Each year the International Chiropractic Association (ICA) holds a symposium on health, fitness and sports at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. This is one of the biggest chiropractic seminars in the country where doctors from all over the world meet to learn new cutting edge material to bring back to our hometowns, reunite with old friends, and of course see Arnold and all of the biggest names in the health and fitness industry.

My first experience with the Arnold classic and the ICA was back in 2012. I am Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and worked as a personal trainer at a gym a local chiropractor owned. He took me to the event and I had an amazing time learning and meeting so many awesome people. Not only did I learn about chiropractic but also about sports and fitness training, the profession I was already a part of. It was amazing to learn how all of the other health practices fit right in with chiropractic. We learned about chiropractic adjustments, training techniques, exercises, nutrition and even meditation. All of these health practices fit right in with chiropractic because they are all focusing on building health, not eliminating sickness. I was even invited to go to dinner with some of the most influential chiropractors of today like Dr. Peter Gratale. Dr. Pete used to host fitness shows on ESPN and is the president of the ICA’s Council on Fitness and Sports Health Science. I also sat next to Lee Haney, 8 time Mr. Olympia Champion! To top things off Arnold himself comes to the symposium and talks about how chiropractic has helped his career, and everyone gets a personal photo with him! Make sure you visit our facebook page to see the speech he gave to us! “The wind is what allows the eagle to fly high, and chiropractic is the wind that gives people the power to have a healthy life”. To be included in all of this was a dream come true!

This years symposium was amazing like always! I was so glad I had the opportunity to go and see everyone again, and meet new people! Two of the guest speakers were Steve Weatherford, NFL punter who won the Superbowl with the Giants, and Phil Heath, 7 time Mr. Olympia champion. Both were amazing speakers who were down to earth, friendly and had a lot of energy. This year at dinner Steve Weatherford joined us and he even passed his Super Bowl ring around for all of us to see.

I wanted to share this experience with you all, because as you know, we are big on promoting health at Chiropractic First in Abingdon and Richlands. Health and fitness have been a big part of my life and how I went down the road of becoming a chiropractor. We hold monthly health events at our office and have a facebook page dedicated to health and wellness. If you are not in the group I would love for you to join! It is called Next Level Living and here is the link-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/168322583895313/