We’re preparing for the promotional video for our upcoming book, It Starts With Food… and we need your help to bring our video concept to reality. (And you may even score a sweet iPad in the process.)
We want our promotional video to excite, to inspire, to motivate people. We want people to watch it, jump out of their chairs and say, “Yes! I want that too!” And there is no better way to do that than with real-life testimonials, featuring real people – from athletes to gardening enthusiasts, from grandparents to teenagers, from active duty military to kindergarten teachers – sharing their experiences with Whole9′s philosophies, programs and community.
We need people just like you.
You have lost weight.
You no longer take medications.
You have eliminated the symptoms of any number of diseases and conditions.
You feel better.
You are happier.
You have changed your life.
And we want you to share your success with the world, in the It Starts With Food promotional video.
Share Your Story
All you have to do is video yourself using whatever handy recording device you like (iPhone, flip cam, camera, etc.), sharing your experience with Whole9 and our programs.
Your testimonial must be in this format:
- Your symptoms
- How you found Whole9 and/or the Whole30
- How it has improved your life
Examples include:
- “I was 20 pounds overweight, tired all the time, and had high blood pressure. A friend told me about Whole9′s web site. Thanks to their articles, I lost 25 pounds, dropped my blood pressure medication, and have the energy of a teenager.”
- “I have rheumatoid arthritis, and my joints constantly hurt. My brother gave me the Whole30 Success Guide. Thanks to my dietary changes, I was able to come off all my arthritis medication, and my joints are no longer swollen or stiff.”
- “I’ve had migraines for 15 years, at least once a week. I found the Whole30 through my gym. Since my Whole30, I haven’t had a single migraine.”
You don’t have to be a Whole30 graduate to participate. If our information has helped you “go Paleo” and change your life, we want your story. You don’t have to have some miraculous recovery from a disease or medical condition to participate, either – we’re looking for weight loss testimonials as much as anything else. (Because, as much as our program is not focused on weight loss, people do care about their weight.)
The Fine Print
We need to make sure the videos are in the proper format, so when we compile them, they “fit” together nicely. So, please keep the following video guidelines in mind:
- Make sure there is a light on your face. If there is too much backlighting, you’ll just look like dark silhouettes.
- Shoot in a widescreen (sideways) format rather than portrait (tall) format, if your recorders have the option to tilt that way.
- Frame your shot from your belly-button up. (And don’t cut off your head!)
- Ideally, shoot in front of a plain white (or a plain colored) background, so you stand out.
- Speak clearly and project a bit.
- No need to edit or trim – we’ll take care of that. Just make sure you capture the first word to last word clearly.
- Keep clips to 20 seconds, 30 at most.
- Smile! This is going to be fun.
Ready? Set? Action!
Filming this clip should take you all of five minutes, including the time it takes to email it to us. And the more amazing testimonials we get, the awesome-r our promotional video will be, and the more people we’ll be able to inspire.
So please, if Whole9′s programs, philosophies or community has changed your life, take five minutes to send us your story, and allow us to share your success with others.
Email your video clips to whole30@whole9life.com. Deadline for submission is January 31, 2012. And as a thank you for your assistance, everyone who sends us a video will be entered to win a free iPad 2. We’ll draw one lucky winner from all the video submissions during the first week in February. (As if sharing your story with the world and being famous Whole9 rock stars wasn’t enough?)
Legal Stuff
By submitting your video clip, you hereby grant to Whole9 Life, LLC the absolute and irrevocable right and unrestricted permission in respect of photographs, written testimonials or video clips (“media”), to copyright the same; to re-use, publish and republish the same in whole or in part, individually or in conjunction with other photographs or videos, and in conjunction with any printed or animated matter, in any and all media now or hereafter known, and for any other purpose whatsoever, for illustration, promotion, art, editorial, advertising and trade, or any other purpose whatsoever with restriction as to alteration; from time to time, or reproductions thereof in color, black and white or otherwise made through any media, without compensation or approval rights.
By submitting your video, you hereby release, discharge and agree to save harmless Whole9Life, LLC, its legal representatives or assigns and all persons acting under its permission or authority, from any liability in connection with the use of the media as aforesaid or by virtue of any alteration, processing or use thereof in composite form, whether intentional or otherwise, as well as any publication thereof.
Completely non-food related question:
Pavel and the RKC teach a “packed shoulder” position when pressing. In “Enter the Kettlebell” Pavel says, “To get the most out of your press while putting the least amount of stress on your shoulder, you must start the lift with your shoulder maximally pressed down — the opposite of a shrug — and your elbow pushed as low as it can go….Keeping that shoulder down throughout the press will make the press stronger and safer….” Dave Whitely, an RKC out of Nashville,TN, recently posted some related videos on his blog here: http://irontamerblog.com/.
On the flip side, you have two articles by Rippetoe, Lon Kilgore, and Kelly Starrett seen here http://startingstrength.com/articles/learning_press_rippetoe.pdf and here http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/67_08_Overhead_Lifting.pdf that seem to run counter to the RKC method.
Which method do you guys use and why? Is there a way to reconcile these two positions or is it just an area where people are going to disagree?
Chris,
Sorry for the delayed response on this post (we’re having a heck of a time keeping up with comments on >200 posts!). You ask an astute question, and it’s one that has no simple answer. To being, there is no right or wrong answer to this one, in my opinion. The Rippetoe perspective of elevated the scapula (thus elevating and upwardly rotating the glenoid fossa, or “socket”) makes some sense, but in my opinion, undervalues the contribution of the rotator cuff (RC) musculature to depress and rotate the humeral head while the humerus itself is overhead (like when pressing). I think the RKC community as a whole does a much better job of responsibly and safely teaching stabilization of joints under load (think of a Turkish get up – prime example) than, in general, the CF community does. A part of that joint stability is appropriate progressions and, probably more importantly, serious activation of the stabilizing musculature. This approach works well for high-tension, “grind” movements and much less so for explosive or high rep stuff, which CF does a significant amount of. Furthermore, the “shrug” of the entire shoulder girdle upward only further “detaches” the scapulae from the thoracic chest wall (i.e. ribcage), which in my opinion, does not make much sense if you’re looking for a strong, solid “platform” for the arm in an overhead position. There may be a place for both approaches, but I’m not a fan of the “shrug your shoulders in to the ears” that CF teaches (at least used to teach) at their L1 certs. This might turn into a blog post at some point when I have a few minutes to throw down some thoughts. Hope this was at least slightly helpful.
Dallas