
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