The Benefits of Leg Day
*Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, and this is Matt’s Mix Tape: essays + links on living a vibrant and creative middle life.*This week’s Mix:
- The benefits of Leg Day
- The internet is Tokyo, but …
- Sonic branding
- Creativity is this simple. And this hard.
- Florida photo
The benefits of Leg Day
For decades, my only “leg day” strength training was jogging.
- The story I told myself: jogging was enough.
- The truth: Training legs hurts and I didn’t want to do it.
Weak sauce on my part.
Strength training your legs has huge benefits:
- Natural testosterone and HGH production: Hormone production dwindles as we age. It’s another midlife battle we must fight, and adding leg muscle can make a sizable difference—for men and women.
- Burn more calories: Both during the leg workout and at rest.
- You’ll look better: Leg muscle gives your body a better aesthetic balance.
- Improved mental discipline: Your brain will tell you to skip leg day, because it’s hard. Doing hard things teaches us to persevere when our brain says to quit.
Now I do a “real” leg day. Four basic exercises, single sets to failure. It’s hard, but brief.
Don’t skip leg day. Leg day works.
The Internet is Tokyo, but …
This idea from Derek Thompson is core to the Write of Passage writing philosophy.
Mostly Borrowed Ideas@borrowed_ideas"The Internet is Tokyo. The Internet allows you to be niche at scale.
Niche at scale is something that I think young people should aspire to."
h/t @JamesClear 8:38 PM · Nov 11, 2021
82 Reposts · 430 LikesBrilliant.
Deeply exploring your favorite niche idea—or cross-section of ideas—online is a great way to attract a like-minded audience.
But I hate one part of it.
This part: “ … something that I think young people should aspire to.”
Niche at scale works just as well if your 45 or 75 as it does if you’re 22.
The power of Sonic branding
When I first heard the term “Sonic branding,” I thought it meant this:
Incorrect. Entertaining, but incorrect.
Kushaan Shah set me straight with a fun deep-dive on the art and science of sonic branding:
… the more I dived into it the more I learned that it was an actual branch of marketing - complete with strategies, agencies, and opportunities for brands.
[…]
One of my favorite definitions of sonic branding comes from an Adweek piece from way back in 2013 around the concept: the process of “distilling a multimillion-dollar brand into a few seconds of sound”. Typically, the outcome of sonic branding is a good sound or short jingle that can imprint a brand into your head - a “sonic logo,” if you will.
Apple is a world-class Sonic Brander.
If you have an iPhone that works with a MagSafe charger, you may be familiar with the two-beat chime which plays as the charge begins. I take the iPhone off mute before engaging the charger because I like the sound.
**I didn’t even realize I was doing this.**The act was sub-conscious.
Sonic Branding is powerful. Now I notice it everywhere.
Creativity is this simple. And this hard.
jckbtchr.eth@jackbutchersimply make stuff and trust that the right people will get it10:56 AM · Jan 15, 2022
45 Reposts · 340 LikesAnd then make more stuff.
Florida photo
From an Orioles-Pirates game last spring. Here’s hoping we have spring training this year.
Hello to 23 new subscribers!
And thank you to youfor reading. Drop me a note, ask a question, or tell me I’m wrong anytime.
Archived from Matt's newsletter.