World Fitness Day brings fitness icons together

If ever you needed motivation to exercise, imagine being in a room with America’s fitness icons — Jane Fonda, Denise Austin, Richard Simmons and Billy Blanks, just to name a few.

That’s precisely what you will encounter at the first ever World Fitness Day, a fitness expo Fonda organized to promote a healthful lifestyle at all ages. The Saturday event will take place at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome and features group exercises led by the fitness stars, including choreography maven Debbie Allen, an appearance by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, musical performances from Ludacris and the Pointer Sisters and a family-friendly comedy routine by Margaret Cho.

World Fitness Day marks the first time these exercise giants, who represent four decades of fitness trends in America, have performed together.

“The more of us that are calling attention to the importance of health and fitness and the problem of obesity, the better,” Fonda said.

But this isn’t a day just for fitness buffs. World Fitness Day seeks to teach people of all ages and physiques the importance of staying active throughout the years, Fonda said. Proceeds will benefit the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, the nonprofit organization she founded in 1995.

Simmons said he hopes to motivate those who are too tired and stressed to sweat it out.

“I think people are burned out, and most people in America are not consistent,” said the ever-enthusiastic Simmons, who plans to wear a tank top studded with 1,400 Swarovski crystals.

“You could come up with 10,000 reasons not to exercise and I know them all, because I’ve used them. We want to give inspiration to get people to be more active, be more positive and try to eat as healthy as possible.”

Plus, it gives the pros a chance to reflect on the changing trends in fitness from when they first hit the scene.

Austin explained that they’ve ridden the fitness wave from the 1970s, when jogging was big, to the leg-warmer-wearing aerobics of the 1980s, to the Tae Bo intensity of the 1990s, which gave way to the gentle yoga and pilates of now.

Austin, who rose to fitness fame in the early 1980s, shares this insight: “Exercise is exercise, and whatever way makes you move, you gotta do it.”

Fonda said her fitness focus has shifted from emphasizing major muscle groups to working the core — the muscles in your abs and back that support your spine.

Fonda, 72, recently filmed a set of workout videos for the older crowd, she said.

“After 60, you can increase muscle mass by 200 percent with regular exercise,” she said. “It’s so much faster and more profound than people realize.”

Event preview

World Fitness Day

8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 1. The celebrity workout begins at 10 a.m., followed with performances by Ludacris and the Pointer Sisters and a fitness expo. Tickets are $75 for adults; $25 for students ages 12 and up, college students included with valid ID. Georgia Dome, 1 Georgia Dome Drive N.W., Atlanta.