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Years ago the idea of sponsored content was forward thinking. But today, leveraging a team or league's social audience to bring in revenue through a partnership is commonplace. Everywhere you look there is a logo slapped onto social content as part of an agreement. So much, that sometimes the internet feels like a live billboard.
It's time to take a step back and evaluate this sponsored content thing. Because slapping a logo on a score graphic doesn't move the needle for your brand, your sponsor or your fans. Instead, the focus should be on integrating sponsor's message with your brand in a natural way.
Here are a few examples of sponsored content done right:
"In The Land of the driven, hard work is an obsession."#MoreDriven | @goodyear x #Cavs pic.twitter.com/kQcDQ0XqCk
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 15, 2017
Tonight's lineup presented by @CocaCola. pic.twitter.com/JHHQFoxpHh
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 6, 2017
The #Packers scoring drive, capped off by Crosby's 26-yard FG. #GBvsMIN #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/dJTl3U6A7U
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 15, 2017
Of course, this is no easy task. It takes creative thinking, the right partners around the table and collaboration. When done right though, you can elevate your content, add value to your sponsors (and fans) and bring in even more revenue.
So, how do you create sponsored content that actually works and goes beyond a logo like the examples above? Below are a few tips to think about:
Know the value.
Your team has worked hard to build an engaged community, so don't take it lightly. Sponsored posts on social shouldn't automatically be part of every deal or pitched as x number of posts a year. The audience you've built is worth so much more than that! Don't sell the worth of your channels short. Activating on social should come with a price tag – and a commitment to doing it right. Know the value of your channels and push back when something isn't right.
Ban the word sponsored.
The word sponsored content automatically makes a partnership transactional. And when we have in our head that something is transactional, it's much easier to slap a logo on a photo. It's important to combat the idea that you're just selling sponsor space on your digital channels. In order to actually move the needle for sponsors, fans and the brand, it has to be so much more than that.
When creating content with sponsors, go into it as a partnership. What is your team/league's goals on social? What are your sponsors trying to accomplish? Why does this make sense? How can we make this the best together? Make it a thoughtful partnership, not an ad space.
Find common values and themes.
The best sponsored content is one that has a natural tie to the sponsor. It will take some creative exploration, but it's so important to find where the synergy is between the sponsor and your team/league. What is a message or value that you can both rally around?
In the examples above, the content and message aligns with the sponsor. FedEx Air & Ground plays, Gatorade's Path to the Splash and Chevrolet's Drive Summary are all great examples of strong content that has a natural to the sponsor.
Take a content –first approach.
Like everything that goes out across channels, good sponsored content must add value. How is content useful or engaging for fans? Create a series that peaks interest, evokes emotion and is something you would share with our without sponsor money behind it.
Quality content means fans will pay attention. And when fans pay attention, it means more eyeballs for your sponsors and probably more revenue in future years. That's a win, win, win.
Do not disrupt your feed.
It's important to have brand guidelines and share them when working with sponsors. What's the box to play in? What are the brand guides that the content should follow? Sponsored content shouldn't disrupt your feed in a negative way. Instad, the content should flow very naturally with the rest of your feed.
Sometimes, you have to walk away.
The worst thing you can do is try to force a sponsor play on social that does not work. Do the due diligence to find partners that align with your message, creative vision and goals. Don't dilute what you've built by cluttering it with noisy ads. If it starts to feel forced, phony and of no value, it simply might not work.
And at the end of the day, sponsored content has huge upside for teams / leagues, partners and fans – if done right. Go into every deal as a partnership, not ad space, and you'll start adding value all the way around.0


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As I'm taking some time this week to visit family and friends, I'm reminded of the importance the close people play in our lives. Relationships have great power to impact and influence us, so it follows that we must be diligent about fostering healthy relationships for the good of all parties involved. [Community is also one of the main themes of the book I'm writing, which you can learn about here.]
Show me a person with great friends, and I'd bet that person is becoming great in the ways his friends are. Similarly, a person with lousy friends who lack discipline often becomes more irresponsible himself. We become like the people we spend time with.
There's a great line from one of my favorite bands, Mumford & Sons, which goes like this:
"In these bodies we will live,
In these bodies we will die.
Where you invest your love
You invest your life."
I love that chorus because it reminds us of the truth that the substance of our lives will form to the shape of our commitments, including and especially when it comes to relationships.
Here are some great quotes on relationships I've found recently. If you enjoy any of them, feel free to share them on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever social media platform you use most.
Quotes on Relationships, Community, and Personal Connections
- "In relationships we assist one another to become a fuller version of our best selves." – @ChrisHeuertz
- "Showing up in the life of another echoes God's promise: 'I am with you.'" – @johnsowers
- "We are changed by many factors, including our community. Choose people you want to be like." – @donaldmiller
- "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, & yet one of the most valuable assets in society." – Billy Graham via @tmproject
- "Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction." – C.S. Lewis
- "Social Media = Praise / Adulation without relationship. Watch out." – @Fake_Andrew
- "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." – Ernest Hemingway
- "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being." – Goethe
- "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." – Pericles
- "We live in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy, and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship." – C.S. Lewis
- "Life's big questions is what unites us all." – @rainnwilson
- "Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius." – Edward Gibbon
- "The fulfillment we derive from helping others helps us maintain our own sense of purpose, and is an integral element of personal growth. On the other hand, if we don't invest in others, we stunt both our personal potential and the opportunity to influence someone else for the better." – Kristen Howerton on Psychologist Erik Erikson, Relevant Magazine
- "A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other…Every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!" – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
What are your favorites quotes or ideas on relationships, community, and personal connections? Answer in the comments section below.

subset: commoncrawl


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I almost didn't compile this list. I feared people would find it in a Google search and think, "Ha, another bullsh*t click bait blog post".
But after giving it some thought, I realize how many people I come in contact with who have no idea some of these amazing movements even exist. These are the same folks stuck crunching themselves into low back pain and the same (or worse) core performance as 5 years ago.
So, I decided to build the list and press "publish".
My hope, is you are able to extract some value from this list. Sometimes, value is simply exposure to new ideas, if nothing else.
Core based training is an essential element of any comprehensive workout program. It's important to note that all movement is core movement. You cannot wipe your ass without getting help from the muscles of your trunk.
A well-functioning body is educated (through movement practice and repetition) on how to absorb and produce force in all planes of movement, through a robust range of motion. A strong and stable core protects the body's life force (the spine), serves as conduit for force transmission between the upper and lower body, and is a first line of defense with injury mitigation.
Injury mitigation is a hot phrase right now. No training method is guaranteed to prevent an injury. But, we can reduce the likelihood of an injury occurring due to ill-prepared joints and tissues.
I'll warn you… this is a long ass article. Nearly 8,000 words long. Each movement has a brief description, interpretation, and either an embedded video or a link to my YouTube Channel where I demonstrate the movement. Some exercises I comment more in-depth than others.
A couple of things to consider:
- This is not a "best of" list, each movement has it's own value with proper application, timing, experience, etc.
- This list of exercises is highly subjective, and the importance of each exercise can/will be debated from person to person.
- This list is not designed to be "extreme", each exercise is approachable with smart progressions and regressions for the beginner.
- This list is organized in no ranking order of importance, no exercise is better than any other.
- All movement is important movement and there are very few "bad" exercises, only poor application to one's situation or possibly a lower level of usefulness depending on what a person is looking to gain from the exercise.
- Consistency is king… the body will gain strength, stability and coordination to stresses with ongoing practice.
- Six-pack abs are built-in the kitchen (nutrition) and highly influenced by hydration, sleep and physical activity outside of gym time.
- Building a lean six-pack is not the intention of any of these exercises, do the work, stay disciplined and you'll become lean as a byproduct.
The last three bulleted points can be tough for a lot of people to swallow and adhere to. People want to crank on their abs, feel the burn, wake up in a week and see a shiny set of abdominals staring back at them in the bathroom mirror.
It doesn't happen this way, nor should it.
Lean bodies are earned. People who have made impressive transformations have a meaningful understanding of the discipline it takes to swap fat for muscle, take back control of health and build performance. It's very simple, but it's not easy. Everyone can do it, but not everyone will.
Consistent with focused efforts yield progress, gains, results and reward. This is not a 100% guarantee, but "luck" and good fortune seems to follow people who go hard on a regular basis. Give your body the chance to struggle, adapt, rebuild and understand the stresses of these exercises. It will understand eventually, but you have to give it time to do so.
* Sidenote: Embrace the struggle. In fact, I want people to struggle. If any of these exercises were easy, everyone would be doing them all of the time. Breaking beyond the struggle makes the reward so much sweeter. If the results came easy, you would have far less appreciation.
No "bad" exercises. I'm guilty of rolling my eyes, pursing my lips and turning away from "bad" exercises. Big mistake. The human body can do so many things movement-wise, I now realize this was a foolish stance to take.
Here we go…
1. Anti-Extension Roll Outs (aka: Ab Wheel Roll Outs or Fall Outs)
For $5 on Amazon, you can purchase a simple Ab Wheel and start "rolling out". Ab Wheel Roll Outs are anti-extension core exercise, great for building not only core strength, but core endurance.
In a tall kneeling position, slowly roll out way from the knees. During this outward motion, cue your hips to fall outward at the same pace as the rest of your body. Roll as far out as you can, without allow the lower back to fold. Contract the mid-section, lats and pec muscles (gripping the handles hard) to return back to the start position.
During the most difficult portion of the roll out, try your best to maintain a "hollow" core position. To do this… tilt the pelvis back (posteriorly), squeeze the butt cheeks, keep rib cage pulled down and in (versus flaring out). Making a subtle "U-Shape" from the hips to the shoulders. This is hollow body.
Beginner tip:
The biggest mistakes beginners make is beyond their range of motion tolerance too far for their current strength, mobility and stability level. To help with this… consider the following
- Set up facing a wall, yoga block, chair or any other object that can provide your maximum roll out distance before the lower back folds.
- Roll out until the ab wheel makes light contact with the object.
- Pause and roll back to the starting position.
- The eventual goal is to roll out into full extension, with arms fully extended at the shoulders and elbows, chest facing the floor.
Advanced tips:
- Roll for HIGH REPS (20+ per set)
- Increase time under tension (5 seconds out, 5 seconds in… or longer)
- Roll downhill (decline)
- Roll from a standing position, returning to a standing position
2. Turkish Get Ups
As far as productivity and global training effect, Turkish Get Ups (TGUs) are hard to beat. They've been labeled a "king" worthy exercise in the kettlebell scene, and I certainly don't disagree.
The Turkish Get Up is a segmented total body exercise. The basic premise of a Turkish Get Up is to move from a lying position (supine) to a standing position, reverse the order and return to the lying position once again.
Controlling the weight during the up-down sequence is fatiguing not only for the core, but for the loaded shoulder as well .
TGU's are best performed with kettlebells or dumbbells, though nearly any object of weight can be substituted. I've used sandbags, liquid filled milk cartons, barbells, weight vests and weight plates to name a few.
For those who new to TGU's, it can be a bit overwhelming to think about the number of steps or remember which step comes next. I've found Turkish Get Ups are best learned by isolating and practicing each segment.
Once you've got the feel of each step, begin adding steps to the practice.
The cool thing about Turkish Get Ups is the sheer value of each of the steps. They all carry their own value.
For a lot of people, "punching" the kettlebell up while rolling onto the free elbow will be the toughest part. This cross-body, rotational effort is a motion missing from a lot of daily workout routine.
Secondly, expected the shoulder to tire out quickly. Stabilizing the weight overhead is can be draining for the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder. However, time spent in this over-chest/over-head position is fantastic for building shoulder stability, which can help with injury mitigation and performance.
Standing up and laying back down equals one repetition of a Turkish Get Up
Sidenote: I've used Turkish Get Ups as my "workout of the day" for years. I set a timer (10, 15, 20 minutes) and alternate sides until the timer sounds.
I use a variety of weights during this time, work several repetitions in a row without putting the weight down or mix up the way I stand up and lay back down for variation (squat, lunge, etc). I've added a simple press at each of the 7 steps, performed kettlebell swings, cleans and snatches at the half way point (standing position).
3. Dragon Flags aka: Gymnastics "Candlesticks"
Bruce Lee made Dragon Flags famous, which is fine, but I prefer the gymnastics name for the exercise, "Candlesticks". Same movement, different names. In reality, they should probably be called "Inverted Levers" or "Inverted Descents/Ascents".
Candlesticks are one of the my favorite core exercises.
They require body tension like few other exercises and develop transferable strength in the core and low back region. Newbies to this exercise quickly find they are near impossible to execute without creating massive tension on each rep.
In a supine laying position, grab onto a bench, squat rack or any other immovable object with the hands positioned above the head. Invert the feet and point them toward the ceiling, making the body as straight as possible from ankles to shoulders. Maintaining this straight body position, begin lowering to the floor, resisting the pull of gravity as much as possible. SLOW IT DOWN.
Beginners can stop once the body contacts with the floor, tuck the knees in to "curl up" and begin the next rep.
Advanced Trainees can reverse the motion and bring body back to the inverted start position, all without changing straight line body rigidity.
A nice coaching cue for the candlestick exercise is to avoid any change in the straight line body position. Keep your body rigid straight on throughout the entire range of motion, limiting the range if need be.
I started to hammer away on Dragon Flags after listening to Christopher Sommer's podcasts with Tim Ferriss, and after coming across some of the smart dragon flag progressions from Global Bodyweight Training.
4. Dynamic Plank Variations
Plank(s) are a foundational core exercise. Controlling a plank is a body building exercises in itself, but it also has widespread application to other exercises.
Personally, I believe it's important to check in on planks from time to time, beginners to advanced movers and everyone in between. Planks are one of the early exercises back injury patients are prescribed to begin rehabilitation, so it's hard to imagine that other folks are somehow too good for plank based exercises.
Above are is a simple demonstration of rotation side planks. I use these (and many other plank variations) frequently.
Reps, sets and time to hold each plank exercise is a highly debated topic.
Personally, I feel holding a plank beyond 90-120 seconds without strain is a clear indicator of diminishing returns and wasted time. If you're strong enough to hold a plank for longer duration, it's time to move onto a more challenging variation.
4. Beast Crawl
Crawling is one of the most important forms of movement we have. Babies or adults, it doesn't matter.
Here is my jargon-free opinion on crawling… the more "adult" we become, the more we move away from the types of activities that we did as kids, the more we vitally need the activities that we did as kids.
Opinion: Adults need to exercise like kids. "Adulting" has lead us to sophistication, great careers… and also to an epidemic of chronic orthopedic issues initiated by spending a large amount of time sitting, laying… not moving.
Fixed static positions, deformation of posture, lack of movement, lack of play, lack of sleep, mindless food choice and consumption, etc.
Real uplifting isn't it?
5. Lizard Crawl
The Lizard Crawl is the king of the jungle (in my opinion). I often think of it as "ground based conditioning" and others have classified it as locomotion. Ground based conditioning is free movement activity with no equipment, either static or dynamic, moving with an organized sequence or improvising into and out of positions (flow).
Lizard Crawling is one of the best (if not thee best) locomotion based exercises. It is also one of the most challenging to control, which in part is due to how physically demanding it is. Maintaining a low body position (in relation to the floor) while challenging the joints to a range of motion while the muscle maintain enough tension to support SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF A BODY QUICKLY.
You'll be tired.
Lizard Crawling is part of my workout 3-4 days per week at different volumes, variations and intensities. Sometimes I crawl very slow, drawing out each movement and holding positions. Other times I crawl with some intensity, aiming to get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible (with reasonable technique). The distances also vary. As a beginner, I kept the distances short, anywhere from 10-20 yards at most. I'd separate efforts with rest to ensure I had gas in the tank for the next effort.
Lately, I've begun crawling for longer periods of time (45-75 seconds continuous) or 25-50 yards without taking a break. It's soul crushing yet body developing. The Lizard Crawl has become an important part of my non-traditional workout practice (aka: movement without "lifting weights").
Locomotion practice is essentially moving your bodyweight from point A to point B using a wide variety of quadruped based crawling patterns. Locomotion has beginner and elite level movement scalability, no different from basic lifts like lunges, squats, or push ups.
Developing strength, stability, mobility over one's bodyweight enhances life. Especially when more complex aspects of movement are practiced. Locomotion practice is also ideal for those who need a break from resistance training, travel frequently or are interested in building athleticism beyond what typical linear exercises (deadlifts, bench press, squats, pull-ups, etc) can offer.
6. Offset/Asymmetric Pressing and Holds
Grab a dowel, barbell or a stronger broomstick. Dangle an object (with a handle) like a kettlebell or wrap a resistance band on on one end.
Now, press or hold that dowel without changing body position or allow the object to slip off. Confused? Me too. Watch the video above and it will all make more sense.
The idea here is influence by the reality that objects we encounter in real life rarely perfectly balanced. Weight is often distributed unevenly, which means we have to adapt to these asymmetries.
7. One Arm Push Ups
A lesson in indirect core training, one arm push ups will challenge muscles of the midsection better than 95% of core based exercises. Plus, you'll get the benefit of building single arm stabilization and pressing strength.
The path to a single arm push up is simple. There are a ton of palatable variations to suit any strength level. My personal favorite for beginners to the one arm push up is to use the assistance of a resistance band. The band will make the toughest part of the exercise (the bottom of the push up) easier.
Global Bodyweight Training does a great job laying out exercise progressions for the one arm push up.
8. L-Sits (all variations)
The premise behind L-Sits is core compression. The act of creating an "L"with your upper body down through your legs is extremely demanding for the hip flexors and lower abdominal muscles.
Don't be frustrated if you can only hold an L-Sit posture for a few seconds at time. The value is still there, and with consistency, you'll be able to extend the hold for longer durations.
Of all of the basic gymnastics postures, I have found L-Sits to be an absolute game changer for building core strength. Including L-Sits in my workouts 2-3 times per week has increase my hold duration time from a few mediocre sets of 10-15 seconds, to 30+ seconds with legs moving above parallel.
You must look into gymnastics based core exercises if you're currently unfamiliar. They are some of the most practical and effective core training drills out there.
9. Arch Body Holds
Lay on the floor face down, arms and legs stretched out straight above/below. Simultaneously lift the upper body and lower body, creating a "contact" point at the belt line. Hold this Superman-like position for a 5-10 seconds and release back to the floor. Repeat for repetitions.
Progress Arch Body Holds by increasing the time of the hold.
This article is about the "core", and the core wraps all the way around the body, 360 degrees. Personally, I think of "the core" as spanning from the shoulders to the tops of the knees, a full 360 degree wrap.
And this might be doing the body a disservice since we operate as an integrated unit, not in isolation. But hey, it's my "core" article so I will share any core exercises I want!
10. Hollow Body Variations (rocking and static holds)
The Hollow Body position is fundamental stepping stone for gymnastics based training and has application to all progressive bodyweight movements where tension is a must. It reinforces how to shape the body as ONE unit.
Hollow body holds (progressing into rocking) build the entire front side of the body, known as the anterior chain. The quads, diaphragm, abdominals, hip flexors all get challenged during a hollow body hold.
* The anterior chain has taken a back seat to posterior chain dominant exercise promotion (nauseatingly so) over the last 10+ years, but building a complete body means addressing the performance of the anterior chain also.
11. Toes to Bar
Toes to Bar improves core strength, midline endurance while improving grip, shoulder health and back performance. Prolonged hanging from a bar, branch or anything overhead is therapeutic for the upper body.
There are few different variations of the Toes to Bar exercise, kipping (ballistic) or strict.
Starting out, I am a fan of strict for everyone. I'd rather someone spend time on a regression to an exercise because they cannot yet perform the strict variation, versus flailing around using momentum to perform something that resembles that exercise and satisfy the ego.
Demonstrating strict, slow tempo form through a robust range of motion is demonstration control over one's body.
Once you own the movement, do whatever you please. You earned it.
12. Bridging and Rotation into High Bridge
Proper bridge work is a full war on the modern-day desk warrior posture.
I say "proper" because jumping into a full high bridge is not a great idea for a lot of people, since bridges requires quite a bit of shoulder and thoracic mobility, along with hip flexor length.
But, following lead up bridge positions and working shoulder and mid-back mobility, hip flexor flexibility and glute strength can inch you closer to a full bridge every single day.
Sounds like a lot to address, but it's not, and much of it can be improved with simple regressions to the bridge.
Once you're able to hold a static high bridge for time, start playing around with the rotation into high bridge movement. Super fun and a great confidence building exercise.
13. Dynamic High Plank Exercises (pull-throughs, push-pull)
14. Landmine Grapplers
A barbell and a weight plate on end and a fixed pivoting point on the other end, landmine grapplers are challenging loaded rotation drill. You must first create rotational force to arc the barbell up across the midline and over to the other side, but quickly absorb that momentum and decelerate the weight to a stop.
The landmine trainer provides the opportunity to train many angled exercises and rotational exercise not possible without the pivoting sleeve. Landmine training is part machine and part free weight, a hybrid of sorts.
Using moderate weight, I like going higher repetition with landmine grapplers. 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps per side. But the landmine trainer can be used for heavier loads which would decrease the amount of reps due to the increase in weight.
15. Slosh Pipe Exercises
The water inside of the pipe is unpredictable and free moving. Tilt the slosh pipe an inch below level, the water is runs, the balance of the pipe changes and your body must react to this change. There is no rest for the body during a slosh pipe exercise. These subtle adjustments add up over time, many people find slosh pipe exercises to be very challenging.
16. Sandbag Training
Sandbags lack structure and change shape constantly during exercises. Texture of training tools is often overlooked and very important to how effective sandbag training is.
Every repetition with a sandbag is a fight. The clean-squat-press exercise is exactly that. A clean, a squat and a press, with the unique twist of a series of split second adjustments by the body try to stabilize a shape changing object that wants to fall to the floor.
* If you want to increase the instability component of sandbag training, avoid over stuffing the outer shell with inner filler bags. The more room inside the outer shell, the more the inner bags will slide, roll, move.
On the flip side, if you're looking to develop raw strength, load up sandbag and train with it like you would a barbell or any other strength based tool. Due to design, sandbags have unique grip options not available with other tools (bear hug, shouldering, etc).
17. Slow Mountain Climber Variations
Yoga refers to this exercise as "knee to nose". Call whatever your heart desires, it's challenging to pull the knee up to the "nose". The prone position (chest down) is a disadvantaged position for the body to make this happen. Arch the back and hollow out, push the shoulder blade out and back (protract) and slowly bring one knee up as far as you possibly can.
I like to cue myself to bring the knee up far enough that I could set the foot down gently and stand up.
18. Weighted Plank Variations
If you can successfully dominate bodyweight-only planks, add weight and try the same variation. It will be harder. If you're a go getter, figure out how to put the weight on your back by yourself. At the present moment, I don't yet own a weight vest. I am not sure why, but I don't. So, I shimmy a heavy sandbag onto my back and hold planks while balancing the sandbag. The process of getting the sandbag onto my back is a workout in itself.
19. Tuck Planche
Tucking the thighs tight to the stomach while supporting bodyweight using only the arms. It's a difficult task with many regressions to make the task more palatable.
The tuck planche requires core compressional strength and eventually endurance as the duration of the hold increases.
20. Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Core training in a standing position on a body of water in the sunshine? Yes, please.
The first couple of strokes on a stand up paddle board is all of the proof you'll need to understand how challenging this activity is for the core. Though the entire body must be engaged to stay on top of the paddle board, SUP'ing is mainly upper body focused.
Each stroke on a stand up paddle board is core dominant. Core strength is essential for moving the board through the water.
21. Sleep
The benefits of 7-8+ hours of quality sleep are very important for body composition, daily function, mental clarity as well as recovery and regeneration from the stresses of exercise. Yet, the value of sleep remains largely unknown and under emphasized.
I am not a sleep expert, but it doesn't take a million person study to realize how "off" my body and mind feels when I don't get an adequate amount of sleep.
If you'd like to learn more about sleep in a super entertaining, yet informative interview, check out Joe Rogan's interview with guest Dr. Matthew Walker. The link to this episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast can be found here.
Dr. Walker has also written a fantastic book on all things related to sleep, "Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams".
22. Kettlebell Swings (variations)
All movements are core movements. In other words, you cannot crawl into bed, bend down to tie your shoes or brush your teeth each morning without your core musculature supporting the effort on some level. Anyone who's experienced a back injury undoubtedly knows how important the core is when performing simple tasks.
Kettlebell swings, while not a direct core exercise, work primarily the trunk, hip and hamstring muscles. Entire books have been written around the kettlebell swing and it's ability to improve power, cardio conditioning, strength and body composition. Nutrition aside, if I was to hand select a few movements to burn fat and build muscle at the same time, I would go with kettlebell swings and Turkish Get Ups.
23. Dead Bugs
Ly on your back with chest facing the ceiling, actively press your low back into the floor (curling your pelvis back neutral/posterior), lock out all four limbs and point them toward the ceiling. To start the movement, slowly lower opposite arm/ opposite leg to the floor.
Ideally you'll make soft contacts with the floor or stop 1-3 inches above, and come back to the start position. However, a use an abbreviated range of motion if you feel your pelvis shifting to make up for lack of control.
Imagine a full glass of water in a skinny tall glass balancing at the navel region (or just above) while you move the extremities, yet keep the torso "quiet" and still.
A lot of the exercises in this article have some room for technique deviation. But in my opinion, strict technique is only way to practice dead bugs.
Alternate each side for repetitions. 3-5 sets x 8-20 repetitions.
24. "Twisted Tea" from the #OMU (Instagram)
This is my new favorite "core" exercise.
I have to give credit to the "#OMU" crew on Instagram for introducing me to this multi-planar core drill.
Assume a high plank position with arm extended out in front of the body. Now, make the biggest circle possible, spiraling down to the floor, reaching in and out of the legs, etc. When you reach the end point, reverse the motion and take it back to the start position.
Each rep is extremely long, challenging and very interesting. So far, I have only used a 2.5lb and 5lb weight plate on this drill, and my obliques were sore for days after.
25. Overhead Loaded Squats
Basic exercises become increasingly difficult when weight is overhead, which raises the center of gravity and requires more joints to contribute to the activity. The overhead position is challenging for a lot people, often due to having stiff upper backs (thoracic spines) and stiff/unstable shoulders.
Again, positioning weight overhead raises the center of gravity causing the torso to lengthen. The core muscles make the adjustment and work overtime to stabilize the body. The overhead position is very challenging for the joints, moving from the shoulders to mid-back, to hips, to knees and finally down to the ankles. Each joint must have adequate mobility and stability to control the weight overhead.
Overhead squats are a fantastic exercise and therefore worth mentioning on this list, but they are also the exercise with the most pre-requisites. Make sure you've done your mobility and stability work before slinging weight overhead.
One way to observe your readiness is to practice overhead squats with a wooden dowel… and film your technique.
26. Windmills
This is a classic, yet forgotten kettlebell exercise. The weight is supported overhead with elbow locked (but soft). Hips are pushed to the side while the upper body lowers to the floor. Softly touch the free hand to the floor and return to the starting position.
Windmills are one of those movements I program infrequently, but I really see value in establishing motor control and know how. In a real world setting, we won't always be perfectly vertical while supporting objects overhead. Sometimes, we have to bend, twist and hinge while maintaining control from shoulder to elbow to hand.
27. Janda Sit Ups
I do not program sit ups in my own training regimen and also do not prescribe for others. I feel there are FAR better uses of gym time. However… Janda Sit Ups will change your perception about the intensity of isolation.
Janda Sit Ups help to further isolate the rectus abdominals by reducing hip flexor contribution during each sit up. This means the abdominals have to do more work, probably so much work that you'll feel like you cannot control the descent to the floor, or get off the floor at first.
The effectiveness of the Janda Sit Up is all in the set up and technique. While a training partner is good to have for these, I do think they are possible to execute alone using a well placed stretch resistance band.
With the knees at roughly 90 degrees and heels on the floor, anchor a resistance band (at knee height or slightly above) around squat rack, door, piece of furniture or anything else sturdy. Stretch the band out and wrap it around your calves, 3-4 inches above your ankles. The band should have some stretch loaded into it, which will require your glutes and hamstrings to actively pull against the band during the sit-ups. You'll have to play around with the band height and tension until you find a sweet spot.
Before and during the sit up action, contract the glutes and hamstrings to initiate reciprocal inhibition of the hip flexors.
My first couple of experiences with Janda Sit Ups resulted in a level of muscle soreness that humbled me to my core (no pun intended).
To be honest, the first couple of reps it's hard to know if you're doing it correctly, but in general, if you have the sensation of not being able to peel your back off the floor to sit up, you're on the right track. It's interesting to see the amount of assistance hip flexors give during sit ups, and along the same lines, how intense isolating the abdominals a bit more.
28. Hanging Knee Tucks
Hanging Knee Tucks effectively kill two birds with one stone, maybe more than two birds, but for now we will focus in on two specifically.
Hanging from an overhead bar for extended periods of time is great for building grip strength/endurance, traction for the spine, stability for the shoulders. Second, the motion of raising the knees up to parallel with the waist line (or ideally above) is a challenging exercise for the core, particularly the lower abdominals.
I prefer to do less repetitions of hanging knee tucks, opting for longer duration holds with the knees tucked. Anywhere from 5-10 seconds per hold. 5-8 reps of a longer duration holds will have your abdominals and grip burning. If you're in the mood for a metal test, simply hang from the bar with knees tucked for as long as you can.
29. Zercher Sandbag Squats
Hooking the arms under a sandbag is both a bicep scorcher and a worthy challenge for the core as it battles to maintain body position, even in a non-moving static position. Now you add a squat and the challenge becomes even more difficult. Although we want the sandbag pulled in tight to the body, it's still an external load situated just anteriorly to your center of gravity, wanting to pull you forward.
30. Explosive Flexion Slams
Slamming a weighted ball on the ground is basically a mutated variation of Olympic Lifting for your core. The lats also get a nice stimulus during flexion slams Power development in all planes of movement is a great thing. If you're going to do flexion slams, consider using a no rebound ball, versus slamming a ball that re-arranges your face.
31. Rotational Throws
The human body must be able to produce force and resist forces acting on it. Rotation is a missing component from a lot of workout programs. Most exercises work off of the pull of gravity, which is a vertical force, as I am sure you know. The weight goes up and comes back down. Up and down, up and down.
But our bodies can rotate to perform, so rotational throws had to make this list.
Don't necessarily reach for the heaviest weighted ball in the gym or on Amazon if you're going to buy one. World Class Pro Athletes often train explosive rotation using 8lb, 10lb or 12 lb medicine balls. The most common weighted ball these days seems to be the 20lb, mainly because of "wall ball" exercise. But keep in mind, "wall ball" is straight up and straight down. Rotation is much different and you may want to dial back the weight of the ball, at least for a little while.
3-5 sets of 5-8 throws per side (ideally while the body is fresh).
32. Chops and Lifts
Ironing out body symmetry is a worthy endeavor and not all core drills are going to light your abdominals up like a Christmas Tree. Chops and Lifts are a very simple exercise that most people will find they: a) cannot do on either side, or b) can only successfully do on one side.
There are many different positions to perform Chops and Lifts in, but the inline position is one of the most humbling. Assume a half kneeling position (one knee down, one knee up). Place the down knee directly behind the heel of the up leg. So, make a straight line with your up and down legs.
Chopping or Lifting once in this position is dramatically more difficult. You will also find it's calming to the ego, as most people cannot hold posture while chopping or lifting much more than 15-20lbs.
33. Anti-Rotation Press Outs
Training rotation is often forgotten yet a HUGE part of everyday movement. One of the core's important functions is to brace against forces acting upon it. By stretching a resistance band under tension, pressing the hands out away from the body, you're educating your core how to resist the pull of the band, therefore resisting rotation.
3-5 sets of 8-12 repetitions. You can hold with elbows extended for 2-3 seconds at first, extending that time later on.
34. Single Arm Push Ups
Everyone is fanatical about something, and I am fanatical about the value of single arm push ups.
To get started here, allow me to say that single arm push ups are not a circus exercise only for the flashy calisthenics athlete. They are for EVERYONE. Follow the progressions and you can make great gains with upper body pressing strength, stability and range of motion.
Single arm push ups are a fully scalable movement for a beginner. A beginner can make single arm push ups more approachable by executing from a kneeling position, hands elevated on stairs/bench/plyo box or by wrapping a resistance band around the chest to reduce the loading. All of this regressions will build strength while moving you closer to the a full single arm push up.
Are you advanced? Too cool for school? Take it to the limit then… use what we know to be effective with exercise progressions: increasing load (add a weight vest), increase time under tension (slower on the way down, slower on the way up), increase reps, sets, etc. Varying the movement complexity is green lighted. Press from different positions or use the press as a transitional piece into other movements. Single arm push ups on a set of gymnastics rings will make your eyeballs dislodge from your face.
Do it all. Explore.
I have found single arm push ups to be one of (if not thee greatest) the best upper body pressing exercises in my arsenal.
35. Atomic Push Ups
There is a time and place for isolate core work, and at some point, you realize that all exercises are "core work" on some level. So if you can add a push up to a knee tuck, do it. The key to the knee tuck in this exercise is lifting the butt/hips to the ceiling, as high as possible, to make room for the knees tucking in toward the elbows.
3-5 sets of 6-15 reps
36. Core Smash
Core smash = intense core flexion contraction.
Ly face up on the floor. Place hands on the side of the head (fingertips just behind the ears), slowly bring your knees to meet your elbows, pressing elbow into the knees as hard as you can. Hold it there, think of something other than the intense core contraction you're feeling. The Core Smash set ends when the elbows lose contact with the knees. Aim for brief holds at first, lengthening as you gain strength and confidence.
37. Arch Body
The core is not only on the front of the body, easily scene in the mirror. It wraps around your body like a weight belt. Hard to see in the mirror, the glutes and spinal erectors are crucial for human performance, body health and injury mitigation.
Arch body exercise is the opposite of the Hollow Body exercise. Chest down on the floor, you're going to create a pronounced U-Shape by lifting the arms/back/hamstrings and heels. A lot of people will feel weak during the arch body, possibly cramping. It's ok. Hold as long as you can, rest and repeat.
Hammer the front side, hammer the back side.
38. Hollow Body High Plank or Push Ups
Assume a high plank position (aka: top of a push up), roll your pelvis under, arch your spine and protect your shoulder blades to make as pronounced of a "U-Shape" as possible. Hold there and embrace the suck, because it's a highly rewarding position but a sucky position at first. The hollow body position is fundamental for many more difficult gymnastics based movements.
Beginner level gymnastics posture here. Very humbling.
39. Stability Ball Stir-the-Pot
Stability balls are naturally unstable. So, putting the elbows on the stability ball to perform a plank creates a wobbly situation. Now, add a circular motion with the elbows as if you were stirring a giant pot of soup.
Why do this exercise? Because adding more time to a marathon length standard plank is not what most people need. More time doesn't mean greater gains. At some point, especially with planks, make them harder. One way to make them harder is to add a dynamic movement to a fundamental stability exercise. Take the core stillness reinforced with a traditional plank, start moving the arms on a stability ball, but maintain that same core stillness. Plank variations are great for improving core endurance.
40. Suspension Trainer Pendulums
Slip your feet into the loops of a suspension train or gymnastics rings, turn over and assume a high plank position (top of a push up). The feet are now suspended while the upper body is supporting.
Initiate a side to side motion pendulum motion from the waist on down by activating the hands/arms/torso. Grip the ground hard and swing the legs without breaking at the low back, hips, knees.
This is a very non-traditional exercise that will blow up your mid-section. Expect oblique soreness in the days that follow.
3-5 sets of of higher repetitions, maybe 10-20 per side.
41. Core Compression Pulses
Core compression pulses are a beginner level gymnastics exercise, which in itself is humbling to think about. To do them, sit on the floor, upper body erect and legs straight out in front of you. Place hands on the outsides of the thighs, pressing into the ground for assistance as you lift each leg entirely off of the ground, pulsing up and down.
Lift the legs as high as possible without rocking, bending the knees or compensating to do so.
Core compression pulses are a high repetition exercise, but beginners don't be surprised if you're only able to get 3, 4 or maybe 5 before form breaks or cramping begins. Staying disciplined to this exercise will result in quick improvements.
I like to work these early in the workout, before any other lifting or cardio because they are so demanding and isolating the motion is important. 3-5 sets of 4-20+ reps.
42. Loaded Carrying Variations
Loaded carries are incredible for core development and performing real world work.
For the functional fanatic in all of us who want every minute of strength work and cardio exercise to translate to real world scenarios, is there any other mode of exercise more functional than carrying objects of varying weights, texture, shapes and sizes (not to mention carrying in various positions) from Point A to Point B?
Personally, I do not think so.
43. Lizard Crawl + Push or Pull
Perform a lizard crawl while pushing or pulling an object of weight. Simple as that.
I hesitated to include this hybrid locomotion exercise, but ultimately felt that people who can Lizard Crawl proficiently would enjoy adding a brutal push or pull to the exercise. If you don't have an understanding of the basic Lizard Crawl, start there before adding elements to an already difficult locomotion pattern.
Push and pull equipment. Tools that can be used for the push/pull include a sandbag on carpet or a hard floor surface, or, substitute a kettlebell, dumbbell or weight plate. I have used all of these tools with success, but keep returning to using a sandbag on carpet or hardwood.
If you've never pushed or pulled a sandbag on carpet, you're in for treat. It's difficult. The amount of friction between the sandbag and floor makes moving it a nightmare, in a positive way. Plus, a sandbag lacks shape, which requires constant readjustments in body position to gain leverage to move it, along with hand position on the bag as it melts into the floor.
44. Spinal Waves
It's been said we are only as old as our spine is healthy.
Spine health is our life force and if we cannot move it when we need to, it is likely to become a problem down the road.
Soft hump the wall for 100-200 reps most days of the week. Sounds like too much? 200 reps of spinal wave takes less than 5 minutes and your body will thank you for the movement.
45. Standing Spine CAR's
Lock in the hips, hug yourself and articulate in a circular fashion as if you were trying to dodge pushes from a boxer. Say hello to controlled articulations and their ability to wake up the obliques. Brace and breathe.
46. Hip CAR's
Assume a quadruped position with hands, knees and feet in contact with the floor. Raise your leg out to the side of your body as high as possible, pretend like you're a dog about to pee on a fire hydrant. Be mindful to keep your shin bone parallel with the floor, which means your foot doesn't move higher or lower than your knee. (Watch the video)
Draw as large circle with your knee (articulate) as you slowly move the knee behind the body. This will look like the finishing position of a donkey kick. Lower the knee back underneath the body, but don't set it down. Reverse the pattern.
Once again, many of the best "core" movements are not isolated movements, and they shouldn't be because isolating the "core" is not how humans operate. Every little movement is a synergistic experience, with many muscles contributing.
47. Animal Flow Side Kick Through's
Side Kick Through's are a basic movement element in Animal Flow, resembling a break dancing type move.
Animal Flow is a bodyweight focused, ground based movement system packed with performance and restorative movement patterns.
Start in a quadruped position, hands and feet supporting the body (knees hover 1-2 inches off the floor). Rotate to one side by pivoting on the ball of that sides foot, opening up your chest to the side you're turning toward. Slide the trailing leg through and "kick" it through until fully extended. At the same time as the leg kicks through, pull the opposite arm/hand back as if you were drawing back a bow and arrow.
The simultaneous opposite arm/leg reach with light up the anterior oblique system (fascial slings crossing the front of the body). Some will and some will not feel this diagonal "stretch" from the hip through the torso up to the opposite shoulder during Side Kick Through end range… I personally feel it. You, may not. Regardless, there's tremendous movement benefit in this exercise.
48. Animal Flow Crab Reach
This is my favorite Animal Flow exercise because it's LOADED WITH BENEFITS.
Posterior chain activation, controlled rotation of the torso, elongation of the often shortened muscles of the core, and honestly… it's a position most people do not explore, which is absolutely of great benefits for expanding movement IQ (aka: confidence).
In one shot, the Crab Reach accomplishes the following:
– Opens up the torso and chest in a diagonal pattern (far hip to far shoulder)
– Challenges and improves shoulder stability on the loaded working arm
– Opens up the hips anteriorly
– Activates the posterior chain (gluten/hamstrings) moving into extension.
– Uncommon position (head and eyes get a different look at the world)
The end, finally.
This extensive exercise list does tend to place higher stress on the muscle of the torso/trunk.
But, ALL training is technically "core training" since we cannot sneeze or cough, reach for tissue or stand up from the toilet without assistance from our trunk muscles.
I don't want this list to project favoritism to core building exercises, as if these are all a person should focus on. However, if a simple audit of your gym time shows you're spending a lot of time crunching your core into oblivion, sub-out those crunches with a few of these exercises.
A complete training regimen includes bits and pieces from many different movement patterns, drills, muscles, tempos, strength, power, stability, mobility, cardio, etc.
If there's one final thought to leave you with (assuming you made it this far) it's this: do it all.
Keep showing up and working movement in all planes, in as many different positions as possible, making gains through smart exercise progression, mobility training and probably most important of all, consistency across the long haul.
Your body will love you for paying attention to what it needs as you build it's capacity to move well and mitigate injury.
Cheers to you and the daily effort…


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(520) 297-1210
(520) 797-6870 (fax)
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
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Between Ina and Magee, across from the Tucson Mall, in La Cholla Corporate Center.
Click on the "Join" button in the menu above to view our membership details.
Phone: 520.682.4314
Main Office: 13881 Casa Grande Hwy Marana, AZ 85653
Email: email@example.com


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Visit Peru and discover its highlights from Lima to Cusco on an exciting journey that encompasses modern cities and ancient worlds. Explore Peru's lush Amazon Jungle, the epic Lake Titicaca and the vast Colca Canyon. Enjoy local homestays, hike the famed Inca Trail and be immersed in fascinating Peruvian culture while discovering its history buried deep within the walls of lost cities.
Organised by the GoHop Adventure Team


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Oread Friends Meeting
Meeting Times
10:00 A.M., every First Day (Sunday)
Childcare provided; wheelchair accessible
Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business: 11:00 A.M., first First Day
What's New
The Common Ground Program is a community gardening and urban agriculture program created by the City of Lawrence in 2012. The Common Ground Program's goal is to transform vacant or under-utilized city properties into vibrant sites of healthy food production for our citizens. The Oread Friends Garden/Farm is a proud project site.
Oread Friends Meeting is now sponsoring a Friends Film series, showing movies with peace and justice concerns three-times a year at the Meeting House.
Waltz With Bashir
2008 Winner: Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film
Animated Documentary
Regarding One Man's Experience in the 1982 Lebanon War.
Praised for "Inventing a new cinematographic language."
Where: Oread Friends Meeting House, 1146 Oregon Street
On Saturday, November 28, Oread Friends Meeting displayed the following advertisement in the Lawrence Journal-World.
Some Quaker quotes, long and short, that may be less familiar than those we have been looking at thus far. I can track down dates, etc. if we want to use any of them (or a part of one) for the new brochure or in our advertisements.
Friends, We had discussed the possibility of using a query in the newspaper ad and/or the brochure: here are some adapted from Catherine Whitmire's book Plain Living: A Quaker Path to Simplicity.
Close to the Millennium, Oread Friends Meeting decided to ask members and attenders to contemplate how they envisioned God and to share their responses with the Meeting.
Worship with us!
10:00 A.M., every First Day (Sunday)
Childcare provided; wheelchair accessible
Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business: 11:00 A.M., first First Day


text: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!! November 3, 2009AnnaComment Today is BEN'S BIRTHDAY!!! He is 24 (so oooold ;) I have been in love with this boy for three whole years It still blows me away every single day and somehow always keeps getting better and better (our very first picture, circa 2006) We've come a loooong way! I love you Ben :) lotsnlots


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If you dread putting on your shoes because of painful blisters, this is the solution for you. Get immediate relief from painful rubbing, calluses, and blisters on the the back of your heels. ENGO patches immediately reduce friction, protecting you from blister pain.
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Unlike traditional blister bandages, ENGO patches are applied to footwear or athletic equipment – not to the skin. They use a patented technology to provide immediate relief from the friction that causes blisters.
ENGO Heel Blister Patches are for you if:
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- You're breaking in a new pair of shoes
- Traditional blister bandages aren't cutting it
Where to Apply ENGO
Apply ENGO patches anywhere you experience painful rubbing or irritation, including:
- High heels and dress shoes
- Running, basketball & tennis shoes
- Soccer, football & baseball cleats
- Dance shoes
- Work boots and shoes


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If you can't buy something, could you at least donate? Please?
|Blitzkrieg1701, November 6th, 2010, 11:04 pm
Original note - Jun 02, 2010
Now, I know absolutely nothing about how computers work, other than how to use them for stuff like this. Thus, I have absolutely no idea what was going on whenever the tech guys tried to get a computer and a projector to cooperate. What I DO know, however, if that it happened at EVERY SINGLE PANEL. Seriously, I only attended one panel all weekend that didn't use a projector, and that was the only panel that DIDN'T start 10 minutes late due to technical difficulties. Clearly, this is hard magic to master.
|Advertisement, November 14th, 2019, 10:35 am
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If you're newer to following Jesus, or you've been around churches for a long time but feel you've missed out on some basics, Foundations is designed for you.
Foundations is a cross between a class and a small group. It combines teaching with time to practice what we're learning. It offers a safe place to share what's going on in our lives and receive encouragement. We don't have to feel alone on the journey of faith—let's do this together!
Four broad topics are covered. Each week we'll look at a different aspect of one topic:
The Bible
Where did it come from? What are different ways to get into it? We'll cover reading to get an overview, reading meditatively to connect with God, and ways of doing deeper Bible study.
We'll learn how to pray alone and with others. It can be intimidating to pray out loud with people—this is a place to practice until it's natural.
As disciples of Jesus, we want to get better at loving one another. We'll learn practical skills to become better listeners and conflict resolvers.
We each have a unique place in the kingdom of God. We'll talk about servanthood, being stewards of what God has given us, and how we can each use our strengths to bless other people.
The Red Room @ Peoples Church
First 3 Sundays of each month
Newcomers always welcome!
To learn more or sign up, contact Jessica Jones (847-722-5269) or Alex Jones (847-275-9119), or fill out the form below and we'll be in touch.


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Fireboat John J. Harvey is moored at Pier 66 Maritime, at 26th St. and the Hudson River. The pier is a historic car-float barge, and is also home to the legendary light house tender Frying Pan. From May to October, one of the most popular bar/restaurants in NYC is open on the Pier. Harvey's home is provided by the generosity of Angela Krevey and her late, greatly missed, husband John, whose vision was the catalyst for saving the fireboat.
Source: fireboat.org – Historic Fireboat John J. Harvey – Life Saver, National Treasure


text: Share: Comments Print May 16, 2013 at 2:30 PM Alaska cruise: Dopey souvenirs from the Northland Posted by Brian J. Cantwell Every place has its dopey souvenirs that tourists love. In Seattle, it's anything made of Mount St. Helens ash. In Alaska? Take a look… A really dopey moose wine-bottle corker will add sophistication to any dinner table. If you didn't manage to get mauled while photographing a grizzly in Alaska, you can at least take home a "Bear Claw!"-brand extendable back scratcher. A bargain at $5.99. The ulu is a well-known Native Alaskan blade used for skinning seals. Got small seals to skin back home? You need a Pocket Ulu. People will buy anything when they're on vacation. Or you can just bring home a bad case of indigestion after eating one of these. (all photos by Brian J. Cantwell / The Seattle Times) Comments | More in Brian hates cruising, Trip reports | Topics: Alaska, Alaska cruise, dopey souvenirs


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Neil Bartlett
In an initiative instigated by the Agency, the director, performer, writer and gay rights campaigner, Neil Bartlett donated his archive of work from across the last three decades to the British Library. In partnership with the Library, the Agency holds a complete collection of documentation of Bartlett's innovative and influential performance work.
The Neil Bartlett collection can be viewed in the Live Art Development Agency Study Room located in London, UK.


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"Don't start with the details"
When you're drawing from nature you'll often face challenges like complex feather patterns or spots on a reptile. Our eyes are drawn to these intricate details because they're fascinating to look at, and that's all good. The trouble starts when these surface details take priority over getting the basics of our drawing established first. I struggled with this for the longest time. I would become seduced by some little detail and end up with pictures where every minute hair was precisely drawn, but the overall image was very flawed structurally. Much like having a house with fancy light fixtures and granite counter tops, but with crooked walls and a collapsing roof.
So what's the best way to start a drawing? With a gentle line, establish the basic shapes, proportions and angles first. This is key. If these aren't working, no matter how well you draw the details, your drawing will never feel right. Worry about adding details afterwards, at the start it's just a distraction.
If you have trouble seeing through the spots and patterns, try looking at the world slightly out of focus. Squint (or take off your glasses if you wear them). It's simple and works every time.
For the example image, I've drawn the basics of this Veery (died from striking a window) using a dark 2B pencil. This is just to make the drawing more visible here. Normally at the start I'd use an H pencil so that the lines would be very faint and easy to correct.
Good luck and have fun!


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Fred Kiel, author of Return on Character, explains his research on why being good benefits the bottom line.
SARAH GREEN: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Sarah Green. Today, I'm talking with Fred Kiel, author of the new book Return on Character: The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win. Fred, thank you so much for talking with us today.
FRED KIEL: You're very welcome, Sarah.
SARAH GREEN: So the book is based on a really interesting study you conducted of more than 100 CEOs and 8,000 hours employee observations of those CEOs. And I thought we could just start by hearing a little bit about your findings.
FRED KIEL: Sure, I'd be glad to. We found that strong character leaders contributed an amazing almost five times bottom line profitability as do the weak character leaders. And they enjoy a much higher level of workforce engagement, about 26% higher. And they also have a significant impact on reducing corporate risk to the company. So those are the three big headlines of the objective data. And then we also discovered a lot about character and what it is and how it can be changed.
SARAH GREEN: So I love the headline there that nice guys can finish first.
FRED KIEL: Right.
SARAH GREEN: How did you decide what traits exactly make up someone with a lot of character?
FRED KIEL: Well, we stand on the shoulders of a lot of research that has gone on before us, specifically in the field of cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropologists study what human cultures have in common around the world, what they all share. And it turns out that there is a set of moral principles that are universal among all cultures around the globe.
So we selected four of those that we thought would be pretty important in leadership. The four are integrity and responsibility, two of the head. And then two of the heart, forgiveness and compassion. And we created behavioral descriptors of those four principles and then used those by surveying employees and asking them to rate those behaviors on the part of their CEOs and their senior teams.
SARAH GREEN: So when you talk about the importance of forgiveness there, I feel like that is one that might strike some people as surprising because I think we talk a lot about accountability in leadership. We don't talk as much about forgiveness. So tell me a little bit more about why you included that one.
FRED KIEL: Well, because if you think about it for a minute, I suspect that innovation will only thrive in a forgiving culture. If people are afraid that if they try out a risky idea or promote some new innovative idea that might turn out to be a bad idea and not be successful, they're not going to do that if they think they're putting their career on the line and taking that kind of risk.
But if they know it's a forgiving culture where people are encouraged to innovate and don't expect all attempts to be successful, then that will have a major impact on innovation.
SARAH GREEN: So my last question about the study itself is really about correlation and causation, which is the kind of thing you always see in internet comments, people will chime in, this is just correlation, not causation. How did you try to control for that.
FRED KIEL: Well, we don't control for it in the sense that this is not at all about causation in the sense that this is a descriptive research study. And we're very pleased and proud of the rigor that we put behind doing this descriptive research. In fact, in my book Return on Character, the reader can go to the appendices and see our entire research design and our data so that they can come up to their own conclusions.
But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's probably a duck. What we found is this really strong connection between the character of the senior leadership team and level of workforce engagement and the bottom line return on assets.
SARAH GREEN: So I want to ask a little bit about the other side of the spectrum. The low character leaders. These people, what are they like and do they even know that they have a problem?
FRED KIEL: They generally don't. What we found is all of the CEOs in the study on their self ratings rated themselves all up in the higher level of the character curve. We call the top level the top 15% percent of the CEOs in terms of their character scores we labeled as the virtuoso CEOs. And the bottom 10% or 15% we called the self focused CEOs. And then we study the differences between those two extremes.
And what we found is that they were all very similar in one thing. They say all saw themselves as being people of high character. In fact, those at the bottom of the curve rated themselves just a little bit higher than the ones at the top of the curve rated themselves. But where the real difference came in is in how their employee saw them. The employees rated the top character CEOs, the virtual also CEOs, a little bit higher than the CEOs rated themselves.
So those top level CEOs had a certain level of humility when it came to their study on their self ratings. But for the bottom CEOs and the self focused groups, their employees rated them significantly lower than they rated themselves, like 15 points lower.
SARAH GREEN: So the level of the lack of self awareness I think is interesting here. How might we be able to better assess ourselves and figure out, yikes, what if we are one of these people who really needs to improve?
FRED KIEL: Well, there's a couple of ways go about that. One is that on our website returnoncharacter.com, we have a character reputation predictor instrument that we have created using predictive analytics. It's 65 questions that the person vsn take. You can go there yourself and answer those questions. And you will come out with a prediction of how similar you are to either the virtuosos or the self focused ones.
We have a 90% confidence that we can predict the range in which you will be in. And so that's one way. Be prepared, if your listeners go and do that, there's another quiz on our website that this self-assessment. And we predict that almost everybody that takes that will come out in the virtuoso range. So be prepared for the difference between those two, because what that says is that there may very well be a gap between how you see yourself and how the people around you see yourself.
But this is a rough measure. And the only way to really get accurate data is a little bit like telling somebody you need to go deep and eat your vegetables and that's not an easy or necessarily a painless process. But it is to really under scientific conditions, have those around who work closely with you answer a set of survey questions.
We've isolated 25 behaviors that are key to character. And when you get the wisdom of the crowd operating here and 20 or 25 people answer those questions about you, we take an average of those, you come out with a pretty hard number about predicting where you are on the character curve.
SARAH GREEN: So maybe let's talk about just a few of those 25 attributes. And maybe how we can do a little bit better job of developing as leaders with character.
FRED KIEL: Sure. Well, each of these four principles, integrity, responsibility, forgiveness, and compassion have their own set of behavioral indicators. And there are some pretty obvious items, like integrity. How often do you tell the truth, do you keep your promises? On responsibility, how often do you own up to your own mistakes and accept the consequences of your choices and to express a concern for the common good?
And for forgiveness, how often do you respond in a forgiving and a curious when well intentioned people make mistakes versus in a blaming or shaming way? And then the compassion side principle, how often do show that you care for people as people and not as numbers or as objects? One of the specific items in that category that has real power is showing interest in the development of others.
FRED KIEL: So in terms of actually improving our character as leaders, as I understand, you actually have kind of a three step process that people can go through. Tell us a little bit about that.
FRED KIEL: Right. The three steps. The first is to what we call pop the bubble. And that means that you need to get an accurate understanding of what your true care habits are as perceived by other people. It's your reputation. And there's a couple of different ways of doing that. One is that you can really lean on good friends and work colleagues if you have a good trusting relationship with and make it very safe for them to give you that kind of feedback.
That's got limited success in that a lot of people still won't understand those conditions. The better way to pop the bubble is to use a real, valid 360 survey tool which people can gain access to through our website Return on Character. That'll give you the true picture. And then after that, you need to discover what it is that you are really falling short on and which of those character habits are ones that you really want to change.
Our guess is that when people really see the real picture and how they're perceived that– I'm just guessing at this, because we don't have data on this. But I would bet that probably 50% of people will say, oh wow, I didn't know I was that way. That's something I can change right now. I'll just do it. And they do. But after you identify what it is you want to change, the real advantage is to go public with what you're trying to do and ask for your support. Ask for support from people who know you and work closely with you to give you feedback when they see you behaving in the way that you want to and likewise, in a way that you are falling back in the old habits.
SARAH GREEN: Well, Fred, that was super helpful. Thank you so much for talking with us today.
FRED KIEL: You're very welcome, Sarah.
SARAH GREEN: That was a Fred Kiel. The book is Return on Character. For more, visit HBR org.


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Complete Results
In their second of four South Coast Conference tri-meets, the Cerritos College women's swimming team was defeated by both of their opponents on Friday. The Falcons (1-3) were defeated by host Mt. San Antonio College, 216-61, while they suffered a 167-91 loss to El Camino College. The team will travel to East Los Angeles College next Friday to take on the host Huskies and Pasadena City College at 12:30 p.m. in another conference meet.
On the day, Cerritos posted five overall third places, with the 200-yard medley relay recording a time of 2:16.42 and consisted of freshmen Jackie Oliveros (Gahr HS), Isabella Sierra (California HS), Lindsay de Haas (Hacienda Heights Wilson HS) and Elisa Prohroff (Schurr HS).
Prohroff turned in three individual third place finishes including a time of 28.80 in the 50-yard freestyle, and was just edged out of second place overall by Mt. SAC's Breanna Delgadillo and her time of 28.59. In the 200-yard freestyle, Prohroff posted a third place time of 2:14.26, while she was clocked in 6:10.48 in the 500-yard freestyle. Also coming in third place overall was Sierra in the 100-yard breaststroke with a clocking og 1:23.62.
April 7, 2017 W. Swimming: Cerritos competes at Pasadena Invitational
March 24, 2017 W. Swimming: Falcons get swept in conference dual meet
March 3, 2017 W. Swimming: Conference opener results in split
February 24, 2017 W. Swimming: Team earns fifth place at invitational
February 11, 2017 W. Swimming: Cerritos takes second place at Palomar Pentathlon
February 10, 2017 W. Swimming: Falcons open season at Waterman Festival


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Posted by: admin on: December 6, 2013
Lovi Poe and Alessandra de Rossi visited Heart Evangelista on the set of Startalk to participate on the segment "Heart of the Matter". The three lovely ladies shared how their friendship blossomed from being just co-stars to being sisters. Sweet, ain't it?
Posted by: admin on: February 26, 2013
The Alcantara Sisters Heart Evangelista (Diana), Alessandra de Rossi (Bernadette) and Lovi Poe (Natasha) just gained a lot of fans through their show 'Legacy', which aired its final episode today in TV3 Malaysia. The Filipino fans miss the three girls together too and we're hoping GMA Films will give them a chick flick soon!
Posted by: admin on: February 25, 2013
LEGACY is currently being shown in other Asian countries. Here's one of the confrontation scenes of the show. Mike Tan as Third and Lovi Poe as Natasha could've been a perfect match. We're hoping GMA-7 will give this tandem another project!
Posted by: admin on: February 20, 2013
The Alcanatara sisters are gaining a number of fans from Malaysia. As of present, our favorite telenovela 'Legacy' is being shown in Malaysia's TV3. Now we know why Malaysian fans are tweeting Heart, Lovi and Alex!
Posted by: admin on: May 26, 2012
Their characters as Bernadette and Natasha may have a love-and-hate relationship as siblings, but they are good friends in real life. We're hoping to see them in a project together again soon!


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Survey Shmurvey, actual bike counts up in MadisonPosted on
In yesterday's blog post I reported that the Census Bureau's American Community Survey results showed fewer people biking to work in Madison in 2011 compared to 2010. The ACS survey results for Milwaukee, on the other hand, showed more people biking to work, although the numbers were up only slightly. A number of readers commented that the changes for both cities were either statistically insignificant because of the margin of error and small sample size. People also said that the journey to work question is poorly worded. I agree on both points, and noted bike counts are a much more accurate.
Well, Madison does automatic bike counts at a number of locations on the trails and bike lanes. I got ahold of those numbers and guess what? From 2010 to 2011, the number of bicycles counted increased at every count location. Those real numbers are not only statistically significant, they are consistent with the long-term upward trend in bike counts since Madison began doing them.
The graph above shows the average annual Average Weekday Traffic count for bicycles at the count locations. While there are peaks and dips from one year to the next, the graph clearly shows an overall upward trend. It also shows an uptick from 2010 to 2011. The top two rows of the table below show the increases from 2010 to 2011 at 6 of the count locations in Madison. There are other locations in Madison, and last year Madison added an additional 7 count locations, so moving forward we will have even more data from other locations.
Remember these bike counts show all bike trips, not just journey to work trips, as the ACS is trying to measure. That said, based on anecdotal evidence and these counts, I think it is reasonable to intuit that if the overall numbers of people biking isare up, so are the number of people biking to work.
Does that mean the ACS is bunk? I don't think so. First, the long term trends for the ACS are consistent with the long term counts. On an individual year they may differ, but they have value when looked at over time. Second, the ACS is the only apples to apples way we have to compare cities and states. Portland does counts one way, Madison another, Boulder another and many cities don't do bike counts at all. The ACS asks the same (poorly worded) question in the same way of people across the country.


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It is human nature for people to look down and when they do, what they see is your floors! First impressions count. But then so do second impressions, and every one thereafter. Your floors are a direct reflection on your buildings and your tenants.
Office Pride excels at meeting the special requirements of cleaning multi-use buildings, offices, high traffic restrooms and lobby floors. We know that it takes hard work and attention to detail, cleaning after cleaning, to keep your facilities beautiful.
Office Pride Customized Services
- Carpet cleaning
- Flexible cleaning schedules
- Floor stripping and waxing
- Green cleaning available upon request
- Miniblind cleaning
- Restroom sanitizing
- Special request cleaning
- Window washing
Tried and True Systems Ensure Consistent and Quality Services
- Every tenant is treated as an individual customer and when your tenants are happy, you are happy.
- Office Pride uniformed employees are fully bonded and insured.
- Office Pride boasts lower than average employee turnover due to programs that reward through incentives and recognition.
- Office Pride finds and retains the best staff by paying more than the competition.
- Office Pride's strict hiring process ensures only the best employees are working in your building.
- Office Pride has an outstanding customer retention rate.
- Office Pride routinely inspects customer buildings so standards are met each and every time.
- Office Pride understands budget constraints and works with clients to support them through budget challenges.
Our unique Color-Coded Cleaning System eliminates potential for cross-contamination between restrooms and other building areas and Office Pride uses the safest and most effective Green Seal™ certified chemicals and cleaning equipment along with mop systems, buffers, vacuums, and specialized floor machines.
Our cleaners are all toilet trained but trained in many other areas to make your buildings and offices beautiful from floor to ceiling. Find out why hundreds of property and facility managers nationwide choose and recommend Office Pride for their routine janitorial services. Member BSCAI.


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SAN DIEGO - Arman Momdzhyan scored four goals to lead UC San Diego past Santa Clara men's water polo, 13-9, on Thursday in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) matchup.
Ryan Werner had career-high four goals, and Patrick Kirk added three for the Broncos who are on the road for one more game before hosting Fresno Pacific and Air Force to close out the regular season.
Werner scored all his goals in the final quarter, including the last one with less than two minutes left in the game, and Kirk scored Santa Clara's two third-quarter goals.
The Broncos (6-12, 1-3) entered the third quarter on a strong note with Scott Zurnacian winning the sprint and assisting on Kirk's goal in the first 13 seconds of the second half. Kirk tipped in his second goal of the third quarter with Sam Toriggino's assist, but the Broncos were unable to close the gap against the No. 13 Tritons (9-11, 6-0) who remain in first place in the WWPA.
John Raineri added a marker on his 5-meter penalty shot with less than 1:30 in the first quarter, leading to a 2-all game headed into the second period.
Skyler Munatones scored within the first 45 seconds of the second quarter giving UC San Diego a 3-2 lead, but the Broncos fired back with Reilley May's power play goal less than 3 minutes later to tie the game 3-all.
But Momdzhyan scored twice early in the second quarter as part of a four goal run to give the Tritons a 7-3 advantage.
Kirk scored the opening marker of the game on the man advantage late in the first quarte for the Broncos who were 4 of 7 on the power play, while the Tritons were only 2 of 7.
The Broncos face Loyola Marymount on Saturday at noon before hosting Fresno Pacific on Nov. 4 and Air Force on Nov. 5./p>
|Live Stats
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
• Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Men's Water Polo: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram


text: Set up your rules in style with this beautiful house rules design! This wonderful design will encourage your family to live each day to the fullest, to respect themselves and one another. Customize this design even further by choosing your own unique color from our color chart, or send us a color swatch to make this the perfect design!


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Your January 2018 Financial Checklist
Your January 2018 Financial Checklist
The countdown is over and the bubbly's been popped: 2018 has arrived. You may still be in the holiday mindset, but it's time to start looking ahead to everything you want to tackle over the next 12 months.
We know, it's a lot. That's why we're all about taking small, manageable steps. Here are five things to take care of this month so you can start the new year strong.
1. Assess Your Holiday Spending
Deadline: Friday, January 5
If you haven't sat down and tracked everything you spent over the holidays, make sure you take stock now. Between gifts, travel and dinner parties, your spending likely added up fast. So see what the final damage is, and assess whether you stayed in budget. If you did, congrats! Now keep this number as a baseline for the next holiday season and start putting money away each month to prepare for it. If you got off track, don't panic: These tips will help you recoup some of that cash.
2. File Quarterly Taxes
Deadline: Friday, January 12
Taxes have been in the news a lot lately with the passage of the new Republican tax plan. But if you're a freelancer or business owner, taxes are on your mind for a different reason: The deadline to file your estimated taxes for the last quarter of 2017 is Monday, January 15. Don't wait until the last minute. Make sure you file with time to spare to avoid late penalties.
3. Set 2018 Goals↑ Go to the top
Deadline: Tuesday, January 16
A new year calls for new goals, and here at LearnVest, we're big fans of setting goals for your money. Financial resolutions might sound daunting, but they're not unlike setting fitness goals — and you can apply these strategies to help you meet both. If you've had trouble sticking to your resolutions in the past, it could be due to one of these five mistakes. So make sure to avoid them and make 2018 the year you meet all your goals.
4. Take Your Career to the Next Level
Deadline: Thursday, January 25
Companies are gearing up for first-quarter promotions and new hires, which makes January the perfect time to plan your next career move. Maybe you're hoping to advance at your current company or looking for a new job altogether. Either way, the time to take action is now. These nine tips can help you make 2018 your best career year yet. And if you're not ready to make a big change but want to see what else is out there, here are easy ways to soft-launch your job search.
5. Increase Your Retirement Contributions
Deadline: Monday, January 29
Want a quick win to start the year out right? See if your budget can accommodate an increase in your retirement contributions. If you have the wiggle room, consider bumping them up by a percentage point or two. Chances are, you won't notice the difference in your paycheck, but it will make a difference in your retirement savings, thanks to compound interest. And while you're at it, consider what other money tasks you can automate to help reach your money goals this year.


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Talented, beautiful, and just married, Nicola was one of the creative individuals who I was very excited to get in contact with. I first stumbled across her etsy concrete & honey two years ago and I fell in love with everything she was creating. Later, I discovered her blog, and I quickly became obsessed her wonderful photography showcasing recently bought blooms carried home by her husband, freshly made cakes, and a home that she has so delicately furnished. Blogging about her daily life in Australia, what she did over the weekend, upcoming birthdays… It all makes for a very relaxing, very inspiring, and slightly jealous-inducing read!
Describe your typical weekday routine.


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Our chickens are truly free ranging on pasture. They have unlimited access to fresh grass and woodlands all day, every day. For protection, and to allow for true freedom, we have Livestock Guardian Dogs to defend the chickens against coyotes, foxes, stray dogs, and will even bark at aerial predators signaling the chickens to hide in the tree lines.
We currently have 900 chickens living on pasture, and they are all named Penny!
The Pennys (or is it Pennies?) are able to forage for bugs and eat grass to make for a much more nutritious (and delicious) egg than those without access to pasture. We supplement their diet with organic, non-GMO whole grains and minerals, and they are never given any antibiotics or hormones....ever!
Not only are these eggs delicious, they are healthier for you than most eggs. According to the USDA they are higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and protein and lower in cholesterol and fat. They also have 5 times more Vitamin D, because these chickens get to bask in the sun every day!
By eating our eggs, you are supporting a local farmer (we are 15 minutes away from Downtown Chattanooga), and stopping the support of commercially produced eggs where chickens are not offered a happy life. We will spare you the details, but we can guarantee that these chickens have a better life where they are spoiled rotten and happily expressing their true chickeness!
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Our dogs are known in the farm world as Livestock Guardian Dogs, or LGDs. They are crucial to our farm, and because of them, our chickens, pigs, turkeys, etc are allowed to live like real animals should: outside in the fresh air. We have 5 LGDs, all of which have been on our farm since they were pups. Introducing dogs to chickens at an early age is a crucial element to lowering the dogs "prey drive" towards chickens. To foster a bond between the dogs and the chickens when they were puppies, the dogs would sleep in the chicken coops at night. Our dogs are Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd mixes.
One of the beliefs in permaculture is this: the more life in a system, the more life it can support. In our county we have an overpopulation of coyotes and coy dogs (a mix of dog and coyote). While we do have other predators like raccoons, possums, skunks, and hawks, the coyotes and coy dogs are the biggest threat to our animals. So instead of waging war against the coyotes using fatal methods, we simply raised our LGDs. They patrol the farm, establish a territory, and have successfully pushed the coyotes out of the area. By adding MORE life to the system instead of removing life we are able to provide a much more reliable and consistent protection for our animals, and we get the added benefit of having these awesome dogs in our lives! So here they are.....our awesome LGDs!


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Savoy Cinema
16 Causway Head,
No one has favorited this theater yet
This early hall was converted in 1912 to the plans of Frederick Drewitt, into a full-time cinema, opening on 29th November 1912 as the Picture Theatre. Seating was provided for 480. It was described in the press as being 'The handsomest Picture Palace in the country – outside the West End of London'. By 1919 it was operated by Penzance Cinemas Ltd. and in the 1920's it was re-named The Cinema and was the first cinema in the town to install talking pictures.
In 1937, a new owner took over and it was re-named Savoy Cinema. It was taken over by the Jackson Withers circuit of Cardiff in 1942 and they were sold to the Rank Organisation in 1977. Rank sold it to the current operator Geoff Greaves; Merlin Cinemas on 1st June 1990.
It was converted into a triple screen cinema in 1993, re-opening with Sylvester Stallone in "Cliffhanger" in all three screens. The screens now seat 200 in the former front stalls area, with two mini-screens, each seating 50 located in the former rear stalls. There is a new projection box located in the front of the former circle, and a restaurant and licenced bar is located at the rear of the former circle.
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater


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Round Rock Weddings | Photos by Martina
Jasmine and Kyle met online about two years ago. Kyle is a computer engineer and Jasmine graduated with her Mathematics degree at UT. Both have a love of learning and consider themselves nerds. The two decided to get engaged after courting for about a year. After graduation, Jasmine went back home for a visit, that is when Kyle decided to propose, and she said yes!
The couple married at the lovely, Chateau on the Creek on July 7th. Kyle's last name is Green, so they decided to incorporate the color green into their wedding, along with math and computer themes throughout the decor. Kyle designed and created a really unique table topper. It was a circuit board with lights that could be programmed to display table numbers, symbols and messages. It was really cool and unique! It happened to rain the weekend of their wedding, which turned out to be an added bonus. The rain made everything, including the grass and trees really green that day. It was absolutely beautiful! Special thanks to: Fancy Florals, Cakes by Kathy, Best DJs Texas, Short and Sweet Wedding Officiants.