Training: Bodyweight Exercise, A functional Approach.

Afternoon All,

I am going to be going to gym this afternoon. As it is too expensive for me to train at a proper cross-fit gym, I have to make do with a Virgin Active. The worst part is probably not having bumbers to do some Oly lifting with but there is no space and you are forever in some persons way.

It also happens to filled to the brim with meat heads who are just out to get a big set of arms and a massive chest. The saddest thing of all is that they are fooling themselves into thinking that they are exercising and living a healthy lifestyle. Its a pity that these are usually the 'big guys' in the gym and are often looked to for advice because their build is mistaken as a sign of fitness and health. They usually advocate body-building type programs with 4 set, 8 rep structure, people need to understand that these styles of programming are pretty much only beneficial for muscle hypertrophy. They offer very little strength and conditioning aspects which in my opinion are far more important as they are functionally beneficial.

Another clear definition needs to be made. Training for whole body performance, health, fitness and strength is very different to training your body to look muscular and strong. Training to be fit, strong and healthy and using body-building based programming is like building your foundations on beach sand.

Bodyweight exercises are the starting point of fitness because what is the point of moving weights if you cant even move your own bodyweight around. It starts off with basics, like push ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and air squats and gets more challenging as you get to gymnastic styled exercises like handstands, planche's,  muscles-ups and dips. These are functional movements and engage the body's entire kinetic chain. They are used everyday in our lives are essential for us to function.

I have attached a video below put together by the army showing 44 great bodyweight exercises. Everyone should aim to be able to do every exercise here, I know it is my goal!

Complete functional fitness!


 


RSM

Weekly: Advertising Analysis - Chupa Chups Lollipops

I am really struggling to write today and I have just realised that I have to do this. Anyway, I chose to leave it till the last minute so i must suffer this fate.


It was only upon further investigation into the the product and the brand that I realised how significant they are in our social history. There is no other way to put this but these are the guys that came up with the "lollipop". The original very first one. Chupa Chups was founded in 1958 when Enrich Bernat decided the world would need a product that "Would be like eating a sweet with a for". Once you see the logo I am sure it will bring back childhood memories for most. Now, let me get to describing the ad I have chosen.

The advert is for a sugar free version of Chupa Chups lollipops. Normally from what I have noticed when companies try and advertise sugar free products they tend to bore you with the monotonous health guilt trip. They like to make you feel bad about being over-weight then expect to sell you a different, 'healthier' version of the same product that made you overweight in the first place (Consumerism is not healthy. "cough, cough" - Coke).  Usually they do this by stating the benefit far to clearly. It is very difficult to stand out when the message is so common with these types of products and you end up washed up with everyone else.

The success of this advert lies in clearly communicating the benefit without getting caught up in the aforementioned trap. Ants are a complete and utter nuisance, they seem to get into everything and once your treat has just a few crawling around, it's just a matter of seconds before it is covered and inedible. Bee's and Ants are known to like sugary sweet things and everyone who has ever had anything sweet know's the horrible feeling of these having pests stop you from enjoying your can of soda. That is the insight that the copywriters and art directors have used so well.

Through manipulating the insight and turning it right around they clearly communicate the benefit, that there is no sugar in there sweets hence why all the Ants are taking a detour around the lollipop. The headline ("It's sugar free.") works well with visual to get the message across.

A really well thought out concept and strategy coupled together with perfect execution from the Art Direction makes this a very powerful ad for a well established company.

I would love to see it campaigned with a bee version. I could see that working really well.

RSM

Music: Sound Remedy

Good Morning,

I like to look for music. I have a few blogs which I consistently visit and they never fail to serve up something decent. In my searchers I came across a guy based in Los Angeles going by the name Sound Remedy. I heard a remix he did of a classic, "No Apologies" by Nirvana. It took a few listens to really enjoy it but I have never heard a better remix of a classic. They usually never work because the styles just don't blend and you just get a past paced version of the original. Somehow he manages to take the feel from the original and blend it with some perfectly composed electronic bass. I went to his sound-cloud page and literally downloaded everything I could. He has such high standards with his composition and mastering so that even though it is a remix you feel that it is good enough to stand on its own. Let me speak no further, just listen and download. I want him to remix and MGMT tune like "Kids" or "Time to Pretend", I think it would sound  biblical!

All his stuff is free so just click the 'Free Download'.

Give his Facebook page a like, he has risen very quickly in the scene. He is frequently top in the charts on the Hype Machine. I remember when the page had only a few hundred likes.

http://www.facebook.com/soundremedy?fref=ts

Just too good..

You must all know the original...
 

A very soft and relaxed feel to this.
 

This is one of my favourites!
 

It just doesn't seem to end...

This was not on his soundcloud page because Im pretty sure its an unofficial version. It is the best remix to a song I have ever heard. Indulge. I will include a download link.

Download (Right Click, Save As)

This is latest release.

Diet & Lifestyle: Paleo

I have committed a huge amount of time over the last couple of years to training and nutrition. I have spent countless hours researching different diets, ingredients, training styles and techniques. I have experimented, failed and succeeded but I have never given up on the lifestyle.

Three years ago, in my final year at school I had a Latarjet procedure because I had dislocated my shoulder a few times playing rugby. Unfortunately I suffered from a complication during the operation. I am still uncertain of who is to blame but it left my right shoulder paralysed. Either the Anaesthetist or the Orthopaedic Surgeon managed to damage my brachial nerve complex. It doesn't matter now because although it was a long (I could not move my arm for over a year) time ago, the emotional wounds have started to heal. I am back stronger than ever before and more importantly I am more determined and driven.

Sorry for the little life story but I promise I do make a point relating to Paleo.

During my recovery period I started up smoking out of boredom and rebellion. I started to eat like crap and loose touch with myself. I began to put on weight and become one of those over-weight coach potatoes. I was going nowhere quickly. I needed a complete change, not a correction. I needed change badly. It came in the form of the Paleo diet and the Crossfit mentality. So enough back story to why I am so passionate about this eating structure.

If you are serious about change and would like to see results download and read through this manual.

Elite Nutrition Guide (Right Click - Save as)

Paleo Shopping List by

I managed to find this info-graphic courtesy of - paleolithicdiet.com: Have a look. It literally explains everything. It is important to clear your mind of any preconceived dieting rules. Have an open mind and try to understand the mental approach to food and nutrition. It made a real change to my life - I have never been fitter, healthier or stronger. Clear skin, good hair and nails are my favourite benefits.

My favourite description of the Paleo approach can be found on the Whole9 site:

I eat “real” food -- fresh, natural food like meat, vegetables and fruit. I choose foods that are nutrient dense, with lots of naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, over foods that have more calories but less nutrition. And food quality is important -- I'm careful about where my meat comes from, and buy produce locally and organically as often as possible.
It’s not a low calorie “diet” -- I eat as much as I need to maintain strength, energy and a healthy weight. In fact, my diet is probably much higher in fat than you’d imagine. Fat isn't the enemy -- it’s a great energy source when it comes from high quality foods like avocado, coconut and nuts. And I'm not trying to do a “low carb” thing, but since I'm eating vegetables and fruits instead of bread, cereal and pasta, it just happens to work out that way.
Eating like this is good for maintaining a healthy metabolism, and reducing inflammation within the body. It’s been doing great things for my energy levels, body composition and performance in the gym. It also helps to minimize my risk for a whole host of lifestyle diseases and conditions, like diabetes, heart attack and stroke.

Music: The Grey Album - Jay Z Mashups

Its a beautiful morning.

I love music, I listen to it everyday. Whether it be in car, in class, in gym or when I am running. I find that it gives me a soundtrack to my life. My music tastes and choices often change with my moods and feelings but it will always have some relation.

I hate popular music with a passion. I find it so brainless and knowing that I am listening to something that anyone and everyone else is listening too makes it worse. There is no engagement with the music, It takes away from the art and detracts from the nature of my understanding of music.

However despite the disgusting state of popular music nowadays there are a few artists doing absolutely amazing work. Danger-mouse is one of those producers. This work of genius come from way back in 2004, almost a decade ago. He takes instrumentals created from a multitude of unauthorized samples from The Beatles' LP The Beatles (more commonly known as The White Album) and puts them up against some powerful lyrics by taking the acapellas from  Jay-Z's The Black Album.

The album ties in nicely as it fits perfectly with my last music post and if you didn't get a chance to check it out, here we go - The notorious xx.

If at this point you are having any doubts as to the how good this project is. Listen to this. 




Here is the entire mix-tape, save it for a long drive sometime. It is really worth a continuous listen. I have included links to download each individual track so you can jump to your favourite.




DOWNLOAD TORRENT - THE GREY ALBUM (INDIVIDUAL TRACKS)

Sort of related. Still a brilliant cover. Definite download.

Click to download




I was literally just trolling the net, looking for links for your downloads and look what I found. I think I may have stumbled upon some gold, a brilliant concept and well executed. Not many people can walk that tight rope. I will give it a few listens and see what happens. Such a good idea to combine two pinnacles of musical greatness in black history. Monumental stuff.



If you enjoyed the music and would like to here more from me.Please like my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/FoolsOfRandomness

Peace,

RSM

Music: The notorious xx

Its Friday and its the weekend. Finally! There is no better feeling than knowing that you have some decent music to fuel a that magical part of the week.

My favourite part of the week is waking up late on a Saturday  feeling fully rested then having some breakfasts which is usually oats with some whey and mixed berries. Then get my shit together and get ready for a heavy session in the gym. And in that sequence the most is important part is having loud music blasting with bass shaking the ceiling. This is something I would definitely play. It is one of my highlights from the album.



Possibly my favourite!


I have included the entire set. It is really worth the download and give it a listen. Brilliantly done and masterfully created. A really interesting project that has genuine artistic and creative merit. It guys like him that are creating hope that there is talent and good music being produced. Here we go:

Give the genius behind this social media some love. It is really deserved.

http://www.facebook.com/waitwhatmusic

Weekly: Advertising Analysis - Vitalab Fertility Clinic

Good Morning,

I seem to always spend so much time sifting through print ads to make up the content for this post; it would appear that there is a lot of crap advertising on-line. And there is. However I do like to think that I have decent taste.

I have chosen a headline based ad...again. It seems I may be creating a pattern here but it just happens to be a good ad that I thought was very clever. It ties in nicely too because I am still struggling to have a final scamp for my own copy driven ad. 

Vitalab is South Africa's leading fertility clinic. The clinic offers a variety of different treatments and remedies to try and give parents their dream of having children. They provide basic services such as Ovulation timing or induction to more complex procedures such as IVF / ICSI treatments. The reason I have explained that all is because it is an important in 'getting' the humour in advert.

The success of the ad rests upon our preconceived perception of the statement made in the headline, "When our staff get together somebody usually gets pregnant". This is because one naturally assumes that in any other company it would mean that the 'staff' had to engage in sexual intercourse which of course is completely morally wrong and unacceptable. 

The humour comes with the realisation that the advert is for a fertility clinic and only in that circumstance could that statement possibly be acceptable. The advert successfully draws the readers mind in and allows the satisfaction of 'working it out'. It is that feeling of connectedness that is so powerful.

They have made the benefit very clear; if you go to Vitalab Fertility Clinic the staff and doctors are so good and proficient that you will have a high chance of being successful. The advert gets this across in a humours way making sure you take time to consider the benefit as it is only revealed by ‘working it out’.

I have decided to try and keep a consistent theme in this blog and that idea literally just popped into my head. Every two weeks I will change it up but I will always try to find two ads at least that run in a theme. And on that note; this concludes this headline based theme. Next week we will get graphic.

Have a look at the website. It really does make for some interesting reading - it is incredible seeing what is possible. It seems Darwin's natural selection might just be overturned.

http://www.vitalab.com

I have to get back to my work.

Peace.

RSM

Weekly: Advertising Analysis - McDonalds

Its Thursday and its Valentines Day. Not to worry though, this will not be a soppy clichéd love themed post. I will be posting a weekly entry every Thursday to discuss a print advert which I have found interesting, stimulating and humorous.

Now lets get this started. The first advert to be reviewed is a a headline based McDonald's print ad. I am keeping things relevant with this choice as we are currently working on headline based print media. I have to admit, its bloody hard and very difficult to get right. Though I believe they can be extremely effective and powerful  (such is why I chose this particular one) because of the nature in which they stimulate the mind. It allows the brain to create a image and a feeling, attaching the one to the other.The reason this is so powerful is because the observer has the satisfaction of 'figuring it out', he or she will now feel part of the advert. Its a human need to feel 'connected' and by relating and breaking down the headline the consumer will actively be part of the brand(In this case McDonald's).

"We don't hire Turks, Greeks, Poles, Indians, Ethiopians, Vietnamese, Chinese or Peruvians" - The headline grabs your attention as it is a bold statement as it infers racial inequality and that McDonald's will not hire these individuals based only on their nationality. Not only is this illegal, it is morally wrong. The reader of the advert, shocked by this statement automatically looks for some form of justification to rationalise the statement as it is hard to believe that a large corporation such as McDonald's would be so brash. The viewer then looks for more information in an attempt to understand the advert, he is then forced to read the small copy at the bottom of the page.

"Nor Swedes, South Koreans and Norwegians. We hire individuals. We don't care what your surname is. Because ambition and determination have nothing to do with your nationality".....

The paragraph at bottom provides the explanation that the viewer seeks. It rationalises the advertisement by giving a surprise turn without changing the tone. The line "We hire individuals" is the hook. At that moment the viewer reaches an epiphany realising that his original understanding of the headline was flawed. It gives a feeling of relief, as you realise that you have been fooled. This is such a strong message as it hits right where it hurts. McDonald's are touching on subjects that is very sensitive and can go badly wrong however they have used this to their advantage. They have used a topical issue to build their brand image and associate ideas and feelings such as equality, unity and ambition. They have used a topic that normally divides people, nations and races to their advantage by giving such a unifying feeling.

A very well thought out concept with genuine intellectual merit.

Who new a few words could be so powerful.

Happy Valentines Day.

RSM

Fools

Welcome Fools,

Let me start off clearly and give credit where credit is due. The title for my blog, "Fools Of Randomness" is influenced hugely by my reading, interpretation and understanding of the book "Fooled By Randomness"written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. If you have read any of the authors work, great we are on the same philosophical page and for those that have not, I suggest purchasing a copy first thing tomorrow. I shall explain my reasoning.

In his philosophical masterpiece Taleb brings to light in a bright flash of white, the fallibility of human knowledge.

Taleb sets forth with that idea that modern humans are often unaware of the existence of randomness in our current society as we often overestimate causality(We see elephants in the clouds instead of understanding that they are randomly shaped clouds that appear to our eyes as Elephants) and tend to a more explainable world view. Understand that your current world view, your bias's and prejudices are as a direct result of your experience in a commonly shared reality. The conclusion that you end up at is that there is no absolute certainty of knowledge.

Our skewed views and cognitive bias's create a second reality that is completely personal. No two persons can share the same world. They may be similar depending on how coincident their independent experiences of the commonly shared reality are. These realities are plagued with bias, and these in turn affect our our judgement and decision making.

Heuristics are strategies and experienced based techniques using readily accessible, though loosely applicable, information to control problem solving in human beings and machines. This explains the origin of some of the bias that each of us hold and they are rooted in emotion. Humans are emotional creatures, we judge something based on how we 'feel' about it rather than on rational logical and merited thought. The emotional component in decision making is what makes us all unique as it opens up a number of new and different possible outcomes that were previously not comprehend-able.

I find it so strange that history is forward flowing yet we envision backward. We look back with hindsight bias and draw linear conclusions saying things like, "if that had not had happened then...". And if we were to rewind back to to that event. At that moment in time there was no possibly accurate way of linking any future event based on your current experience but yet in a years time we are able to look back and join the dots. This is evidence of the bias's we all hold. Our brains are hard wired to make connections and relationships that are 'convenient' and 'useful' rather than an exact detailed account of individual events.

I am fool of randomness. I am however aware (to what extent, I don't know) of my own bias's. I embrace what makes me different. Cogito ergo sum.

I have been staring at this for awhile now and its time I draw a conclusion. Plus its a hot Friday afternoon in beautiful sunny Cape Town, South Africa.

I will be posting once weekly or whenever I feel the need to share a concept, idea, or really any thought that I find mildly interesting. Everything I have discussed in this post, I would like you to bear in mind when reading anything I write. Free your mind to all possibilities, anything can happen we are just all fools of randomness.