Atlantic City Weekly

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An adage that asserts “When you have your health you have everything, and when you don’t have your health nothing else matters” will be the gist behind the inaugural Sweat AC Health & Fitness Festival happening Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-23, at Caesars Atlantic City. 


The nerve center of Sweat AC will be Caesars’ spacious Palladium Ballroom. Several other venues throughout the property — and throughout sister properties Bally’s and Showboat — will serve as sites for seminars and workout classes on a variety of modern-fitness subjects. A one-time fee of $39 gains attendees access for all three days, and workout classes and seminars range from $49 to $99 (see sidebar for costs and times, plus ancillary events).


Ancillary events include the Zumba Fitness Party (two Saturday, two Sunday), hyper-metabolic conditioning classes with Los Angeles fitness expert and TV personality Jillian Michaels (two Saturday), full-body workout techniques with Hollywood trainer Nat Bardonnet (two Sunday), interval training with New York City trainer and former amateur boxer Jade Alexisas (two Sunday), and the Striver and Warrior Workout from the man behind the P90X home-workout craze, Tony Horton (see sidebar). 


On Saturday (4pm) in Caesars’ Empire B room, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and former champion in the sports’ premier league, the UFC, Frankie Edgar will conduct an MMA workout class called “The Champ is Here.” The one-hour session will provide some insight into the world of the professional MMA fighter, and will include one-on-one demonstrations with class attendees and a Q&A session after the class. 


“I’ll show them some of what my training regimen includes, some of the stuff I do to prepare for fights,” Edgar, a Toms River native, tells Atlantic City Weekly. “Some of it will be a little more fitness based, some a little more MMA based depending on the level of the participants. I’ll sort of tailor it around who shows up and what they’re more interested in knowing. 


“This is my first time doing an expo like this — participating with trainers and contributing what I know about fitness disciplines. As far as seminars and appearances I tend to do them between fights when I can fit them in.”


Edgar is a former standout high school and Division-1 collegiate wrestler. He is 14-3-1 as an MMA fighter, with his last two fights being five-round decision losses to current UFC lightweight (155-pound limit) champion Benson Henderson (17-2). His only other loss was by decision to Gray Maynard (11-1-1), who won a split verdict over Clay Guida at Revel’s Ovation Hall in June in A.C. Edgar and Maynard — a devoted vegan and fitness fanatic — fought three times and are 1-1-1 against each other. Edgar fought twice in Atlantic City, both early career wins en route to an 8-0 pro start.


“Based of the nature of the sport — especially with guys like Gray who tend to cut a lot of weight for fights — it’s necessary to stay pretty regimented and in a training regime year-round,” says Edgar. “Even in between fight camps you’re sticking with a regimen and trying to stay in the best shape possible all the time. 


“Boxers might just train for a particular fight, but with MMA guys ... it often involves getting right back into the gym after fights. Personally I’ll take a week off after a fight and then it’s right back into the gym, training, trying to improve in all areas. There’s so many factors in MMA. There’s definitely less of an intensity level when you’re not in a fight camp, but once fight camp starts you’re cranking the intensity level up a few notches.”

GOP VP Candidate a P90X Guru


Most Americans are aware of Michelle Obama’s commitment to a healthy diet and fitness regimen for her and her family, and anti-childhood obesity initiatives nationwide, and now the First Lady’s not the only person on the political front with a strong association to staying fit. 


Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee, is a former fitness trainer who is intensely devoted to P90X — a rigorous regimen involving push-ups, pull-ups, squats, leaps, sit-ups and pumps. Presented on DVDs and designed to be performed in the privacy of one’s own home or office, P90X requires very little equipment and each roughly hour-long workout is completely different. Tony Horton, who created P90X in 2003, will conduct the Striver and Warrior Workout on Sunday (2pm) inside Showboat’s Orleans Ballroom. 


“It’s a workout I’ve done for about a year and a half now,” says Ryan in an online interview with Politico.com’s chief White House correspondent Mike Allen. “It works because it’s called muscle confusion. It hits your body in many different ways — pull-ups, push ups, sit-ups, lots of cardio, karate, jump training, yoga — it pushes your body in many different ways so that it gets out of its plateau. That’s the problem that happens to people — they get into an exercise plateau where they do the same thing every day. Your body gets used to it, and [P90X] gets you out of that plateau. It’s a good workout. It works.” 

(See Ryan's Politico.com interview below)

Inaugural Sweat AC 
Health & Fitness Festival 
Schedule


FRIDAY, Sept. 21 


The Expo’s core venue, the Palladium Ballroom, will be open from 6-10pm. There will be DJs, giveaways of protein bars, vitamins, supplements, health and wellness tips, magazines and literature, the latest energy drinks, T-shirts and more.



SATURDAY, Sept. 22


Crazy Cardio And Awesome Abs, 8-9am, $69, Instructor: Nicole Lee


This class features cardio and abdominal exercises to “whittle your middle,” tighten-and-tone up your entire torso, carve out your core, and strengthen your deep spinal muscles.



Zumba Fitness Workout Party, 9-10am, 11am-noon, and 3-4pm, $49, Instructor: Kass Martin


Exciting Latin and international dance moves, new choreography techniques and a non-stop, get-down-and-dance, calorie-burning, high-energy workout that will challenge your muscles and mind. 



Jillian Michaels’ Boot Camp, 10-11am and 2-3pm, $99, Instructor: Jillian Michaels


Michaels leads a hyper-metabolic conditioning class. Every aspect of your fitness will be challenged, from your power and speed to your agility and flexibility.



Glutes That Salute, 10-11am, $69, Instructor: Nicole Lee 


Blast fat off of those hard-to-hit areas like your inner thigh, hips, butt and more. Get rid of saddle bags, lift your butt, and tighten your legs and more with an effective fusion workout circuit. 



You Better Work, 11am-noon and 1-2pm, $69, Instructor: Denise Warren 


An intense yet fun-filled group fitness class that offers a muscle-conditioning warm up, followed by a low-impact, high-energy, house and hip-hop aerobic dance class. The steps are geared to work every major muscle group in the body with simple yet funky moves.



Brazilian Butt Lift, 3:30-4:30pm and 5:30-6:30pm, $99, Instructor: Leandro Carvalhoas


Join Carvalhoas as he shares his unique booty-busting moves and Brazilian butt-lifting training techniques. The workout and signature moves reduce the hips, slim the thighs, and lift the butt.


The Champ Is Here: MMA Workout with Frankie Edgar, 4-5pm, $99


Former UFC champ Frankie Edgar runs an intense, hardcore training session. Edgar will demonstrate tricks of the trade and how he trains for UFC fights. A former collegiate wrestling standout also schooled in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Edgar will have one-on-ones with attendees to make sure they are using the newly learned techniques properly.



SUNDAY, Sept. 23


Spark Your Metabolism: Yoga with Sadie Nardini, 6-7am, $49


Move through a mindfully challenging flow class sequenced with yoga poses specifically designed to detoxify your body. You’ll twist, cleanse, and feel more rejuvenated after learning how you can use yoga as one of your most effective detoxification tools.



Hollywood Trim and Fit, 7-8am and 9-10am, $69, Instructor: Nat Bardonnet 


This training session leverages the full-body workout techniques in which every muscle will be targeted with cardio, utilizing one’s own body weight, and/or using light weights. Bardonnet is the personal trainer for Hollywood starlet Halle Berry. 



Full Throttle Cycling, 8:30-9:30am, 1-2pm, and 5:30-6:30pm, $49, Instructor: Ray Wallace 


Ride from hills to sprints via high-intensity intervals. Wallace’s class promises to leave you exhausted, exhilarated and excited.

 Zumba Fitness Party Workout, 9-10am, 11am-noon, and 2-3pm, $49, Instructor: Gina Grant 


Exciting Latin and international dance moves, new choreography techniques and a non-stop, get-down-and-dance, calorie-burning, high-energy workout that will challenge your muscles and mind.



Striver and Warrior Workout, 10-11am and 2-3pm, $99, Instructor: Tony Horton 


Horton will focus on movement, flexibility and conditioning, and include new moves from his popular home-workout programs P90X and P90X2.



Transform Your Workout to the Core, 10-11am, $49, Instructor: Sadie Nardini 


Learn to integrate your “deep core line.”



Jade Of Spades, 11am-noon, and 1-2pm, $69, Instructor: Jade Alexisas


Join Alexisas as she leads a mobile interactive fitness card game based on interval training that alternates bursts of high intensity work with periods of recovery (including rest and lower intensity activity). 


Where: Caesars Palladium Ballroom and other Caesars Entertainment venues for classes and seminars. 


When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-23. Fri. 6-10pm, Sat. 10am-6pm, Sun. 10am-4pm. Classes and seminars start Saturday morning and run through Sunday afternoon.


How Much: $39 for a three-day pass. VIP packages are available that include an overnight stay at Caesars or Showboat, meet-and-greets with celebrity fitness experts, and two passes to Harrah’s Pool After Dark. Prices and information on individual classes and seminars are below. For more, see sweatac.com.