By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
APRIL 16 was a good day for the local fitness and wellness scene as like-minded people converged to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
Organized by Milo Philippines with Athletic Performance Enhancement Training, Inc. (APET), the first Milo Nutri Up Fitcon at the Globe Circuit Events Ground in Makati City saw over 40 fitness organizations participate, with an eye to inspire more people to be physically active.
The whole-day event featured nonstop fitness and wellness classes, expert talks, exclusive discounts from fitness brands and competitive challenges, culminating in a workout party.
“Coach Toni [Saret] and I had this idea of a Fitcon for the longest time. We wanted to do an event where all the fitness enthusiasts can benefit. Not only one or two sports programs or disciplines, but practically everything that is out there, we wanted to tap,” said Jim Saret, APET founder and training director, in an interview with BusinessWorld.
“The biggest problem for the fitness scene here is, people don’t know where to go. They have thoughts on a lot of things but don’t know where to go. In other countries, they have this, but here we don’t have it yet, so when we brought the idea to Milo they liked it and picked it up,” he added.
Participants of the Fitcon got to discover new things to help up their fitness game by going through four areas: Up Your Skills, Up Your Knowledge, Up Your Nutrition, and Up Your Lifestyle.
In the Up Your Skills area, participants joined practical sessions where they could learn the latest workout trends, such as crossfit, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), mixed martial arts, yoga, zumba, bodyjam, body combat, and challenges where they were pushed to their physical limits.
Up Your Knowledge had participants learning about their overall fitness with the help of guest speakers from the fitness community.
The Up Your Nutrition area featured nutrition tips and samples from partner restaurants, with the aim of upgrading the participants’ food choices for a healthier lifestyle.
Lastly, the Up Your Lifestyle area provided big discounts from fitness brands for gear and apparel.
Fitcon participating partners were AND1, 360 Fitness Club PRO, Anytime Fitness, Artisan Gatherer, Beyond Yoga, Bliss Yoga, Century Tuna, C-Lium, Cross Fit Affiliate Alliance, Crossfit Alabang, Crossfit Cabalen, Crossfit FNB, Crossfit Greenhills, Crossfit Mad Minute, Crossfit Ortigas, Crossfit Taft, Diadora, Ensayo Gym Equipment, Fit Fast Wellness Center, Fitness First Platinum, FTX, GNC, Gold’s Gym, Kerry Sports, Life Yoga, Milo Nutri Up, Move, Ninja Academy, Nutrition Depot PH, Philippine Flag Football, Philippine Rugby Football Union, Plana Forma, Polecats Manila, Poten-cee, PR City Crossfit, Reebok, SPARTA, Skechers, Toby’s, Umbro, Under Armour, Urban Ashram, Vivian Zapanta Pilates Studio, Yoga Plus, and I Yoga.
NUTRI UP
Milo officials said the Fitcon was also the right platform to introduce its new Milo Nutri Up drink, a 3-in-1 chocolate malt drink for grown-ups with 50% more protein and 33% more calcium than the classic Milo drink. Siblings Solenn and Erwan Heussaff were tapped as product endorsers.
“There is a realization on our part that fitness actually has become a sport, and at the same time adults are looking for numerous opportunities on how to jump-start their active lifestyle,” said Robbie de Vera, Milo Philippines sports marketing executive, said in a separate interview.
“So, we decided, why don’t we gather some of the top names in fitness to give a taste of what their specific offerings are? In a sense, what we are doing for our participants is encouraging them to have an active lifestyle and for our partners to have a venue to showcase their wares and products,” he added.
Mr. De Vera said gathering fitness stakeholders from across the country was no easy task, but when the partners realized it was all for the advancement of the burgeoning local fitness and wellness scene, everybody was locked in.
‘BEST OF THE COMMUNITY’
John Mark Joseph Abaya, a calisthenics practitioner who trains at Sports and Recreational Training Arena (SPARTA), said he was visiting the Fitcon to check out what other forms of training are available to complement his own fitness activity.
“It’s an opportunity to see and experience other forms of fitness training apart from calisthenics while at the same showcase our form of fitness training, which is relatively new in the Philippines,” Mr. Abaya said.
“We are really happy to be part of this Fitcon. It’s a great way to show people that fitness is for everybody,” Chyme Piedad, Fitness Training Manager at Fitness First, meanwhile, said.
“There are people who maybe do not know where to start with their fitness game and events like this can help them see what programs they can take up and they would prefer. When we talk about fitness, it’s a holistic approach and this convention provides it,” she added.
The Fitcon was also a good venue to allow little-known fitness groups and organizations to get their share of the spotlight, according to Gemma Lyn Relativo, sales manager at Makati-based Fit Fast Wellness Center.
“It’s a chance for us to show what we offer. We are not yet big as the other partners here, but we very much welcome the exposure,” said Ms. Relativo, whose group offers boxing, weight loss and performance programs, among others.
“The advantage of a fitness convention is that all the brands are here. People can see the best of the fitness community here in the country. And when that happens, it challenges everyone to go a notch higher to become better, seeing how other groups are doing things. Hence, it creates excitement and will be beneficial overall to the entire fitness and wellness scene in the country,” Mr. Saret said. They look forward to staging more conventions in the future.
“Seeing how our partners are happy, how we are happy — based on the models we have followed, I think this is something we can do annually,” Mr. De Vera, for his part, added.
