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Aug 7

Inaugural Valley Fitness Expo touts healthy lifestyles – Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

Fitness Comments Off on Inaugural Valley Fitness Expo touts healthy lifestyles – Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

WASILLA Yet another Wasilla Centennial event filled the Curtis D. Menard Center on Saturday the inaugural Valley Fitness Expo. It was chock-full of educational and entertaining activities including seminars, cooking and fitness demonstrations, group classes, health screenings, contests, prizes and resources for fitness professionals. Food trucks, a fresh market with local produce and more than 100 vendors were on-site throughout the day.

Autumn Bentz, Lanet Spence and Teresa Moss were the organizing force behind the event. They said the expo was their labor of love. They said they created the expo with the mission to improve the Valleys health, and as a community effort to encourage positive changes. Bentz said the event was a one-stop experience for all the components of being healthy, and a place to learn more about how to make manageable life changes.

I think everyone is super pleased with it. Weve been getting a lot of positive feedback, Bentz said.

It was also an exposition of some of the Valleys top athletes and a place to get the ball rolling with exercise. According to the event website, all levels of fitness, from amateur to pro were welcome to attend the expo from a Zumba Dance Party for all levels to try, to the Centennial Bodybuilding Show, where muscular men and women could show off their hard work. There was be a variety of activities to choose from, all with the mission to enhance the overall health and the quality of life for the entire family through education.

Tying in with the 100-year anniversary of Wasilla, there were some historical elements sprinkled into to the expo, like the H2 OH! Swimsuit Fashion Show. It showcased several women models wearing swimsuits throughout the decades, one as early as the 1920s. The announcer explained how the fashions progressed over time, evolving with more color and more eventually became more revealing.

Participating bikini model and owner of Shear Fire Design and Masters of Iron Gym, Jana Powell said that bikinis have been the traditional garbs for the fitness world.

It was the first time for two bikini models, Qiann Coleman and Natasha Sails. They said it was a chance to try something different, to put themselves out there with confidence. They also wanted to support the community and let them know fit comes in all shapes and sizes.

Its real women, real bodies, Powell said. Youve got to be comfortable in your own skin.

Former Anchorage Mayor Rick Mystrom was the keynote speaker, and had a book signing for the release of his third book, Your Type 2 Diabetes Life, a guide to living with diabetes. Mystrom is a nationally acknowledged expert on healthy eating, according to the event website. He has written two other books on healthy eating and avoiding or reversing Type 2 diabetes.

Spence said Mystroms books are game changers. She appreciated how he wrote the book in everyday people-speak, saying it felt like talking to a friend.

That guy knows what hes talking about, Spence said.

Mystrom was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 20. After his diagnosis, Mystrom said he essentially turned his body into a laboratory, poking himself for more than 60,000 blood sugar tests to understand which foods will raise blood sugar the most and add the most weight and which foods will raise blood sugar the least and take weight off.

People dont have to be perfect with what you eat, they just need to be good, Mystrom said.

Mystrom credited his good health to eating right and staying active and that type 2 diabetes is the most self-controlled disease he knows of. He wants his obituary to say, he had a long, healthy relationship with diabetes.

Im 73 and it makes me feel 63, Mystrom said. Youve got a choice between a $20 book or a $40,000 medical bill.

The expo concluded with the Centennial Bodybuilding Show with seven categories: Wasilla Centennial High School Mr. & Miss fit, Fitness Class, Bikini Class, Figure Class, Womens Physique Class, Mens Physique Class and Mens Bodybuilding Class. Bentz said a lot of people came specifically for the bodybuilding show.

The expo also had mental athletes in its ranks. Four youth robotic groups were on-site pitting their creations against each other to see which robot could complete the most tasks with the least amount of error. Two groups, the Fluorescent Four and the Brick Masters were from Anchorage, the Nuclear Wolves were from Eagle River and the Arctic Bytes were from the Valley.

These are our future engineers. I get goose bumps thinking about how smart these kids are, Spence said.

Arctic Bytes and the Brick Masters competed with their Lego robots and performed various tasks like feeding toy animals by lifting blocks and taking them to the desired location. They scored points for achievements like overall effectiveness and the complexity of tasks. The Arctic Bytes and Nuclear Wolves fought for technological supremacy with remote controlled, brick shaped robots round up color corresponding balls and shoot them into a bin.

The Fluorescent Four coach, Tammy Hanley, said that Alaska has embraced the youth robotics programs, saying its actually pretty competitive. The groups compete internationally and have traveled the Lower 48 to put their best to the test.

Its a sport for the mind, Hanley said.

Arctic Bytes coach, Karen Olson, marveled at how beneficial the clubs were for the kids. She said the kids are learning many other life skills beyond robotics, like socialization and teamwork. She also said it was great to see the kids flourish in a hands-on activity that occupies their time while building them up instead of just going home and watching TV.

We need to get our kids moving, Bentz said. We only have one body and weve got to take care of it and theres many ways to do it.

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Inaugural Valley Fitness Expo touts healthy lifestyles - Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

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