A Better You: Check out this brilliant new health concept

One of the most exciting fitness conventions is currently underway and if you enjoy health and wellness on a social level or professional level, you should head on over to the Dome after your park run and experience the latest in the fitness and wellness industry.

Why is Fibo so important to South Africa and what does it mean to you? Fibo Europe is the biggest fitness and wellness convention in the world and this is the marketplace once a year where all the top dogs converse to showcase the latest technologies.

The status of the event means huge business to companies so the event itself drives the evolution of fitness Fibo Europe caters for categories in the health and wellness industry, such as physiotherapy, operational management, group and aqua fitness, new business, power, fictional training, consulting services, cardiovascular and strength, sports nutrition, wellness and beauty, fashion, fighting fit, ema and vibration and anterior.

Fibo South Africa will host some of the industry leaders and these companies will use an event like this to showcase their latest equipment and technologies.

Here are some top reasons to attend.

Innovation

Technogym has been a household name in gym across South Africa for years and one thing you can know about this Italian company is that they have always been creative and innovative in the equipment and online technology for both gyms and corporates.

What is exciting this year is that they are moving into the household space where they can make their products more available to you on a monthly lease.

This means you could get some of their top equipment right in the comfort of your home.

The goal with this is to inspire more people to become more active and take control of their health and lives.

Lifemax will also be there and they pride themselves on housing some of the world’s best performance, medical and rehabilitation equipment.

They have been in the game for several years and each year they keep pushing the bar.

Education

It’s a bold but clever move from Biokinetics South Africa who will also have a stand on display where people can find out more about becoming a biokineticist to help the general population, elderly or sportsmen and women recover from injury, poor alignment and reoccurring aches and pains.

TriFocus is another company which offers certifications. Diplomas is a one-stop shop for fitness professionals looking to gain the edge.

They are also internationally recognised for some of their courses.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle is a multibillion-dollar industry and commands more return on investment, formal clothes and if health and fitness is your game, why can’t you look good while training, teaching and performing?

Brands like Tory Grace, Ultimate fitness gear, Wodfit gear and Million Mama will be displaying their latest summer collection.

One must also understand the need for this industry and that it developed out of necessity.

Imagine doing a squat during a Wod and your shorts are too stiff and long and restrict your range of motion.

What happens if your ski pants weren’t stretchy?

All these problems sparked an idea to innovate in the clothing and lifestyle industry.

The true beauty of this industry is that it was born out of the need to solve a problem a fitness professional has been
experiencing.

Nutrition

Cropped image of handsome young sportsman preparing sport nutrition in kitchen at home

Supplementation is a massive industry and funded by people with some deep pockets.

Not all brands have high quality ingredients, most in fact don’t and that is why you can meet the sales teams of NPL – Nutrition Performance Lab, Nutri-Con, Roser Nutrition and you have the perfect opportunity to grind them of the performance and quality.

If it sounds like a sales pitch, then ask to speak to someone more senior.

The question you should be asking is, are there any banned substances in your product?

Where do you source your main ingredients from and are these ingredients tested before each batch is sent?

Does your brand use any fillers?

If your product had to test positive for traces of a banned substance, what is your policy in dealing with this?

These are the real questions you need to be asking every supplementation company, not “is this going make me lift more, boet?”

I know Fibo and it is no Mickey Mouse brand.

It is the industry leader and I am so glad they have decided to open a branch in South Africa.

Hopefully next year I will be reporting directly from Fibo Germany and bringing you more of the latest technologies that can benefit your fitness profession all across South Africa.

One last bit of advice when attending a show like this is, when you are speaking to the various exhibitors, come prepared and question everything and if possible try out everything for yourself.

The proof is in the weightless pudding.

Sean van Staden is a sport scientist. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanVStaden or visit advancedsp.co.za.

Last week’s column can be found here.

For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.