Category Archives: Lifestyle

9 New Fitness Activities to Try

08/17/2021 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

fitness, health, exercise, training, activities, lifestyle

Do you dread going to the gym? Are you bored of the same old fitness routine? Well, then it may be time to shake things up. After all, working out should not only be beneficial for your health—but it should also be fun! That’s why we’ve put together this list of nine new fitness activities for you to try.

Trail Running

If you love the great outdoors, then trail running is just the thing for you. Trail running is essentially when you run on any unpaved surface. Trail runners will often hit the local hiking trails, which offer a mix of different textures and elevations to run on. Before heading to the hills, though, make sure to pick up a good pair of running shoes for men or women.

Cycling

If you haven’t been on your bike in a while, now is a great time to start riding again. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a renewed interest in cycling, as people were itching to get outdoors and find new hobbies. Cycling can be a great way to both get some exercise in as well as explore your local community.

Swimming

It’s tough to find a better full-body workout than swimming. When you swim laps in a pool, you engage virtually all of the major muscles in your body. Plus, swimming is a very low-stress exercise that’s easy on your joints. If you live in a warm climate, then this is the perfect way to exercise.

Yoga

Whether you used to practice yoga or you’ve never tried it before, consider taking a class. Yoga is beneficial not only for your physical health, but also your mental health—many find it to be nice and calming, especially when it comes to the breathwork. There are several yoga classes available for all fitness and skill levels, so you can work your way up as you become more competent.

Boxing

More and more people are starting to turn to boxing as an alternative way to workout. You certainly don’t have to be a pro-level boxer or even an elite athlete in order to get started. In fact, you don’t even have to get hit if that’s not what you’re into. Simply practicing boxing combinations and doing bag work can be an exhausting and effective workout.

Hiking

If trail running sounds a little too intense for you, but you still want to get out in nature, give hiking a shot. You can either go out on a hiking trail alone or with a friend if you’d like some company on your hike. Hiking is one of the best ways to get your daily steps in while getting outdoors and breathing in fresh air.

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be—as a matter of fact, it can be a really fun way to improve your upper body and core strength. Check out your local rock climbing gym and see if you can purchase a day pass to try it out. Many gyms offer free passes or trial periods for first-time climbers. If you really take to rock climbing, you can take it to the next level and join a climbing group that embarks on outdoor expeditions.

Team Sports

Many of us haven’t played a team sport since high school. Maybe you’ve never played a team sport before, period. In either case, you can still enjoy team sports as an adult. Chances are that your community has adult recreational leagues for a variety of sports, from softball to volleyball to ultimate frisbee. In addition to being great exercise, joining a recreational sports team can be a great way to meet new people and make friends.

Surfing

Sorry, but this one’s a bit location-specific, as you’ll need to be near the ocean to surf. Nevertheless, surfing is a surprisingly tough workout that can help you increase your upper body strength. And, of course, you get to have a lot of fun in the water, soak up the sun, and hang around the beach.

As this article demonstrates, the gym isn’t the only option when it comes to being active. There are countless fitness activities you can try. Give one of the activities on this list a shot and expand your fitness horizons.

Going Healthy, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

How To Launch Your Own Health And Fitness Product

08/17/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

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Got an idea for a health and fitness product that you think could take off? Perhaps you’ve had an idea for a new exercise gadget, a new healthy food product or even an app? While health and fitness may be one of the fastest growing industries, it’s also a very competitive industry. Creating a product and getting it to stand out is no easy feat, but it can be done if you launch your product correctly. Below are a few steps for launching a successful health and fitness product.

Research the competition

Before you start putting any ideas to paper, it’s worth having a look into what other similar products are already out there on the market. For instance, if you’re thinking of releasing your own meal replacement shake, take a look at what other companies are already out there. You need to be sure that your product is not exactly the same as a product already on the market. At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other products – you may be able to blend some of the best features from multiple products in order to create one that is superior to all of them.

There are many types of competitor research that you can do. It could be worth buying a few rival products and doing an analysis of them. It’s worth also looking into their marketing practices, checking out their website and reading customer reviews.

Do some consumer research

On top of researching your competitors, consider doing some consumer research. This involves identifying your consumer base and asking them what they look for out of your type of product (for example, if you’re launching your own line of weightlifting shoes, it could be worth talking to fellow weightlifting about what they want out of these types of shoes).

There are many ways to do consumer research including creating surveys, assembling focus groups and reading reviews of other existing products. Do all of this before you start designing.

Work out the costs and find the right funding method

You need to work out roughly how much your product will cost to design, build and market. This will allow you to apply for the right amount of funding.

There are many different ways to fund a new business idea. You could save up the money yourself if you think you only need a small amount. Alternatively, you can try taking out a business loan. There’s also the option of seeking investment – either from a VC firm, an angel investor or from crowdfunding. There are some VC firms that even specialise in funding fitness startups.

Design your product

You can now start designing your product. Start with some basic sketches and once you’re happy with a concept, start creating more accurate designs with measurements.

You may prefer to hire a professional designer to create accurate designs. If you’re creating a fitness app and don’t have coding knowledge, it could be worth hiring the help of a mobile app design company. With food products, you should try to work out the precise recipe and design the packaging.

It is also essential when it comes to food that you ensure the flavors are exactly right before putting it on the market. Glancing over this can be a serious issue as people will not buy your products if they taste awful, no matter how healthy they are. You might want to utilize the services of businesses such as Trilogy Flavors for instance, as they will be able to help you create something that will make people want to come back for more.

Test and refine your product

Once you’ve designed your product, you can try to create a working prototype. You should test this and use the results to refine your design until you’ve got a final product ready to put to market.

Testing is a process that shouldn’t be rushed. It could be worth assembling a focus group or hiring testers so that you can test your product on consumers. You should also do your own testing to try and find weaknesses that you can patch up. This could include trying to find glitches on an app or deliberately trying to break a gadget to test its robustness.

Choose the right manufacturing method

Once you’ve got a final product designed and settled on, you need to work out the right way of manufacturing it (this doesn’t apply to apps – only physical products). You could choose to manufacture the product yourself with your own machinery, this would allow you to benefit from economies of scale when the business grows. Furthermore, it would also allow you to implement a suitable ERP software selection in order to centralise your operations and collect data from all areas of the business to inform future strategies, as well as save time on day to day tasks. Alternatively, outsourcing your manufacturing could potentially reduce start-up costs with equipment, but the production costs will not scale as much in your favour should the business grow, as you will be paying a set rate to your manufacturing partner.

When it comes to processes like thermoforming and PCB manufacture, most people outsource manufacturing companies. If you’re creating your own organic health food product, you may find that you’re going to need a larger sized kitchen than your own to prepare it. You’ll also likely need to invest in equipment from companies such as Temp-Pro to ensure that the correct temperatures are maintained to safely prepare your products, so that they meet health and safety standards. The initial scalability of your manufacturing process will ultimately come down to how expensive the necessary machinery is to acquire and the volume required to meet your demand.

Build your brand identity

A good product needs a good brand identity. This involves coming up with aspects such as a brand name, a logo, a color scheme and a tone of voice. This will all help to dictate the style of your marketing, while also helping to give your company its own personality.

A good brand identity should help to convey what your product is and who it’s aimed at. For example, a cycling helmet aimed at kids is likely to have very different branding to a cycling helmet aimed at professional athletes. Brand agencies may be able to help you create a brand.

Create a website and social media pages

An online presence is necessary for any business. Start by creating a website that you can sell your product through. Then create social media pages that you can use to promote your product.

You could consider hiring a digital marketing company to create a website for you and set up social media pages, or you could do it yourself (there are code-free website builders that you can use). If you decide to use a digital marketing company, consider looking into companies that specialise in health and fitness.

Look into different marketing strategies

You’ll need to consider other marketing strategies beyond a website and social media pages. PPC ads and SEO are two services offered by many digital marketing companies that could help to boost awareness of your product. You can also consider creating video adverts, encouraging product reviews and encouraging product endorsements from influencers. There may also be events like trade fairs that you can attend and you may even be able to organize a launch party. Marketing companies will be able to help with this.

Connect with key fitness retailers

You may want to consider selling some of your products to retailers to help boost sales. This could include physical fitness stores and online fitness stores. You’ll need to be prepared for these retailers to take a cut of your profits. There are guides online that can help you when it comes to selling your product to retailers.

Lifestyle, Tips

8 Common Roofing Styles and Their Advantages

08/16/2021 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Roofing plays a significant contributing role in adding curb appeal. Whether homeowners are planning new construction or want to replace their existing roofs, they need to choose things like roofing materials, colors, shapes, and slope carefully. Every roof type has something different to offer in terms of both aesthetics and practical value.

Since most roofing materials can be installed on any type of roof, it’s usually best to start out by choosing a general style. Read on to find out about eight of the most common residential roofing styles and their advantages to see which of them will be the best fit.

1. Gable Roofs

Gable roofs have a clean, simple look. They’re composed of triangles with bases resting on the house and two sides that rise up to form a ridge. Gable roofs are relatively affordable to install and quite versatile.

Homeowners who choose gable roofs can keep them simple to cut back on costs or add all kinds of flair. They can take advantage of crossed gable designs with two ridges or install front gables over entryways and can pick a roof slope that works for both their climates and their aesthetic preferences.

To get the most out of a newly constructed gable roof, visit https://eriemetalroofs.com/ to learn about residential metal roofing. Metal roof tiles can enhance a home’s beauty while simultaneously providing greater longevity than traditional options like shingles and shakes.

2. Hip Roofs

A standard hip roof consists of four equal-length slopes starting at each exterior wall of the home. These slopes rise to form a short, simple ridge in the center. There are also a lot of variations on standard hip roofs used by modern contractors, including:

Half-hip roofs that feature two sides and two eaves

Pyramid hip roofs that come to a single peak

Hip and valley roofs

Combination roofs

Hip roofs have a few advantages over gable roofs. They offer better performance against wind and often result in insurance discounts as a result. From a builder’s perspective, they’re also easier to build.

3. Dutch Gable Roofs

Dutch gable roofs combine some elements of standard gable styles with others from hip roofing. In appearance, they look like a miniature gable roof set atop a standard hip roof. In the architectural world, miniature gables are sometimes referred to as gablets.

This roofing style offers the best of both worlds. It has the attic space associated with gable roofs and the wind resistance of hip roofs. To add visual appeal, the gable portion can also be outfitted with windows for increased sunlight.

4. Clipped Gable Roofs

Clipped gable roofs, also known as bullnose roofs, also feature two sides that rise to meet a ridge. The difference is that the top peaks of the roof are bent in to create small hips at the end of the ridge. The hips on bullnose roofs add architectural interest and look fantastic with high-end designer tiles or shingles.

One of the best things about clipped gable roofs is that they are more energy-efficient than standard gable roofs. They retain heat better in the winter while keeping it out in the summer and can contribute to lowering residents’ carbon footprints.

5. Gambrel Roofs

Gambrel roofs, which are sometimes referred to as barn roofs, used to be associated primarily with agricultural buildings. Today, they’re found in many homes, as well. Gambrel roofs feature two slopes on each side, the top one gentle and the bottom one steeper.

Homeowners typically choose gambrel roofs for rustic-style and country homes, but the aesthetic appeal isn’t the only thing this roofing style has going for it. Gambrel roofs can also incorporate upper floors without adding an entire second story, and they’re perfect for lofts. Many homeowners also add windows to the sides of their gambrel roofs to improve the usability of their upper stories.

6. Mansard Roofs

The mansard roof style originated in France, where it was used to top the famous Louvre Museum. It features a four-sided design with double slopes and very steep lower slopes. The lower slopes are usually flat, but they can also be curved to add extra visual interest.

Mansard roofs feature an abundance of interior attic space, allowing homeowners to make full use of their upper stories. They can also be outfitted with windows and dormers. Mansard roofs are perfect for houses styled to mimic old-world aesthetics.

7. Shed Roofs

Don’t be put off by the name. Although shed roofs were popularized as a means of providing simple protection for outbuildings, they’re also perfect for contemporary home designs. Shed roofs employ a lean-to style that looks a little like half of a gently sloped gable, usually featuring slope pitches of between 4 and 12.

Homeowners who opt to use shed roofs for their entire houses tend to have modern sensibilities and a unique personal style. This roofing style offers plenty of opportunities for interesting window placement, and it can be altered to fit just about any climate. Many more traditional homeowners also install shed roofs over additions and porches.

8. Flat Roofs

Flat roofs aren’t technically completely flat. They still feature a very slight slope to facilitate rain and snowmelt runoff. Although flat roofs are more popular in commercial construction, some architects also incorporate sections of flat roofing into modern homes.

Mid-century modern architects experimented prolifically with flat roofs, specifically for high-end clients. They often incorporated sections of flat roofing to provide extra second-floor living space, and some even created rooftop decks and porches.

Homeowners who have set their sights on flat roofs should note that this roofing style is especially prone to leaks. Flat roofs have to be waterproofed thoroughly and topped with commercial roofing materials like PVC, TPO, or rubber membranes, self-adhered multi-ply roofing systems, or SBS modified bitumen membranes.

The Bottom Line

Homeowners looking to add visual appeal to their newly constructed or existing houses have a lot to gain by changing their roof styles. Before deciding on a dream roof, talk to a local contractor to make sure all of the roof types described above are allowed by the town or city’s building codes. Good roofing contractors can work with architects or engineers to come up with the perfect design and recommend how to proceed in terms of materials, colors, and stylistic touches.