Body Power Expo 2015

Hi,

As I’ve been really getting into the whole fitness thing over the last couple of years, I had to attend the Body Power Expo show at NEC, Birmingham. I attended for the whole Saturday 16th May and had a great time. It was exciting to know that so many fitness gurus that I follow on Instagram and/or YouTube were going to be there too. The show was packed full of different activities, plenty of things to do and see. For the 7/8 hours I was there, I was not bored for one second. There are loads of challenges around the venue where you have the chance of winning some great prizes. I didn’t take part in any, I am far from being able to take on a challenge like that in front of an arena full of fitness freaks haha, I saved embarrassing myself this year.

Bit of background about the show, Body Power started out in 2009 and has developed into a staple event for the International fitness market. The event is said to attract visitors and athletes from over 100 countries. The show is spread over three days and covers a range of aspects linked to fitness, such as a spectrum of products (shakes, fat burning pills, protein bars, snacks, clothing, body scanning), services and professional international fitness stars. I only attended one day and I think that was enough time for me to be able to get round the show and see what I needed to see. For the 7 hours I was there, I was not bored for one second. There were so much to see and do and learn. I do however think next year I will go for two days, possibly the Friday (as I’m hoping it won’t be as busy as the weekend) and Saturday.

A lot of people I know seem to think that shows like Body Power are only for body builders and people with huge muscles…I think they are all wrong. The show attracts a wide range of people. Some people who are just starting out on their fitness journey, people who haven’t even started and people who are at their peak. Regardless of your size you won’t feel out-of-place. Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of men and women walking round with the fittest bodies I have ever seen, so be warned you might feel like a bit of a fatty alongside them haha, but all very inspiring. One thing I did find strange for the first half hour or so was the fact that a lot of the men attending as visitors were walking around topless. It was very odd to begin with, but soon got used to it (wink, wink). It was an opportunity for anyone who wanted to, to showcase their body and hard work they had put in.

There were many fitness guru’s there, many people I follow on twitter and Instagram, all very inspirational people.
Legend Hulk Hogan was there. Sadly missed the chance to have a meet and greet but did catch him briefly as he was walking by. Bought back some old memories, days of watching wrestling as a child with my dad. Other favs were Hodge Twins, Phil Heath and Kai Greene. Click here for a full list of all the athletes this year…too many great names to list.

Great thing about the show is that a lot of the stands give you the chance to try their products, protein shakes, snacks such as mousse, bars, crisps etc. Bare in mind if you, are watching your macros (carbs, protein, fat etc), this show is going to mess it up haha, so hard to keep track of quantities and how many products you have consumed. I ended up just estimating what I had. The show gave me the chance to be introduced to so many new products and brands that I probably would never have come across. A lot of the brands also had special discounts on the day of the show, so you can pick up some bargains. Most the stands are fairly generous and giveaway samples of their products, I came away with bags and bags of samples which I am looking forward to trying out. 

Few of my favorite stands were Muscle Food, maybe it was the smell of the burger stand they had that was drawing me in. I know the massive hanging sign that said ‘BIG JUICY BREASTS’ drew in all the men at the show haha. Novo Protein bites, which I love as my weakness is crisps, so this is my way of having a cheeky very tasty treat without the guilt. Also got to meet the owner, Andre Coulson who is a super nice guy and he hooked me up with some more packs of the new flavours…Southern BBQ chicken is my new fav. Lenny and Larry stand, they had such a variety of bars, butters etc…super tasty. So many fantastic stands to name, I will have reviews, features, giveaways of my fav products soon. Also found some great clothing brands…I’m looking forward to changing up my fitness clothing game…goodbye boring gym clothes. One of my favs was Global Aesthetics. I have to say I don’t think there would have been many people who didn’t go away with a Gym Shark T-shirt haha, I got mine, it’ll be joining my pile of workout t’s.

Another great thing is that there is no problem with taking in your own food and drinks to the event. As it is a fitness show they are aware of how important it is to stick to a diet and getting macro’s right. Also they had a protein shake stand there, amazing. If you don’t fancy taking your own food and you have a strict diet, you have nothing to worry about, most of the food sold their was perfect for the target audience, even consisted of healthy burgers…there is such a thing.

I left the show feeling very inspired and motivated. I also learnt a lot from fitness professionals which I will apply to my fitness regime. I think if any of you are into fitness or need a bit of inspiration to get started this show is for you. If you missed the show this year I suggest to make sure you put it on your list of things to do next year.  Excellent show and well worth the money. To give you an idea of the cost of the tickets and what you get, click here.

Couple of things to note:

1) Expect big queues to see your favourite athlete.

2) The queues for the cash machine at the venue are huge, so make sure you take extra cash out before you get to the event.