Salon de l'Entraînement Physique et du Sport

This week-end the annual Salon de l’Entraînement Physique et du Sport takes place in Montreal. My boyfriend Niko and I had missed it last year and we heard such good reviews, it was killing us to miss it again. So this year, we planned in advance and took the whole week-end off work.

Physical activity has always been a part of my life. I started dancing when I was very young, and then transitioned to flying trapeze later on. Even in the rare months when I wasn’t practicing a specific sport, I always worked out, whether that be at home or at the gym. The same goes for nutrition; I enjoy eating healthy and nourishing food (but that doesn’t keep me from loving doughnuts!). I try to have a healthy lifestyle, in general. That’s why when Niko, who is a personal trainer, told me about this exposition where fitness and nutrition professionals meet, I immediately wanted to check it out.

Upon arrival, late on Saturday morning, we were struck by one thing: it was empty. Usually, the Place Bonaventure, which hosts most exhibitions in Montreal, is buzzing with people. There are booths everywhere, all the way down to the entrance. This time, there wasn’t anyone to be seen until we reached the main room. And even there, there wasn’t the usual humming of conversations that characterize big crowds. It actually kind of felt like we were the only visitors. Which was great until we realized it made the whole experience pretty awkward. I’m someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy being in the spotlight, and I was in a situation where it felt like every eye was on us. Later on, around lunch time, more people started to arrive and it started to feel less intimidating, but not quite enough to create a great ambience. The upside is that we had a lot of space to move around and the exhibitors to ourselves.

Speaking of which, there was quite a great line-up of exhibitors. I was a little afraid to feel out of place, because I don’t work in fitness or nutrition, and I don’t have the body of a bodybuilder either, but the whole exhibition felt very convivial. There were people that were visibly in shape, and others who were probably just starting their journey, but that didn’t matter because everyone had one common goal: being healthy and feeling good in our own body. Also, I liked that some exhibitors were young businesses. They all had fresh ideas and felt very inspiring. All the booths that we visited had business cards to offer, samples and/or discount coupons. They were all very friendly, and were happy to share information about their business, or their experience in the fitness world. Here are a few that particularly caught my attention.

The KCal Box
It is a subscription service that delivers a box of healthy snacks every month, right to your door. Each box contains about 15 healthy snacks, going from energy balls to protein bars to nutty bites to special drinks. You can always skip a month, which is a feature I always look for in a subscription service. They had bites that we could taste, or complete snacks that we could buy to try out. They also gave everyone a promo code to get 10$ off the first box. Also, I really enjoyed that they had this month’s box on display, so you could get an idea of what you would get. I’m a major “snacker”, and everything in that box looked delicious and perfect to have on-the-go. The only thing that didn’t impress me was that I already knew pretty much everything that was in the box. They are not rare snacks or snacks that are out of the ordinary. On the plus side, that also means that they are easy to find if you want to purchase them again. The founder of the company, Cassandra, actually did a small conference on how to lose weight effectively, and it was a big hit.

To know more about The Kcal Box, visit their web page thekcalbox.com or their Instagram instagram.com/thekcalbox

Arbonne
Arbonne is a company that does beauty products and nutritional products that are completely vegan and made with botanically based ingredients. Obviously, they didn’t have their beauty products on display at the exhibition, but they had various drinks that we could try. We tried the Energy Fizz Sticks, which are little pouches of powder that you can simply dilute in water and it helps relieve fatigue and enhance performance. It tasted a little bit like Gatorade, which was nice. However, what impressed me most was their wide array of products. They had protein shakes, pre-workouts, fit chews, protein bars, and more.

To know more about Arbonne, visit their web page arbonne.com or their Instagram instagram.com/arbonnecanada

Endorphine
After listening to their conference on dietary supplements, we had to visit their booth. Endorphine is a group of nutritionists who specialize in endurance sports, there to guide you and help you reach your fitness goals. They were very informative and took the time to answer our many questions. They also had a homemade sports drink we could taste, which simply contained water, salt and juice. It tasted a little too salty for me, but I liked that they could explain the benefits of each ingredients in a very simple way. I also like the idea of seeking the help of a nutritionist who is specialized, and who can give you advices that are fit for you and your lifestyle.

To know more about Endorphine, visit their web page endorphinenutrition.com or their Instagram instagram.com/endorphinenutrition

Lumberjacked Breads
I saved the best for last. Lumberjacked Breads is a company that does vegan, low-fat, protein bread. They offer three flavors; Italian herbs, cinnamon cocoa (which tastes like French toast) and traditional whole wheat. They had loafs of bread and bags of croutons on sale but the great thing is that they also make deliveries, every Sunday. Not only is their bread delicious and healthy, their whole booth was super cute and they were extremely nice.

To know more about Lumberjacked Breads and find where you can buy their delicious products, visit their web page lumberjackedbread.ca or their Instagram instagram.com/lumberjackedbreads

There were many more companies present, each offering different services. The exhibition was complete with short conferences that you could attend, free classes like yoga, Pilates, boxing, power fit, etc. They also had a little jungle gym for the kids, along with a trampoline (not just for kids) and other stations you could try out. Even though the exhibition area was pretty small, since they were only using half of the room, I feel like there was a little something for everyone.

Want to know more? Visit saloneps.com
Keep an eye on my instagram story today for more pictures and updates!

Until next time.

Much love,
-TM-