100000Strong.com

Zach Hunt asked:


So you decided to do something about your fitness level. Naturally you think the first thing to do is join a big chain health club or gym. That’s a great idea if you know what you’re getting into. Think about these 5 following areas before you decide about which place you should join.

It’s a great idea – yes – if you use it.

However, here are 5 key things you need to think about before you step foot into any gym or health club.

1. “We don’t care care if you show up at our health club”

The sad fact is, the January rush ends in a cash surge for the big Health Clubs and the same amount of members as there were in the previous December.

Fitness goals and resolutions often just end up in long-term contracts and no-results.

That’s exactly what the clubs expect of you. To drop your resolution and never show up, but still paying the bills for the 1-2 year contract you signed up for.

2. “Our trainers don’t know what they’re doing”

Chances are once you get a membership to a health club an in-house personal trainer will try and sell you on their expertise.

Spokane health club trainers need no accredited certification to be out there on the floor flexing their guns. $50 and a 10-min online quiz can get you a certificate and title that sounds snazzy, but they aren’t worthwhile.

Look for quality personal trainers that can guarantee results.

3. “We want you to pay forever for our health club”

If you think getting started on a fitness plan is tough, try quitting your health club. Trying to get out of long-term contracts with gyms is one of the top concerns among gym goers.

The big health clubs out to get your money and keep getting it, month after month. They want you to keep paying, but stay home. After all it doesn’t do the health clubs any good if you come into their gym.

Which in turn doesn’t do you any good if your just paying for a gym membership

4. “Your stuff isn’t safe at our health clubs”

Think your belongings are safe in a big health club? Think again?

A recent report explained how a group of burglars stealing credit cards from lockers of health club members. You can’t be sure who is lurking around the health club locker room while your working out.

Now you can’t even bring anything with you to the gym. You’ll just have to carry your keys in your back pocket while you workout in any health clubs.

5. “Sales is our #1 health club goal”

When they offer you a sales appointment at their health club, what should you do?

While that offer sounds enticing, fast-talking and slicked sales reps will ensure you leave with more than just more information and insight, but a brand new long-term contract you can’t refuse.

Don’t worry about the small details in the contract, it’ll just apply to your contract anyway. One such website of a large health club promised a 30-day free trial membership. But the catch, if you don’t show up at least 12 times, you’ll be locked into a multiyear membership.

You can’t rely on the health club sales person, you must be on the defense and know what really matters when you looking for a quality Spokane fitness solution

Don’t fall for the health clubs Spokane gimmicks, go for a quality personal trainer that guarantees results, no matter what condition you’re in right now.

Gosnap.co.uk asked:


This page describes one way to set up a home studio without breaking your bank!

Here I will explain and describe my home studio setup. all of my portrait shots were taken with this home studio, so if your trying to find out how it performs, check out my gallery, however thats limited by my skill, better examples to look at may be Si’s work or some of Claire’s. their setups are slightly different.

Below is a shot of my home studio:





My Equipment

The Interfit ex150 kit comes with two 150 watt/sec flash heads, two lighting stands, a 60×60cm softbox, a white translucent umbrella, power cables and sync cord. I have 2 of these kits so the equipment is doubled up. If you are worried about the power from a 150w head, don’t be, I use them on half power the majority of the time.



1) 100% re-charge ready light

2) Infra red cell and flash receptor

3) Mains Plug and Fuse Holder (6.3 amp)

4) On/Off Power

5) Modelling lap control. Position I = Full power. Middle = Off. Position II = Proportional mode.

6) Test button

7) Sync lead connection between camera and flash head (connect to PC sync socket or a hotshoe adapter on your camera)



Cover is removable and washable and is an elasticated fit over the base which also doubles up as a diffuser. I’l warn you that the advertising for this product is so poor. The sample pics they use are terrible in my opinion, and i bet they lose a whole bunch of customers this way. I assure you that it performs alot better than what they show.



Above: Example of what can be achieved.





The IRX fits into the camera hotshoe, and emits a wide infrared beam which will trigger any infrared sensitive flash unit, so eliminating the need for a sync cord between the camera and flash unit and any worries about sync voltages on DSLR’s.

Lens?

I cant recommend the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM highly enough. Its a cracking lens and produces sharp and detailed results. However, you do need a little space to play with. IdeallyI have double doors that open up into my living room, this gives me the requires space. If you are really limited on space, i would go no higher than a 30mm.

I also have the EF 50 mm f/1.8II which is a great little lense and produces sharp results, considering you can pick it up for around £50 if you look in the right places.

Video tour:

Setup and Settings

First of all, I am going to say don’t just copy what write here… Experiment! thats the fun in it and you will get better results.

The lights that illuminate the front of the subject want to be around 4ft away from them and the bottom edge of the softbox at around chin height pointing down at a 45degree angle. have the lights at the back the same hight too, but experiment at which angle you tilt them.

Something to Remember:

Make sure your subject isn’t sat to near the vertical bit of the backdrop, as this will result on the rear lights flooding on to them causing a horrible misty effect like the below. If you sit them away from it and your still getting this misty effect, chances are the flash is too powerful, so just turn it down.



above: Sat to near the backdrop/flash too powerful

I shoot most of the time with my lights on half power. with these settings:



Again, experiment with your settings to achieve different results!

Below is a diagram of my home studio setup:



Now, im not saying this is the only way to setup a home studio, far from it… but this is one successful way of doing so, without going bankrupt! Please post your comments and questions and I will eagerly get back to you. Hope this helped.

Written by Shaun SnapAlley.com