Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fitness news #49 - why are supermarkets so big

News

50sHousewife.jpg 

Did you survive Christmas?  Last newsletter, I mentioned that I'm estimating a 3kg weight gain over the festive season.  Well, I've weighed in at 78.1kg on the 23rd Dec. I'll weigh myself on the 13th Jan and see how I went

 

Why are supermarkets so big

A supermarket is a business and like any other retail business, it is engineered to maximise profit.  However while buying clothing will have little impact on your heath, buying the right food is critical.

 

The evolution of the Supermarket

Flash back to the 50's and food shopping was still largely being done on the street, butcher, bread, green grocer, deli, fish monger and the grocery store. What that meant was  that, despite poor food knowledge, the diet of the day was much better than nowadays, as the bulk of food purchased was raw product... sorry no corn chips.

 

By the 60's the grocery store was starting to exert is muscles, now large enough to require trolleys to transport your purchases around and sometimes located in the new shopping malls

 

The 70's the grocery store's domination was complete, now called the supermarket and offering a limited selection of the products from the sister stores, butcher and bread shop.  At the same time these stores and the others have moved inside the shopping centre, leaving the street strip lifeless.

 

But it wasn't until the 90's that the process was complete, with the supermarkets complete adoption of the butcher, fish monger, green grocer, bakery.

 

But shouldn't this be good for us?  Unfortunately all this floor space has one purpose, that is to maximise the profits of the company and if we walk out with just core products the company makes considerably less profit.  So the company uses a strategy to get us to purchase additional products, usually highly manufactured and expensive.

 

The 50's housewife visits the 2011 supermarket

Lets put a housewife from the 50's into a time machine and bring her shopping list with her;

Bread, milk, butter, sugar, flour, vegetables, a chicken, a roast, ground beef, cereal, eggs, bacon, fruit juice, canned soup, potatoes, lunch meat and coffee. Other things that would of been there when required are dish detergent, laundry detergent, bar soap, razors, toilet paper, household cleaners, hairspray and Brylcreem.

 

How will she go?  With no knowledge of where those products are, she is forced to tour the complete centre, isle by isle, confronted by flashy packaging filled with tempting treats, the trolley starts to fill, but the list has lots more on it.  Each time she finds a product on the list, she is confronted with a dazzling array of products, take cereal for example, there are so many options and many are laced with sugar.  And what's this section call "health food"? does that mean that the products I have selected are the wrong ones to feed my family?

 

With all the money in her purse spent, she steps back in the time machine and returns to the 50's, she is late, the visit to the supermarket took a lot longer than her usual visit to the street strip.  Many of the products on her list are missing, but at the same time all the money has been spent, so instead of the family having a night out at the movies, they spend it at home eating the brightly wrapped products that fuel the obesity crisis, not known in their day.

 

Supermarket Psychology

Put yourself in the shoes of the Supermarket owner, your charter is to maximise its profit.  To do this you need to balance a number of values;

1. Attract consumers

2. Maximise basket revenue

3. Maximise product margins

4. Fend off competitors

The list goes on.

 

For us the consumer, we don't care about supermarket profits, we care about the cost and convenience of our purchases and the owners know that, so they build a shopping portal that brings us in but delivers what is needed to maximise their profits

 

Some of the strategies they use are here:  Psychology of supermarkets

Here's a few tricks you can use:  Supermarket Psychology (and a few insider tricks)

And SBS shows in this video just how much effort there is to purchase just 3 core products Supermarket Psychology: Supermarket Layout

 

How to win and save money and improve your health

Write a shopping list and stick to it, no exceptions.  Really, its that simple :)

Bike Racing

 

Finally I have returned to racing, after my rest since the Grafton to Inverall.  I did my clubs local track race, which I was victorious for , but it only attracted 7 riders.  Details here (scroll down to 22nd Dec

 

Tonight I was suppose to be at the Sydney Christmas Track Carnivals, but I've had trouble with my hip, which has ruled me out.  However, it runs for 5 days, so hopefully I'll be there towards the end.

Classes

 

Check your gym schedule, click on the name underlined to see what classes are available.

 

I am not doing any classes until the 9th Jan, or later, see details below

 

Fitness First

Rockdale Mon 6.00am Ride

- resumes 9/1/12

Five Dock Mon 5.45pm RPM

- resumes 9/1/12

Rockdale Tue 6.30pm RPM

- resumes 10/1/12

Walker St Thu 6.00am RPM

- resumes 12/1/12

Rockdale HiPf Sat 8.15am RPM

- resumes 14/1/12

 

YMCA

Riverwood Mon 7.30pm RPM

- resumes 30/1/12

Riverwood Tue 6.15am RPM

- resumes 24/1/12

 

SCG

Stadium Fitness Centre Friday 6.15am RPM

- resumes 13/1/12

 

Music Request List

 

This list covers all gyms, all classes;

 

Track Key;

1 – Pack Ride (warm up)

2 – Pace

3 – Hills

4 – Mixed Terrain

5 – Intervals

6 – Speed Work

7 – Mountain Climb

8 – Ride Home (Warm down)

9 – Stretch

 

Tracks Available at All Gyms, All Classes, ie both Fitness First and YMCA

T

Release

Duration

Song

Artist

1

49-1

03:55

California Girls

Creature Scene

1

50-1

04:57

Club Can't Handle Me

Flo Rida feat. David Guetta

1

45-1, BO-1

04:49

Life Is A Highway 

Milan Roscoe

1

47-1

04:23

Tick Tok

Jomanda Brown

1

51-1

04:42

We R Who We R

Ke$ha

1

48-1

04:12

Your Love is My Drug

Beat Bandits feat Lorraine G

2

51-2

05:14

Halfway Gone

Poptent

2

46-2

05:26

I Gotta Feeling

TransNoise

2

49-2

05:17

If I Had You

Laila Stone

2

48-2

05:13

Lost Highway

Southern Light

2

45-2

05:39

Miles Away

CJ Murray

2

50-2

06:11

Teenage Dreams

Stardancer II

2

47-2

05:24

Waking Up In Vegas

Martina Lorene

2

BO-2

06:06

Who Knew

Masia

3

48-3

06:23

Celebration

Steady Rush

3

47-3

06:42

Ecuador (Bad Behaviour Remix)

Latin Freestyle

3

50-3

06:52

Raindrops

Hypasonic Remix – Sash! feat. Stunt

3

51-3

06:28

Raise YOur Glass (Klub Smasherz Remix)

Venus Jones

3

50-B3

06:00

Ravers In the UK

Jorg Schmidt Remix – Manian

3

49-3

06:02

Russian Roulette (75RPM)

Dancefloor Generals

3

44-3, BO-3

06:11

Show Me Heaven

Arms of Dub

4

50-4

04:55

Beautiful Day

Global Nation

4

47-4

05:38

Meet Me Halfway

TransNoise

4

48-4

05:14

One Love

Pure Essence

4

44-4, BO-4

04:21

Real 

The Cranials

4

49-4

05:01

Spin

Azuri Blue

4

51-4

05:06

Turn Around (5,4,3,2,1)

Flo Rida

5

51-5

05:40

Are You Gonna Be My Girl

Airplay

5

48-5

05:45

Brick By Boring Brick

Spacegliderz

5

47-5

05:44

Ignorance

ToneTonic

5

34-5

05:26

Pretty Vegas

OneZeroOne

5

49-5

06:13

Propane Nightmares

Southern Light

5

50-B5

05:32

Rebel Yell

Scooter

5

31-5

06:00

Round And Round

Rhythm Twins

5

46-5

05:57

The Pretender

InTheWind

5

BO-5

06:06

Voodoo People

Young Drake

5

50-5

06:25

Watercolour

Blau

6

51-6

06:41

Break My Fall (Original Mix)

Tiesto feat BT

6

47-6

06:07

Long Way To Go

Tyree Grey

6

BO-6

06:33

Adelante

MorningStar

6

49-6

06:43

Never Cry Again

Studio88

6

50-6

07:11

Poppiholla

Chicane

6

50-6B

06:53

Secret Love

Jordan & Baker Remix – Ian Van Dahl

6

48-6

06:48

Waiting

Swade

7

BO-7

07:09

Because The Night

Voodo Beats

7

49-7

06:53

Blade

DJ Paradise

7

45-7

06:18

Burn It To The Ground

Swade

7

46-7

06:18

Evacuate The Dancefloor

Studio88 (DJ KTW Remix)

7

48-7

07:02

It's Not Over

OneZeroOne

7

51-7

07:01

Numb (Hands Up Club Mix)

Jan Wayne Vs. Raindropz!

7

50-7

07:05

Sweet Dreams

Cansis Remix – Rec. Pro

7

47-7

06:36

What Is Love 2H9 (Cansis Remix)

Cutting

8

47-8

03:24

Before The Worst

Nitro500

8

BO-8

04:15

Broken Strings

Cherry Stone

8

48-8

03:35

Hey, Soul Sister

Global Nation

8

49-8

03:24

Never Hold You Down

Scarlett Jones

8

51-8

03:17

Please Don't Let Me Go

Olly Murs

8

50-8

04:16

Shattered

Turn The Car Around – O.A.R

9

BO-9

03:46

I'll Stand By You

Royal Trail

9

50-9

04:10

Letting Go

Dutty Love – Sean Kingston feat. Nicki Minaj

9

48-9

03:01

Replay

Silence

9

49-9

03:14

Solo

Swade

9

51-9

03:22

What If

Jason Derulo

9

47-9

03:42

Whatcha Say

Big Shot

 

Tracks Available Only at Riverwood and SCG

T

Release

Duration

Song

Artist

1

25-1

05:22

 Let's Get It Started

Black Eyed Peas

1

31-1

05:37

I've Been Thinking About You

Londonbeat

1

36-1

03:59

Little L

Jamiroquai

1

39-1

04:04

September

Kirk Franklin

1

41-1

04:41

Americian Boy

Estelle

1

42-1

03:58

I Could Have Loved You

Lighthouse Family

1

43-1

03:59

Closer

Ne-Yo

1

44-1

05:10

The Right Life

Seal

1

46-1

04:07

Cosmic Girl 

Jamiroquai

2

26-2

04:44

Hole In The Head

2

39-2

06:14

Who Knew

Pink

2

42-2

05:03

Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Want To Be In Love) 

Good Charlotte

2

43-2

05:17

Hot n Cold

Katy Perry

2

44-2

04:56

Sober (Bimbo Jones Radio Edit)

Pink

3

30-3

06:51

Voodoo Child (12" Mix)

Rogue Traders

3

39-10

06:23

Hello (Good to Be Back) - Track 3

Scooter

3

39-3

05:48

Tribal Dance

2 Unlimited

3

42-3

06:13

Right By Your Side

N-Force vs. Darren Styles

3

43-3

06:07

Spaceman

The Killers

3

45-3

06:03

True Faith (CK Kaine Remix)

Liz Kay

3

46-3

06:44

My Life Would Suck Without You (Bass Force Remix)

Kelly Clarkson

4

39-4

05:45

Amazing (Thin White Duke Edit

Seal

4

42-4

04:05

Human

The Killers

4

43-4

04:36

Take Back The City

Snow Patrol

4

45-4

04:51

All On Our Own

Midnight Youth

4

46-4

05:19

Home

Paul van Dyk feat. Johnny McDaid

5

36-5

06:53

Painkiller

 

5

39-5

05:54

Kickstart My Heart

Motley Crue

5

42-5

06:30

New Future Weapon

Billy Idol

5

43-5

06:06

Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)

The Prodigy

5

44-5

05:03

How Far We've Come

Matchbox Twenty

5

45-5

06:32

Piranha

The Prodigy

6

31-6

06:49

Underwater (Above & Beyond's 21st Century Mix)

Delerium

6

39-11

06:30

Silence

Delerium

6

39-6

06:57

Where Are you Now?

Ian Van Dahl

6

40-6

06:39

Adelante

Sashi !

6

42-6

05:25

Going Wrong

Armin Van Buuren & DJ Shah feat. Chris Jones

6

43-6

06:29

In The Darkness (Trance Mix)

Darude

6

44-6

06:12

Alone in The Dark (Tiesto Radio Edit)

Tiesto Presents Edward Camby

6

45-6

06:21

Bruised Water

Chicane feat. Natasha Bedingfield

6

46-6

05:53

Sincere For You feat.Kirsty Hawkshaw (Radio Mix) 

Lange

7

26-7

06:09

The Nighttrain

Kadoc

7

30-7

07:26

Going Insane (Maxi Mix)

7

33-7

07:05

Love Comes Again

Tiƫsto Feat. BT

7

39-7

07:19

Blast The Speakers

Warp Brothers

7

42-7

07:09

Because The Night (Manox Remix)

Cascada

7

43-7

06:53

Cry For You (Darren Styles Remix)

September

7

44-7

06:39

Jump That Rock (Whatever You Want) (Jorg Schmid Mix)

Scooter vs Status Quo

8

33-8

04:14

Afterglow

Inxs

8

36-8

04:00

Every Little Step I take

Bobby Brown

8

38-8

03:50

Won't Go Home Without You

Maroon 5

8

39-8

04:00

Flashing Lights Featuring Dwele

Kanye West

8

42-8

04:00

With You

Chris Brown

8

43-8

04:15

Broken Strings feat. Nelly Furtado

James Morrison

8

44-8

04:10

Spotlight

Jennifer Hudson

8

45-8

04:01

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

The Script

8

46-8

03:53

Don't Know What To Do

Dane Rumble

9

31-9

03:57

Heart Like A Wheel

The Corrs

9

34-9

03:34

You Give Me Something

9

38-9

02:55

Glad You're Here

Macy Gray Feat. Fergie

9

39-9

03:45

Change

Sugababes

9

42-9

03:30

You Make it Real

James Morrison

9

43-9

04:15

Love Is A Losing Game

Amy Winehouse

9

44-9

04:03

You Found Me

The Fray

9

45-9

03:30

Chasing Pavements

Adele

9

46-9

04:24

No Air duel with Chris Brown

Jordin Sparkes featuring Chris Brown

 

 

 

Sleep Ride Eat Repeat – see ya Mike