Do you Fall for Marketing Myths!

Written August 8th, 2019

How do you choose what you purchase and use? Do you trust what you see or read? Do you google or get something based on word of mouth?

Be warned and be smart about your choices. Ask yourself, "Why am I using this product or service"? Is it because I need it and it is essential for me to function? Was I attracted by bright colors or good looking people? Do I want it for pleasure, comfort, or because my neighbor has it? Was I told it would do something for me and is it actually doing what it says? Has it been proven that what I am buying this for, it will continue to perform the way I was told it would? Is it helping me? Is it helping my community? Is it benefiting or harming our environment?

Please tell me what your outcome of asking these questions of a certain product.

A prime example of this is MILK. The meat and dairy industry has been around for a long time and they are EXPERTS in marketing and have deep pockets because of it. We all grew up thinking "Milk does a body good". The fact is that milk was designed by nature to nurture a baby cow to be a large animal. Human milk was designed by nature to nurture a human baby to grow and to be healthy. Then after 3 months to 2 years most of us stop drinking mothers milk if we ever started. Why in the heck would we continue to drink milk from another animal? MARKETING! The London Economic Article

More closer to home, there have been a few very disturbing issues to me. One is this #CG30FOR30 30 burbees in 30 days challenge set by Camp Gladiator. Burpees are arguably one of the most beneficial exercise or movement considering strength and stamina, IF DONE CORRECTLY. With the intent to MARKET Camp Gladiator, "Members" of this group are getting on social media posting video of them doing the 30 burpees for 30 days. There are a couple of different things wrong with this; first the participants are timing themselves with the motivation to go fast, correct? Most of the people doing these videos are not doing the burpees correctly and actually in danger of hurting their backs and shoulders. Also, none I have seen include a full squat OR doing and explosive jump. These two movements are WHY burpees are one of the best exercises because you are working most aspects of core strength, working stamina and explosive strength. Most of the people doing these do not have a developed core strength which in turn, weak core strength is the root of most injuries. SO, my recommendation is do fewer and slower burpees and other core strengthening exercises that involve balance, CORRECTLY- Burpee video   (I would add a full correct wide base squat with and explosive jump, all slowly feeling and enjoying the whole movement). More on whole movement and base fitness on the next blog, but I have been running in running sandals, and they engage the CORE a lot more healthier and thorough than shoe running... if you are interested in learning more about sandal running contact me, here is the site or order if you like- XERO Shoe Live Life Feet First!

The point of all this, is there a lot of exercise programs out there. We have come a long way from half a century ago it was almost considered unhealthy to exercise. They were worried to much exertion would blow up the heart... Most of the programs out there are more focused on MARKETING to get people to sign up VS focusing on SCIENCE, SIMPLICITY and LONGEVITY. I have a litmus test of fitness programs or activities- are 7 year old and 70 years olds doing it? OR do you see yourself doing this for the rest of your life consistently? Exercise and activity should be simple, that you can do on your own and for a lifetime. Basic calisthenics, body weight and balance exercises will keep you fit and strong enough for a lifetime. If you are looking for the community aspect some of these program tout, simply go out into YOUR community, engage with people, invite your neighbor to the park, walk and exercise together. If more people did that, maybe we wouldn't be having so many of these horrible acts of violence. This is because WE WOULD KNOW and CARE for each other in our communities... NPR Article- Want To Feel Happier Today? Try Talking To A Stranger "Hey, have noticed Joe has been acting weird and not joining our community? We should go check in on him..." Social media is not the same as checking in on someone personally...

With this in mind, the best and purest MARKETING is word of mouth. Not putting a video of you doing something ridiculous but of you engaging with people you trust and trying things out for yourself. Not because there is a new craze, trend or pressure to compete, but because you are truly interested in doing what is right for you, your body and your community.

If you need help exploring better longer lasting activity and exercise, Nick to the Plus is here for you.

Yes, I market here and on social media. The programs I work and promote are tried and true, the best in the industry. In my 30 years of experience in this industry I have seen, groups, programs, shops, trends, fads, you name it! I have watched, analysed, questioned, tried, experimented, researched, so I can say with strong confidence programs like #CG aren't going to last very long. I wish, for peoples safety, people would realize this sooner than later...

Why do I promote what I do?

Juice Plus as a company has been around for almost 50 years and our current products for over 25 years. We serve 24 countries and have 40 independent, double blind, placebo tested, gold standard clinical trials completed. There is no other Nutritional product like it on the market or the planet, pharmaceutical or on the "Supplemental" market. I have 200% confidence in that statement because I have been taking and involved with the company since 1994. A couple of questions I would ask about the product you take if you are not taking Juice Plus-

1. Is it simple, do you understand the ingredients? Juice Plus- Full ripened fruits and vegetables, juices, dried and NSF Certified process

2. Longevity, how long has it been around? The Juice Plus Company has been around for 50 years. First marketing Smoke Detectors (how did that do), then the first water filtration systems (do we have filtered water today) and third, nutritional science (where do you think this is going). NSA- the National Safety Associates was the original company name of Juice Plus. Do you think they have our backs with the bases of safety? This is Nick to the Plus's field of expertise, do you see the constants here..?

3. Science- How much research is behind the product you take. Does it just say it has research on it's website? Does it only study one ingredient of the whole product or is the whole product researched?

One big questions that I have not heard for a while is, does Juice Plus pay for the research and does that have an effect on the outcome? Yes, Juice Plus pays for the research, who else would, the government? Nope, it is fascinating to hear the story as to how Juice Plus entered the clinical trial realm. These clinical trials have taken place at Universities and Medical Facilities such as - Georgetown University, Medical University of Vienna, University of Cambridge, University of Texas Health Science Center (where my mom worked), and Yale University. Do you think these organizations could be influenced to publish faulty information?  Let me know if you would like to learn more and I can share this with you.

In the mean time you can browse my website to look at the research- Juice Plus Research

OR you can reference- Clinical Trials DOT Gov

TRIDOT- Simply put, TriDot is the Google Maps of Triathlon Training. The software coaches the multitude of data that is produced in triathlon training. The Coach, yours truly, coaches the athlete, your motivation, nutrition, strategy, skills and injury prevention. You can go and read my explanation of how I feel about this on my website- NICKTOTHEPLUS- About
Follow the arrow down the rabbit hole!

H-E-B- Here Everything is Better is proving the motto, if you look at the stats, demographically, we are currently growing faster than all other grocery companies around the country, even though we are just in Texas...
Why I LOVE my H-E-B- I grew up with H-E-B. I still remember MY STORE when I was 5-10 years old. I remember the aisles, the smells, the Partners. I was devastated when that other company moved into MY HEB's spot for various business reasons...

I remember in High School, going over to get my beloved chocolate milk and donuts (No, I was unaware of nutrition back then and thought, like everyone, I am an athlete, I can eat what ever I want... clueless...)

Fast forward to today, my job is safety, this has been a progression over almost 10 years of what safety actually means. I am still learning and fascinated, but also mortified on the responsibility of my job. I have to make sure over 1000 Partners, who lift 2000-4000 times a day, work around 200 MHE (Material Handling Equipment- "forklifts+"), four warehousing processes, 1 million sq ft of warehouse and all kinds of things that CAN go wrong. When I think about the complexity my job at the warehouse, working with a Physical Therapist, Athletic Trainers, Leadership and Industrial Safety Professionals, training someone to be healthy and prepared for triathlon or general fitness is, just, natural...

A lot of thought and conversation here. Please engage, give me feedback, ask questions. Love yall, be healthy, Live to the PLUS! Text or email questions and conversation 210.843.4130 or nicktotheplus@gmail.com

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