Sleep is taken for granted. CEOs and your mate at the pub boast about how busy they are and how little sleep they get. Those same people will also boast about how they hit their fitness targets. It’s rare to hear people boasting or even having sleep targets. But it’s a crucial part of staying healthy. So what if we started to treat sleep like fitness?That is exactly what a small unassuming black strap on your wrist aims to do. The WHOOP is the latest fitness tracker on the market – think Fitbit or Garmin only without a screen – and was developed by Harvard University students. It was specifically designed to capture data to help prevent overtraining, injuries and ultimately optimise human performance. Pretty lofty goals.What is the way it will capture data to do those things? By looking at exercise as more than merely closing rings on a watch. It looks at fitness and recovery as two parts of a whole. The in-app language for this is ‘strain’ and the idea is to have a low strain. Too high and it means the body isn’t getting enough recovery time. Too little and it may mean you have to up the intensity. The main take away from it though is that workouts and recovery are not two isolated events, they work in tandem.WHOOP records recovery as anything that isn’t causing exertion. Makes sense. The exertion is obvious, you can either tell it you are doing a workout or it just figures it out by itself. The physical tracking of the strap is nothing remarkable but the premise of seeing recovery as part of those physical metrics is. And guess what the most important part of recovery is?It is sleep of course. Marketing Communications Manager of WHOOP Allison Lynch told D’Marge that WHOOP recognised how important sleep was. That was why there was a specific focus on it.

“When we sleep, our body repairs and regenerates tissues, builds bone and muscles, and strengthens the immune system. Because of its role in muscle and bone repair, sleep is incredibly important for athletes looking to make gains in fitness.”

The WHOOP app treats sleep as a fitness goal. Every sleep is given a performance percentage based on total hours of sleep received and the total amount needed. The total amount needed is not some stock standard response but rather it is based on the physiological profile of each individual. It can be eye-opening. This writer for one apparently requires 10 hours of sleep but only gets 6. Which certainly explains a lot. By presenting the sleep as a percentage WHOOP is effectively giving people a goal to work towards.

 

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That goal for many people will be more sleep and by showing the link between sleep and fitness WHOOP hopes to help people see how vital it is. Allison said that too many people took sleep for granted and weren’t overly concerned with their performance in the bedroom. But it was the first thing that everyone should be looking at when trying to improve any aspect of life.

“People say “I’ll sleep when I’m dead!”, but what they don’t realize is that a chronic lack of sleep has been connected to earlier mortality and an increase in health conditions. If you’re trying to improve in certain areas of your life, whether it’s athletics, academics, or in your job, then sleep is the first thing you should focus on.”

What WHOOP is doing is gamifying sleep by presenting it like it would a workout. There are over 500,000 posts on Instagram of people trying to close fitness rings on the Apple Watch which is all linked to fitness. Imagine if people were doing the same about the hours of sleep they got? That certainly seems to be the aim of presenting sleep in this way. And just like looking at the fitness statistics a lot can be learned from sleep tracking.Beyond just knowing if you are getting enough sleep for your punishing workout routine the sleep tracker offers advice on how to get a better night’s sleep. For instance, alcohol does not improve sleep. A common misconception among users according to Allison.

“Many people think “I get better sleep when I drink,” when in reality they barely got any deep sleep, the stage necessary to repair the muscular, skeletal, and endocrine systems.”

Deep sleep needs to be the goal to get the most recovery time and get back to the gym faster. All that’s left now then is to improve sleep like you would your muscles.Use it as an excuse to blow off that mate that always forces you to have “just one more”. Just tell them you’ve got to improve your sleep performance.

Read Next

• The Rock Reveals The Gym Mentality That Got Him Huge
• Fitness Coach Reveals Sleep Pattern That Could Significantly Increase Your Gains

The post Whoop Fitness: Forever Change How You Measure Exercise & Recovery With This Smart Device appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The fastest-growing smartphone brand that you've never heard of has just launched in Australia and it is raising some questions. Apple, Google, and Samsung have recently launched new phones – the Apple 11, Pixel 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Fold – which will all set you back a minimum of $1,000. But...

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The post A Smartphone Brand You’ve Never Heard Of Is Ready To Take Over The Aussie Market appeared first on D'MARGE.

If being a surfer means heading down the coast with just the shirt on your back and a battered ’90’s thruster in the trunk; precious few of us ~surf~ anymore. These days almost everyone from pros to weekend warriors are rocking the latest new-fangled technology and saving the council cleanup finds for closeout southerlies.

Despite this, thanks to long-haired, dolphin-loving surfer icons like Dave Rastovich, we have escaped judgement from the world’s more judgemental Keep Cup Carriers, earning a reputation as oil company protesters and fish farm whistleblowers rather than a demographic whose carbon footprint would make a fighter pilot blush.

There is a ray of hope, however, because while we will have to wait for some kind of miracle to be able to fly with a free conscience (as will everyone), there is something that can be done about the waste our surfboards generate.

Reducing it.

While this might sound like a humble aim, when you consider how important a marketing factor ‘performance’ is in something like a surfboard, for the time being reducing waste may be a far more effective strategy (it’s all well and good making fully sustainable boards, but if no one is switching away from traditional PU to buy them then you’ve wasted your time) than making the switch to fully biodegradable materials.

Hayden Cox, owner and founder of Haydenshapes, whose Futureflex technology has helped place his brand at the high end of the surfboard industry, has recognised this, telling DMARGE that during a tour of a watch manufacturing facility in Switzerland, “They showed me how they were upcycling all their leftover metal parts.”

“I was looking at how they were catching, weighing and tracking their precious metals throughout the manufacturing process, [meanwhile] 30% of our foam goes into dust.”

“I kind of lost my sh*t in there,” Hayden said. “I asked lots of questions about the process of how they build their watches. Myself owning a factory as well building surfboards I thought: what could we do?”

The answer? Applying upcycling, the process by which waste becomes a functional new product (long a feature of the luxury watch industry) to surfboard design. To do this, Hayden made the world’s first remote surf studio (aptly called Remote), a place where he has conceived “a more sustainable thought process in manufacturing surfboards.”

How? Speaking recently to DMARGE, Hayden told us, “One of the best ways to be more sustainable is to re-use what we have been throwing in the bin in a creative way to build performance components of the board.”

So instead of throwing away the 20% of glass and carbon fabric that would normally be discarded when you cut a surfboard shape out of the rectangular sheets these materials come in, Hayden now plans to use these offcuts to create a “new circle fabric” to laminate boards with (and which comprises of 60-70% upcycled glass and carbon), a new technique which he unveiled the week before last to a small media contingent which included DMARGE.

Demonstrating “ground zero” of the new tech (and first-ever board!) of the new process, Hayden took us through a hands-on demonstration of how his surfboard design company could become more sustainable. He is also under no illusions, telling DMARGE: “We’re not a sustainable company at this point but I’m working and designing towards that.”

“It’s a process – it doesn’t happen overnight – I like to put performance first so that it feels good under your feet. Even if I have to get more creative it’s something I don’t want to comprimise on.”

This experiment began about a year ago, Hayden told us, with “little experiments here and there, finding the time to break away and focus on [the Remote concept].” Throughout the process, Hayden came to appreciate even further how – conceptually – when it comes to design, engineering and functionality, there is not as much difference between a luxury watch and a high-end surfboard as you might think.

“For them [watch manufactorers] it’s innovative functionality – mechanisms and innovations in the watch industry. And there’s a strong synergy there – it’s a different craft but we both need a serious eye for detail.”

“It’s easy to get chatting with some of these watchmakers; I really vibe on it.”

So what now? How long until performance-minded surfers have no excuse not to jump aboard the sustainability movement? Still quite a while, Hayden told us, as this is the first board of the upcycling batch, and the technology is yet to be tested and refined by himself and his team riders.

As for his expectations?

“We’re still using carbon fibre, epoxy and eps foams [the same materials Hayden uses for his signature, high-performance Futureflex tech], but Futureflex has a defined flex pattern through the unidirectional carbon fibre frame and that sits on the rail line of the board.”

This means the upcycled boards should provide a lot of acceleration, and make your surfing feel easier (like the Futureflex technology). However, it also means they won’t be as predictable as the Futureflex boards because “unless you have your fibres in exactly in the same shape [something not currently possible with recycled fibres] you’re not going to be able to replicate that flex pattern so it’s not going to have that same level [of performance].”

“If I could take my chopped up carbon fibre (and maybe one day I will) and then put it back into unidirectional fibres with a machine that straightens it all out and joins it all back together to create long fibres out of it,” Hayden told us, then this story might change. But that’s “not quite on the doorstep” at this point.

Stay tuned though, because Hayden is already thinking about potential solutions: “There’s a guy down in Melbourne who gets carbon rods and splits filaments off them. So if I could turn my wasted carbon into a carbon rod and then run it through his machine he could – in theory – pull a new fibre off it. But that’s going to be a big challenge.”

Another positive sign is that Hayden has a track record of bucking the trend, as his patented Futureflex technology, back when he first started testing it, also required a big manufacturing shift: “When we designed the carbon tapes that go on our Futureflex carbon frame we had to create a whole new way of manufacturing the carbon tape to work on our surfboards.”

Read Next

• Jordy Smith Reveals The Truth About Why Surfers Try So Hard To Look Cool
• Best Online Surf Shops To Score The Best Gear

The post Australia’s Sustainable Surfboard Revolution Has Arrived appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The white sneaker market is ever-changing with many brands and models joining as the cult gains ever more traction. Not all of the styles offered on the market today were designed with timelessness in mind, but there are a select few that have t...

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The post This Incredibly Stylish $178 Men’s White Sneaker Just Got Restocked appeared first on D'MARGE.

From Blade Runner to Minority Report through Star Wars and the Jetsons – it depends on your age and whether you have any taste – flying cars have been a twinkle in many a script-writer’s eye for as long as anyone cares to remember.

Yet here we are, waiting for the train, bus, or for Chet or Dan to pick us up in the Uber in his firmly-grounded Nissan. Various companies have been toying with the idea for years, with varying amounts of credibility. Uber, for example, is targeting a flying car release for 2023 and Airbus has built one vehicle that’s undergone a successful test flight.

But finally there’s a flying car project associated with a couple of names you want to believe in. Porsche and Boeing have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to “explore the premium urban air mobility market and the extension of urban traffic into airspace.”

This seems like a lot of unnecessary words to explain that they’re thinking about putting cars in the sky. For the avoidance of doubt, they add that they will be looking at “a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle”.

That’s a flying car. A Porsche flying car, no less.

Under the partnership, the brands will combine their strengths and insights to study the possibility of creating these vehicles in the future. So it’s a long way from production and importantly, there is no way to tell right now if there is even a market for it.

It is precisely that market issue that Boeing and Porsche are working towards with a team to be created to address aspects of this urban air mobility and analyse the market potential for it. Currently, Porsche estimates that the market will pick up speed by 2025, by which time flying vehicles will transport people around cities more quickly and efficiently.

So all the billions being spent on bridge and tunnel programs around the world might soon prove to be questionable investments.

This announcement did not include any indication as to cost or what other resources the brands would throw at the venture. There is not even a set date for a prototype or a price range.

Read Next

• Porsche Gets Topless & Sexy With The Brand New 911 Speedster
• Experience Porsche’s Most Epic Cars Without Actually Buying One

The post Porsche And Boeing: Conspiring To Revolutionise Your Daily Commute appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Pierce Brosnan may be known for his ice-cool charm but yesterday he broke the internet with a feat he never achieved in his time as Bond: making Iceland’s hot springs even hotter.Not many guys would be able to pull this off in their prime, let alone at 66. But Pierce being Pierce, he manages, living up to the ‘Once a Bond, always a Bond‘ refrain in nothing but a pair of dark navy boardshorts.While they are mostly submerged, judging by Brosnans’s impeccable taste, we’d guess they are something along the lines of Orlebar Brown or Frescobol Carioca.

 

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Happy Times

A post shared by Keely Shaye Brosnan (@keelyshayebrosnan) on Oct 16, 2019 at 6:37am PDT

His wife Keely Shaye posted the picture to Instagram with the caption, “Happy Times,” prompting her followers to ask, “Is that at the Hot Springs in Husavik.” While it looks similar, it is actually at The Retreat in Reykjavik, a place known for its celebrity treatment, subterranean spa, geothermal (blue) lagoon and a restaurant that will reset your taste buds.Suffice to say: Brosnan looks to be having a fine time, and now appears to have finally gotten over the compulsion to upstage his son Dylan with super chic attire, and is now doing it with his midriff.Although he isn’t rocking a boutique AU$56,000 Speake-Marin (as he was when he made headlines at the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood premiere) he is still not leaving his wrists unaccompanied, in this case wearing what appears to be a Fitbit.In other palabras: ultimate silver fox status achieved. And dare we say a master class in how young 007 should dress on holiday in a few decades.

Read Next

• Pierce Brosnan Proved That A Retired 007 Agent Can Still Dress Better Than You
• Pierce Brosnan Is Dressing Exactly How You Wish Your Dad Would Dress

The post Pierce Brosnan Fashion: Takes Ice-Cool Style To Reykjavik's Hot Springs appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]When winter conjures up its worst it's pretty hard to find a suit that will be able to cop it, but Todd Snyder's new Donegal suit will handle it will style and grace.

Made from premium grade wool, a material that thrives in colder...

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The post If You Only Ever Buy One Suit For Winter, Make It This One appeared first on D'MARGE.

Australians take pride in their java addiction more than any population in the world. And – whether you normally spend the week in a caffeine fugue state or you just dabble at your local hipster joint – when we return from overseas we all tend to proclaim, “Makes you realise how good the coffee is in Australia.”

You might think being coffee snobs would serve us well in Italy. But this is not the case: as most Aussie tourists who visit will (grudgingly) attest – this attitude actually lends itself to an embarrassing faux-pas: seeking out the latest, most modern, highest TripAdvisor-rated cafes to add that sheen of ~cultural capital~ to your Instagram ‘foodie’ blog (or your Tinder profile).

Unfortunately, this is not where the best coffee is actually found in Italy. Why? Well much like bad spelling is often the indicator of a truly authentic (and tongue tantalising) Thai restaurant here in Australia, run down charm (and a surly barista) is often the mark of a proper Italian cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Italy’s the only country where I don’t search for the latest, modern cafés but rather, I’m on the lookout for the traditional, the old, the quintessential Italian bar that serves the most perfect cappuccino and the dreamiest croissant. ⁣⁣⁣Try it next time you’re in Rome or any other Italian city. Wake up and hit the bar around 7am and join the hustle and bustle of Italians heading to work or school.” ⁣⁣⁣. . & @alisaanton . . #italy #italia #rome #roma #italytravel #romeitaly

A post shared by Culture Trip (@culturetrip) on Oct 16, 2019 at 11:05am PDT

Not only that, but if you are looking for an even more #authentic experience, skip your hotel’s complimentary breakfast and head to the busiest purveyor of black gold on your street around 7am, where you can merge into the local crowd, slamming back your beverage at the counter and getting the hell out.

Further tips include going all or nothing (Espresso, Machiatto, Americano and Cappuccino are all acceptable, Soy Lattes are not) and never ever ordering anything in a takeaway cup. There are two reasons for this.

Firstly: if you are in a cafe worth its beans (i.e. not a modern one) they will likely serve your takeaway beverage in a polystyrene cup that cracks at the slightest grip, and a lid you have to remove completely every time you want to take a sip (or with yet another piece of plastic – a straw – to jam through it).

And secondly: the experience is so unwieldy no-one asks for it except tourists – who then complain it is wasteful. Of course, the irony is European cafes are more environmentally friendly than Australia or America’s: people sit down to drink, they leave and their mugs get washed up.

It’s not a NASA engineered Keep Cup, but it works.

Not to mention, drinking your coffee like this also means you return (or arrive) at your office refreshed, having taken a mental break, rather skulling your beverage on the go, or supping it mindlessly at your desk.

Read Next

• Grown Men Ordering Piccolos ‘To Go’ Reveals Why Australia’s Cafe Culture Will Never Match Europe’s
• Important Dating Rules You Need To Know Before Hooking Up In Italy

The post The Humiliating Coffee Mistake Every Australian Makes In Italy appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

A few months ago Timex re-released one of their 40-year-old classic steel men's watch models. The TIMEX Q is a quartz watch that has touches of some of today's' most exclusive models. Like that Rolex inspired Pepsi bezel which people just can't get enough of. So much so the Timex Q sold out in minut...

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The post The Iconic $179 Q Timex Just Got Restocked For A Limited Time appeared first on D'MARGE.