Part 3 – The Road to Fitness Success – Choose Your Fitness Products Wisely!

Now that you have created a burning desire to be fit, healthy and attractive, and have begun secretly conspiring to satisfy your desires, the obvious question becomes…How?There are so many different types of fitness products to choose from… all claiming to be your perfect fitness, health and physique solution.* So many recommendations…
* So many famous personalities…
* So many advertisements…But which fitness product will work best for you?Here are some characteristics to look for when choosing a fitness product.The more of these characteristics the fitness product has… the better the chance you will succeed in achieving your fitness, health and physique goals.Your Physical Fitness Program Must Be… EffectiveWhile this characteristic seems like a no-brainer… you would be surprised at just how many people are actively using a fitness product that will never give them the results they seek.Many people say they want improve their level of fitness… and get a bodybuilding product.Big muscles are not necessarily indicative of a high level of fitness.Many people say they want to lose fat… and get an aerobic endurance product.Aerobic training is only a part of the fat loss equation, and will not produce the lean, muscular, athletic body most people want… regardless of all the hard work. The point is, make sure the fitness product you choose is designed to get the results you want… or you are doomed to failure before you begin. If you want to increase fitness, improve health and develop an attractive physique… look for fitness products designed to produce these results.Your Physical Fitness Program Must Be… InterestingLet’s face it, if you are not interested in the fitness product you choose… you will not use it long enough to see results.I don’t care if the fitness product was proven to work by thousands of scientific studies… it will have no positive effect on your fitness, health or physique if you don’t do it.And you won’t do it… if it does not hold your attention and peak your interest.No matter how many times you say…”This time I’m not giving up until I get the results I want.”… you will eventually give up if the fitness product is not interesting to you.Don’t force yourself to struggle with a fitness product you hate… look for interesting fitness products that fit into your lifestyle and match your personality.You should look forward to physical training… not dread it!Your Physical Fitness Program Must Be… ModifiableThere is not one fitness product in existence that can be all things to all people… regardless of what all the slick-tongued advertisements say.Fitness products must be modifiable to your goals, needs, abilities and limitations… you must be given a degree of freedom to make the physical fitness program uniquely your own.You have different wants and needs.You have different strengths and weaknesses needing specific attention.You must be able to take an active role in the use of the fitness product… modifying it into your perfect fitness program.Cookie-cutter programs claiming long-term results do not work.Look for fitness products that can be easily modified to your unique situation.Your Physical Fitness Program Must Be… Sustainable The more the fitness product is dependent on machines, devices and other complexities… the easier it is to destroy.What happens when the machine is not available, the device breaks or the complexity you have based you entire fitness program on is lacking?Your physical training comes to a grinding halt!I am not saying you should stay away from fitness products that use machines, special equipment, etc… only don’t choose a product that makes you dependent upon them.You are responsible for your fitness success… not the availability of a piece of equipment, or access to a machine.Look for fitness products that help you sustain physical training in your lifestyle no matter what the circumstances.Your Physical Fitness Program Must Be… ProgressiveThere are many fitness products out there presented as a fixed workout.”Do this over and over again and you will get the results you want.”And the workout may be effective in the beginning… for some people and for a limited amount of time.Unfortunately, any workout program not part of a progressive over-all plan is doomed to failure.This is why you still need fitness products with all the free workouts out there.A workout without a progressive plan is little more than manual labor… and will fail to take you where you need to go.Any improvements you see in the beginning will quickly disappear, leaving you asking, “What do I do now?”Then it is off to look for another workout to try.Make sure the fitness product you choose is progressive in nature… and not just “add more weight” either.Progression on many different levels is probably the most important aspect of any successful fitness program.Your Physical Fitness Program Must Be… MeasurableThe pursuit of fitness, health and physique is a journey… and like any worthwhile journey, it should be documented.The ability to measure your progress will keep you on the track of success… enabling you to see where you’ve been and where you’re going.Make sure the fitness product you choose comes with a workout journal, or that one can be easily made… Don’t underestimate the importance of a workout journal.Your workout journal will help you…* judge if your physical training efforts are getting you closer to your goals…
* decide if you need to modify your fitness program…
* and determine if it is time to switch to something completely different…… ultimately guiding and documenting your fitness success.Look for fitness products making it easy to measure their effectiveness… how else will you really know if it is working for you or not?Use Your Common SenseIf the fitness product…* attracts you…
* speaks to you…
* excites you…
* and ultimately makes sense to you…… it is probably the right fitness product for you.After all, only a physical fitness program you actually do, and that becomes a part of your lifestyle, will give you the long-term fitness, health and physique benefits you seek.Now that you have a burning desire to be fit, healthy and attractive, have secretly conspired within yourself to achieve your goals and know what to look for in a fitness product, there is only one thing left to do… act!In part 4, I’ll show you how knowledge without action us useless.

Alstons Furniture – A Brief History

The Alston family has been involved with furniture for over two centuries. As far back as 1776 there were Alstons repairing furniture in their Chelsea workshop.The present family’s direct ancestors started the business that became the Alstons Furniture business we know today in Sudbury, Suffolk. William Alston (1839-1919) and his brother Ambrose (1834 – 1902) were both master cabinet makers during the middle of the 19th century. William Alston later became a furniture dealer as well, selling from premises in 95 North Street, Sudbury. The Alstons Furniture business prospered and moved to 9 Old Market Place, Sudbury in 1875 Both of William Alston’s sons, Hammond and Percy worked in the business and together they then created one of the first all electric workshops.The premises at Old Market Place became a retail furniture shop as well, with additional workshops. One of which was to eventually form the beginnings of the Alstons Furniture Upholstery operation much later on. In 1921 Percy Alston’s son Leslie started an apprenticeship with his father and then completed this at Fisher Trade Woodworking in London’s East End.In 1937 Leslie started his own manufacturing business at a redundant coconut matting factory in Long Melford. The business was set up with a £6,000 bank loan. Leslie’s brother Roy joined him there to help run the new venture. The company later adopted the trade mark Albro as an abbreviation of Alston brothers, this continued into the 1980′s.During the Second World War, the factory in Long Melford switched its production to ‘utility’ bedroom and dining furniture. Extra work was also taken on to manufacture coffins for the war effort.Later in the war, the Long Melford factory was burnt out and new premises were sought in Ipswich. Initially production was resumed within Wrinch’s factory in Nacton Road, Ipswich. Land was also purchased adjacent to Wrinch’s and a factory was built by joining war surplus Nissen huts together to form a linear building and a continuous furniture production line was created within it. This temporary structure survived until 1971 when a new building was erected over the old huts ensuring that not an hour of production was lost.The Alstons Furniture cabinet business has remained at this site to this day. During this time a new head office had been built and a programme of continuous investment in machinery maintained. Alstons Furniture has manufactured almost exclusively bedroom furniture during this period. In the 1950′s and 60′s this was centered on suites of bedroom furniture of veneered teak, walnut and mahogany finish (a suite comprised a ladies wardrobe, a gents wardrobe and a dressing table). The 1970′s saw the introduction of modular bedroom furniture ranges in veneered and painted finishes.In more recent years the Alstons have become a market leader in the production of traditional and contemporary bedroom ranges of laminate and painted finish.Leslie Alston remained in charge of the business until his death in 1976 at which point his oldest son Rex (John) took over as Managing Director with Leslie’s brother Percy (Roy) as Chairman. In 1979 Alan, Leslie’s other son became Chairman and Managing Director of Alstons Furniture, assisted by his bother Rex and with their cousin Noel (Percy’s son) as Sales Director. John P Alston joined the family business, Alstons Furniture, in 1974 becoming a Director in 1987 and Managing Director in 1995. In 2008 David Alston became Chairman of Alstons Furniture, taking on this role directly from his father. Also in this year John’s daughter Jessica Alston joined Alstons Furniture as a design assistant.The Upholstery business flourished and within 10 years, further satellite factories were opened in Hadleigh, Suffolk and Clacton, Essex.The recession of the early 1980′s saw a contraction of Alstons Furniture and the satellite factories were closed down and production and investment consolidated at the Colchester site. Up until 1995 Alan Alston continued to be responsible for the running of Alstons Furniture. In 1995 David Alston, Alan’s youngest son became Managing Director of the company and the responsibility passed on.In 2008 John Alston took on the role of chairman of Alstons Furniture from his father.During the life of the company it has manufactured sofas, sofa beds, sideboards, chairs and recliner chairs.Alstons Furniture continues to make all its production from its factory in Colchester and is now one of the leading producers of upholstery in the UK.

Creating Websites Like E-Commerce Sites

You might want to create a website of your own, with a common example being a business or e-commerce website. E-commerce stands for electronic commerce, and refers to Internet sites that buy or sell products or services directly, including both physical products and services and virtual products and services. Exchanging financial data is also an important part of e-commerce in the context of online payments. E-mail and mobile phones are also often involved with e-commerce.

Aspects of E-commerce

E-commerce is made possible via electronic funds transfer, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange, automated data collection systems, inventory management systems, supply chain management and Internet marketing. Most commercial entities are at least somewhat involved in e-commerce today.

E-commerce Applications

E-commerce transactions tend to be either business to business or business to consumer. There are many common e-commerce applications. These include supply chain and logistics document automation, enterprise content management, group or collective buying, domestic and international payment systems, instant messaging, newsgroups and automated online assistants.

More on E-commerce

Other aspects of e-commerce include online banking, online shopping, online order tracking, online office suites, teleconferencing, online tickets and shopping cart software. Some aspects of e-commerce tend to be regulated by governments. These often include online advertising, commercial e-mails and consumer privacy.

E-commerce Distribution

Some e-commerce practitioners exist only over the Internet, with an e-commerce website and perhaps other websites but not physical storefront or location. There are also more traditional commercial entities with storefronts or physical locations that also have a web presence that include an e-commerce website both for direct sales and for drawing more business to physical storefronts.

Making E-commerce Websites

Professional web designers can create e-commerce sites, but amateurs and laymen can use such applications as website builder tools, website design software and e-commerce software to do so as well. The best e-commerce sites are often simple and efficient in design, and it is generally not difficult to plan, build, launch and maintain an e-commerce website given the appropriate tools.

E-commerce and E-business

E-commerce is a subset of e-business, which is business conducted more efficiently with the use of information technologies. Internally within a business this can mean customer relationship management, human resources management, content management, enterprise resource planning, document management systems and communications systems such as digital audio, voice mail, e-mail, web conferencing and digital work flows.

Examples of E-commerce Products and Services

Software, electronic books and streaming media are some examples of online goods and services. E-commerce retail services can include travel, banking, food ordering, online pharmacy, online flower delivery and DVD-by-mail. Examples of mobile commerce include banking, ticketing and payment services. Some e-commerce marketplace services include advertising, auctions, online wallets, trading communities, price comparison services and social commerce.