Many people want to believe that poorly designed “gimmick” machines are the way to get fast effective results in terms of health and fitness. Further all over the world fad diets are all the craze with more and more people spending amazing amounts of money on these quick fix solutions. “Gimmick” machines more than not prove to be both expensive and completely ineffective. Fad diets on the other hand seem to give people short term relief from their health and fitness burdens but are not sustainable in the long term. For an exercise and dietary regime to be effective it needs to focus on developing a long term lifestyle change. Therefore your exercise and nutritional programs should be conducive with your work, your budget and most importantly your goals.To make your exercise and nutritional plans effective they must be specifically designed to how you want to live your life now and in the foreseeable future. You must ask yourself the following five questions:1. How many times can I train per week?
2. How much time do I have to train during my training sessions?
3. What specifically do I want to achieve out of my training sessions?
4. Am I willing to make gradual changes to my diet over time so I can speed up the effectiveness of my training sessions?
5. How much do I want to spend on my fitness and nutritional needs knowing that I will be changing my life forever and some expenses will be recurring?These questions should guide you away from the thought of spending an initial large sum of money to get perceived fast results. Further the answers to these questions should provide you with information from which you can develop a plan to achieve your goals. Fast and effective results are possible with correct guidance and with the aid of professionals you will be able to maintain these results for the rest of your life. When budgeting for your lifestyle change, keep in mind that knowledge is often the most inexpensive yet effective tool in changing and maintaining your body. Simple exercises performed properly with minimal equipment often lead to the best results. In terms of nutrition, a restructuring of your existing diet, will prove most effective in ensuring you can maintain a nutritional plan in the long term.It is no secret that a healthy and balanced nutritional plan accompanied by a tailored exercise plan is the key to any health and fitness goal. So next time you think about that quick solution think about how long you want your results to last. In terms of health and fitness it would appear that sustainability is better than spontaneity.
How to Get Sustainable Health and Fitness Results – The Five Magic Questions
Digital Photography Tip – How to Take “Tack” Sharp Images
Have you ever compared your own photographs to those of a more advanced photographer and wondered how they get their images so sharp? I mean, just look at them! Everything in their photographs is so sharp, so crisp! How the hell do they do it? When I first started out with photography these were things that were going through my mind constantly. I knew how to take somewhat sharp photographs, but then there’s that other level of sharpness, known as “tack” sharp. Tack sharp is basically the absolute best clarity your image can have.So how do you take tack sharp photographs? Well there are a couple of things that can help you get your images as sharp as possible:Digital photography tip #1: Use a tripodThis can be somewhat of a sensitive point. Using a tripod is annoying. It’s a bulky, cold, heavy piece of equipment that slows you down immensely when you are taking pictures outdoors. On the other side it’s the best way to get to tack level sharpness. You can have the steadiest hand in the word, even the slightest movement can cause your photograph to look fuzzy.Digital photography tip #2: Use a timerIf your camera has a timer, use it. You are basically trying to eliminate as much movement as you possibly can. I might be a slower way to take photographs but remember we are aiming for quality here and not quantity.Digital photography tip #3: LensesThis digital photography tip might be a bit out of your control right now but the better your lens is the sharper your photographs will be. Most digital cameras come with a standard lens that’s usually a small zoom lens (18 mm to 55 mm for example). The problem with these lenses is that they have a lot of moving parts on the inside and if you want a quality one it costs a small fortune. If you don’t have a super expensive lens don’t worry, there are other ways to get maximum sharpness.Digital photography tip #4: ApertureMost lenses are at their sharpest when they are about 2 stops down from wide open. Let’s say you have a 18 mm – 55 mm f/3,5 lens. If you make sure your aperture is around f/8 when you take your photograph you have a better chance of it being tack sharp.Digital photography tip #5: Shutter speedThe shorter your shutter speed the less chance you have of getting motion blur. If you want tack sharp photographs, motion blur is your enemy. If you are taking pictures of flowers then a shutter speed of 1/250 might be more than enough to eliminate motion blur, but if you are at a sports even it’s not even close to being enough. The faster your object moves the faster your shutter speed has to be. In case of a sports even your shutter speed will have to be something like 1/2000 – 1/4000.These are just a couple of tips to increase your chances of getting tack sharp photographs. Like I said earlier you are basically trying to eliminate as much motion blur or movement as possible. If you want to learn more check out my blog.
Have You Thought Of Using Entertainment Marketing To Hook Customers?
“Entertainment Marketing” has not been taken advantage of very much by many brands and companies.How To Fulfill A Human Need?Hook your customers’ attention and persuade them to consume your products by fulfilling the human’s needs for entertainment.Now what is “Entertainment Marketing?” Here is a simple definition:Entertainment marketing is the strategy of creating, associating with and promoting entertainment and entertaining activities to excite, then engage the customer, while forming a high-profile, positive affinity with the brand to drive continuous profitable customer action.Other Marketing ApproachesSome other marketing terms that have been used by marketers, for example, are:Retail Marketing: Retail marketing is the range of activities undertaken by a retailer to promote awareness and sales of the company’s products — Tracey Sandilands, Demand MediaContent Marketing: Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.When it comes to marketing and attracting more customers, I observe many businesses, especially retailers, hit the wall. Usually, the strategy being employed tends to be more of what I call “sales marketing” which is offering services such as “discount coupons, freebies, sales, ladies’ nights, happy hour, special packages, birthday specials… “Those are strategies a business should keep using regularly, but after awhile, it loses its lustre with customers and in the end, it doesn’t matter much to them if they get another discount. I know this is what happens with me.Why Does Entertainment Marketing Work?But on top of that, a business should really look into the immediate elevation of your brand or product in the minds of the customer by associating itself with an entertainment idea or activity, whether it be an event, a performance, a song, a movie, an entertaining video, a game or contest, celebrity or public figure endorsements and appearances.Now, “entertainment marketing” probably works best for retail businesses, but it is not only applicable to B to C’s (business to customer), but often, bosses find that they also need it in B to B’s (business to business).McDonald’s is a ready example of a business that has kept customers coming in for years with entertainment marketing. Rather than keep “pounding on” (no pun intended) the ingredients or value meals for their burgers, McDonald’s is often your source for the current box-office movie premiums. Remember the “Hello Kitty” or “Minions” soft toy craze which saw alarming lines at McDonald’s? Well, we don’t need to ask McDonald’s to show us their daily sales report in order to know that they would have had jackpot sales that day!If, as a business, you are expecting the media to give you some coverage — unless you are an NGO (non-governmental organization), political or governmental organization, social or charitable benefit, cultural or educational association — do not expect the media to give you much time of day unless you advertise hugely with them.Now, many small medium enterprises (SME) might lament that you could not possibly afford the licensing or cost of bringing entertainment to your premises, or even being associated with big-time Hollywood films, like the McDonald’s example.Believe it or not, your customers will still be entertained by cleverly-executed concepts at much lower budgets. Therefore, don’t worry if you cannot afford the licensing fees for hit movies such as Star Wars or engaging top Hollywood or K-Pop superstars!The keywords to remember are Excite, Entertain and Engage — conceptualized and customized for your needs.Once entertainment elements are used to market your business, product or brand, the opportunity is very much bigger for:1) the media to report your stories,2) the customers to run through your doors,3) customers to bring friends and family along to enjoy fresh offerings,4) elevating your brand into a premier, go-to position,5) more public relations and networking,6) collaborations with and third-party endorsements from the media, celebrities, public figures and customers.