Squats

     I love squats, no secret there. They are excellent for you in countless ways but I'm going to list my favorite 3.

         1) Fullbody exercise that builds strength. When you squat raw, no belt or knee wraps etc, weighted squats are a complete full body exercise. Your upper body and core has to work really hard to stabalize the weight. And your lower body is fully involved once you are going to paralell or lower. They also  build strength, as our muscles are designed to work in unison with each other. So if you train them in unison (compound movements) they'd work properly in unison i.e. practical strength. Also a point to note on lifting raw, the trick is to start light. Start at a weight where you can squat raw and only progress when you're body can handle it, meaning your core and stabilizing muscles. Remember you are lifting for you, not to impress other people.

         2) Injury Prevention. Strengthening the muscles around the knee drastically decreases the likelihood of injuries. To do this though, it is important that you go paralelle or below parallel when squating. Reason being, if you are too high when switching from lowering to going up, the torque applied on the IT band puts extra stress and pressure on the joint. When you reach paralell or below, the knees are in a more stable position to transition from bending to straightening.

         3) Conquering Fear & Will Power. The squat racks have safety pins for a reason. Many times I go to the gym and see guys have spotters literally hold them down and up on each rep. Personally I believe exercise is not just for the body but also for the mind. And squats, when done correctly, help you conqure fear and train your will power & mental fortitude. When there is a heavy weight on your back and you're squatting down there is a fear that you wouldn't be able to get back up or worse, fall down. That's good, that's normal. What's not good is not facing that fear. Remember danger is real but fear is in your mind and the safety pins are there to minimize the danger so go low and face that fear.

Most spotters jump in too early in the sticking point. But the sticking point is the best part of squats, it is where your mind and will power kicks in(refer to my last post on Trying vs attempting). Get to know it and learn it. You'd never learn your body if every time you stall someone helps you out. So have your spotters if you prefer, but know that they are there for safety but the squat is all you. Nothing is wrong with failing on a squat and letting the pins catch the weight. If you've never done it before, try it with light weights so you feel comfortable trusting them. If you are worried about what people would think if you fail, you have bigger problems but that's another post.

     Last month though I stopped lifting due to a chest injury that needs some rest. I'm waiting until the end of January to start back. However I've been missing it desperately, as evident by this post, lol. So I've decided that while I'm not in the gym doing squats & deadlifts I'll do something to improve my squats when I start back. Squat depth and one leg squats are the two things to work on for my squats while I'm out of the gym.

         1) Depth. While I'm able to go to parallel in my squats I know I can go lower. Ideally I'd like to reach ass to grass levels. I believe more mobility with the same amount of strength means stronger. So heres to strong(er). lol

         2) One Leg Squats. I've tried these before and they are mad hard. You need basically 3 things to execute them correctly; flexibility, balance, and strength. The good thing is yoga should help me with these once I add a few poses to my routine. I'm not sure exactly how one legged squats are going to help my weighted squats, but I'm pretty sure they will, so not spending too much time thinking about that.

     I basically have two months to get the depth and one leg squats before I start back lifting. So look out for another post where I'll highlight all the stuff I'm doing to achieve these two goals. As usual you can follow my progress on my Instagram(nbengo) and twitter(@nBengo) accounts.


Jah Blessings

Grateful Yogi Challenge

        Came across this trend recently #gratefulyogi Challenge on Instagram. Basically you do yoga and post a pose on instagram everyday, for 30 days, with a little write up on something that you’re grateful for.

        I like the idea and I’m going to try it. I genuinely believe that gratefulness is important not because “we should be” but rather, it helps. When we practice gratefulness we focus more on the positives in our life rather than the negatives. This in turn leads to less stress and feeling happier.  

        I’m feeling excited about the challenge because it would force me to work on my yoga and focus on all the positives in my life and give thanks for them. It also falls in line with the Christmas season, a time when we give thanks for the gifts that Jah has given us. 

        So for the next thirty days look out for my posts on Instagram(nbengo & #lionlife). Don’t expect yogi levels or even proper pose names, I tend to bob & weave and just have fun when it comes to yoga.

Life Of A Lion

So I've had this blog for a couple of years. And thinking I needed to do it 'properly' I kept trying to find a theme for the blog. Because all the good blogs were always about a topic or theme. Only problem was, I could never commit to writing bout one thing everytime I blogged.

But I think I found the solution.

Many times I've looked back on my life and I think of what could have been, what I should have done, and what I would have done. And I realised, that problem was that I just wasn't serious about life.

When I mean serious about life, I mean enjoying the present moment and working hard to ensure the future moments are even better. So I've started a project where I have one year to get serious and turn my life into a beautiful life I love to live. The type of life worthy for a true Lion and I'm going to use this blog, as well as twitter(@nBengo) and Instagram (nbengo) to catalogue it.

I'd post updates on my progress in all aspects of my life from health to work to fun. I'll also post tips and ticks that I learn along the way.

So stay tuned and let's see where this takes me. #lionlife

Attempting vs. Trying

Friday I went into the gym feeling a bit off. I told my brother, I wasn’t feeling as strong as usual and to keep an extra eye on my squats because I may have trouble. True to my word, I wasn’t able to complete the set and my Bro had to bail me out. 

When I reached deadlifts, my favorite lift, my trainer told me to add another 20 lbs to my lift. The Wednesday before I had completed 8 reps with 225lbs for the first time and I protested to an extra 20lbs. I said I should get comfortable with the weight I’m at now before I try to increase.  After some talking to, I reluctantly added the 20lbs onto the bar I positioned myself for pull. Time to Dip, Grip, & Rip(position, grip the bar, lift the weight). Only problem was, the weight didn’t move. I stepped back from the bar, looked at the weight again, and tried a second time. Dip, Grip, &…. Nothing. I was defeated. I told myself it was because I was not feeling strong and it was too much weight. 

So I took off the 20lbs and tried again. Dip, Grip, &….. Nothing. Then was when I knew something was wrong. My trainer walked straight up to me and told me he knew I wasn’t going to lift it. “I could see it in your eyes. You can’t doubt yourself.” He explained that because I pulled 225 for 8 reps, my one rep max(most amount of weight for one rep) should be over 300 lbs. And the only reason I wasn’t getting this weight off the floor was because I didn’t think I could. After he told me that I was able to do my regular workout with the 225lbs.

This got me thinking about self belief. Many times in our lives we doubt ourselves because we think that our progress should be normal, steady and consistent like 'everyone else'. This mindset may not stop us from attempting but it stops us from truly trying. 

If in our mind we don't believe we can achieve it, the moment we encounter any difficulty our mind tells us this is where we were meant to fail and we stop genuinely trying. Our mind then reinforces the idea that we could not have achieved it, limiting ourselves.

If we can’t even do it in our mind how can we hope to ever achieve it in real life.  

So maybe you have an extra 20lbs to add to a lift or a project you wish you could do. But you’re thinking ‘I need to get more comfortable with this weight’ or ‘I need more experience before I try that.’ Truth is, more than likely you can do it. But it’s not just a matter of attempting it. It’s a matter of believing it. Otherwise you’d never truly try.

As for my extra 20lbs? Well I’m back in the gym tonight and let’s just say I’m feeling strong. Lol

I’ll keep you’ll posted.

* Update - Since this post I've been able to add another 10lbs. to the previous 20lbs. One word, Believe.

Quality Products

It's important to remember that no amount of marketing can replace quality. So don't try to bamboozle your customers with flashy ads and ignore product development. They will eventually see past the hype and recognise the product for what it is.

Even swag can't save a bad product

Personal Development

I’ve been asked before why I got into marketing. While there are a number of reasons and some serendipity along the way. One reason that stands out, is how dynamic the field is. In addition to technology, I think marketing is one of the fastest developing and evolving disciplines out there. Marketing is basically connecting with your target and aligning your company to offer them value. That first point, connecting with your target/customers, is where things get exciting. With changes in beliefs, lifestyles, technology, how we interact with people, and society on a whole, connecting with that customer is like shooting a moving target.

This means we are constantly looking for new ways to connect to people(through lifestyle, technology, and the internet). With this in mind, we’ll never know everything in marketing. Because it evolves as society evolves. 

What does this mean? It means we as marketers can never stop learning. A foundation knowledge in marketing (STP, value, etc) is necessary, yes, but it’s not all you’d need. What the foundation does is help you understand the new rules and insights into marketing that are being created. But it cannot stand on its own. 

You need to constantly be studying, learning new practices, and improving yourself. Reading that new edition of HBR and reading that new book on social media. In fact, my advice is find a new marketing/business each month and read it. It’s a necessary investment in your profession.  

So for those now starting their journey into the marketing world, be it first degree, masters, or your first marketing job. Don’t think that the information you’re learning have gathered here would be enough to last you your time in the marketing. 

Using Marketing To Study

As a student understanding information and memorising it is very important. Many times we sit down studying yet don’t understand nor remember anything we just read. I thought there had to be a better way and decided to draw inspiration from my marketing backgroundn finding the answer in multiple encoding.

In the fields of consumer behaviour and IMC (integrated marketing communications) memory and recall is a big thing. It’s what makes one brand come to mind when you reach the store. So naturally, marketers have given the idea a lot of thought. One of the methods used is called multiple encoding. This is, sending a message to the customer using different mediums and different formats. For example, a marketer may produce an ad for television, radio, digital media, and print. All with the same message. That message then gets stored in the customer’s mind in multiple formats and in different contexts helping it stick. 

So I tried this approach to my studies and used different methods to remember content. My ‘media outlets’ were reading, summary writing, drawing, and presentations. 

1. First I read the content, without fighting to understand or remember it. But rather reading like I would a magazine or blog article.
2. Skimming through, I then summarised the information in my own words being as simple and concise as possible. Using paper without lines, I mapped out my summaries and how they related to each other. Almost like an infographic.
3. Thirdly, I went through the page drawing a small doodle for each chunk of information, capturing the essence of it(e.g. a Gorilla talk to a guy about cheese for guerilla marketing). 
4. Finally using the page I made a presentation to an imaginary group being as realistic as possible, speaking out loud, engaging the ‘audience’, and giving my opinion on topics. 

The results were astonishing. The information and ideas were almost engraved in my memory and recall was not a problem. In exams remembering content and context was a breeze. 

It may be tricky implementing this method for technical subjects like math. But the idea is to take more than one approach when memorising content. Because when we can relate to a topic in more than one way and context, we are more likely to remember it. It’s also important that marketers don’t forget these bits of theory when marketing our brands and try to communicate our messages in different formats.