Alpine Climbing and Fitness

I have written before in this publication about indoor rock climbing and its fitness benefits. Now I want to turn my attention to the sport of "alpine climbing" and its variations, and how this activity can become a part of a fitness lifestyle that is truly in concert with what we call the "inner athlete." Another term for alpine climbing is simply "mountain climbing". Though most people would think of mountain climbing as something that would involve a very high peak and trekking through snow to get to the top, the purpose of this article is to show the value of participating even in less extensive climbs that test fitness and require some planning, but can be done in a short period of time or even over the course of an afternoon. As a personal trainer I was always looking for things that would effectively motivate my clients to adhere to a fitness program and reach their goals. Whether the goal was weight loss, building muscles, toning up their bodies or having more energy, I knew that the "Inner Athlete" that we mention frequently on our website exists in everybody, so it was up to me to find an activity that allowed a client's version of that inner athlete to come out. Training to get their body fit enough to climb a mountain was frequently the ticket. It is a very simple idea: get your body from the bottom of the mountain to the top, and once you are up there, enjoy the view and the fruits of your labor. A lot of clients were really intrigues by the idea, so we built their cardio programs and resistance training programs around it.

As I write this article, recently I have been riveted by the current Discovery Channel series "Everest, Beyond the Limit". The series follows the journey of a group of climbers led by a professional guide as they attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain. In the series, viewers are treated for really the first time with EXACTLY what it looks and sounds like way up at those rarely traveled altitudes. In addition, a TV series has never before focused on the actual life these climbers lead as they spend almost 2 months on the mountain itself, getting used to the altitude and building the specific fitness required to achieve the summit. The hardship these people endure to reach their goal is almost beyond the understanding of most people, as the prolonged exposure to the increasing altitudes of Everest causes the climbers' minds and bodies to gradually shut down and stop working properly. It is enough to make even a pretty experienced fitness professional and adventurer like myself question the value of doing something that extreme to my body. Even having done some alpine climbing myself, including summiting Oregon's Mt. Hood (11,249ft) and Washington's famous Mt. St. Helens (8,364 ft), I still found it tough to imagine wanting to put my body through something so tortuous. The altitudes on the mountains I have climbed are only around 1/3 as high as those on Everest (29,035ft)

That's not what this article is about, however. Only a few thousand people in the entire world have ever stepped onto the summit of Everest, but virtually anyone can find a "climbing" adventure that suits their fitness and personality. The experience of the thrill of climbing is something that is realistically within anyone's means when actually trained for. Most people have just never really considered it possible or know where to start. Looking beyond the extreme nature that is present on Everest, the sport of "mountain climbing" can be participated in by almost anyone with a solid basic level of fitness. There some real and absolutely extraordinary fitness benefits that extreme climbers have achieved by the time they are done on Everest, and a version of those benefits are within the reach of "normal" people. These are people who may want the adventure of climbing a mountain to motivate them, but can realistically be achieved on a much smaller scale attainable by virtually anyone.

Physiologically, climbing is one of the most effective aerobic activities that can be performed. The steady state effort required to train for and perform climbs builds tremendous fitness in the heart and circulatory system. It is also typically low impact and easy on the joints which makes it an activity that virtually anyone can perform at some level.

Psychologially, climbing has a typically very simple appeal: getting to the top of a mountain feels good and is a very easy goal to define. "I made it to the top" is a very attractive thing to feel. Everybody wants to feel a sense of accomplishemnt in their lives, and too often our fitness success or failure is defined by the weight scale. All shapes and sizes of, people can climb, and the mountain doesn't care what size you are, it only cares if you made it to the top of it or not. So, best of luck in your climbing adventures, no matter at what altitude you finish!

---

Live Lean Today offers perfect options for those looking for online fitness trainer, Tag Heuer sunglasses, and more.

A Fit Body Burns Calories and Loses Weight- Pretty Simple

A common strategy for people trying to lose weight is to focus on calories, so they make calorie burning the biggest aim of all their workouts, with the added goal of being in the "fat burning zone". See our new page on The 7 Steps to New Year's Weight Loss. People often do very long and repetitive cardio sessions — walking or jogging for an hour or more at a relatively low, even level of intensity. But this isn't necessarily the most efficient way to burn off unwanted fat, and it's certainly not the most effective way to achieve and maintain a strong, lean body over time.

To do that, you need to boost your metabolism, which regulates your body's ability to become (and stay) lean. And shifting your metabolism depends on improving your fitness and supporting your goal with good nutrition, which is 70% of your ability to get the results you want.

When your body turns food and oxygen into energy — something it does throughout the day, virtually all day — it burns calories. That process takes place in your cells' mitochondria, which need oxygen to burn those calories efficiently. So the more oxygen your body is capable of processing per minute (a function of your VO2 max — more on that in a moment), the more calories it can grind through on a given day.

In other words, being fit helps your body run more like a finely tuned machine — one that's naturally inclined to eliminate excess weight.

"People who have a higher level of fitness burn more calories even while at rest and asleep," Hyman says. Exact numbers are difficult to nail down because each person's resting metabolic rate is unique (based on muscle mass, age, genetics and even climate). Still, some experts estimate that fit, muscular adults can burn an extra hundred calories or more per day — while at rest.

It's important to note that in the course of their daily activities and workouts, fit adults can and do burn a couple thousand more calories daily than unfit, more sedentary ones.

And here's the beauty of it: Fit people are naturally more inclined toward activity and tend to exert themselves at higher levels. That's because exercise and activities of all kinds become easier as your fitness improves, and even intense levels of exertion become more comfortable. All of which makes calorie-burning activities a much more appealing proposition, thus further increasing active inclinations.

This is what's known as a "benevolent circle" (as opposed to a vicious one) — and the more fit you become, the more you can take advantage of its fat-burning effects.

---

LIveleantoday offers high quality online personal trainer services and more information about our 7 Steps to New Years Weight Loss.

Cardio Threshold Training - Medium Intensity Days

The Plan: The threshold workout or medium intensity workout is the #1 workout that most cardio athletes and enthusiasts miss in their programs. The goal of the threshold workouts is to work at the max at which your aerobic metabolism produces energy. Because you have another energy source called your anaerobic metabolism, you have the ability to train harder or faster than a proper threshold workout. Most people thinking that they need to be killing themselves to be getting a good workout never slow down enough to train their body effectively.

Your aerobic metabolism is the way your body burns fat and carbs as energy with the use of oxygen. The only way to optimally perform in cardio or endurance races, as well as, achieve your weight loss goals is to train your aerobic metabolism to be as fast as it can. The perfect workout for weight loss, 5k training, and running a marathon.

How do we find the proper intensity to train at? The only way to know for sure that you are training at the right intensity is through having your own personal heart rate profile. With Live Lean Today's online fitness plans, you receive your own heart rate zones to optimize each workout. Most people not watching their heart rate are way off to what they think their heart rate is to what it actually is.

Threshold workouts range from 15-30 min. in total session time. With Live Lean Today, your online personal trainer will work with you to create the right program and progression for your threshold workouts. If you can go longer than 30 min than we need to go faster. What is important is highest rate of energy and heart rate that you can sustain for the entire threshold workout.

The Results: Threshold hold workouts train your body to burn more fat and carbohydrates as energy. This is another way of saying you have a faster metabolism. As it relates to performance, with threshold training you create a faster pace. Especially, if you have found that you can't seem to increase your running pace, threshold workouts are needed in your program.

After effective threshold workouts, the biggest difference you will instantly feel is how much faster you perform at lower heart rates. Your heart rate profile will change as you progress and improve. This is why it is so important for a cardio expert to be monitoring your progress and making adjustments. You now have the ability to run faster for the same distances and times that were once a struggle.

Your weight loss results occur while you are resting. If you have ever said you wanted a faster metabolism than threshold workout are for you. Your body will burn more calories of fat 24 hours a day 7 days a week after your body improves from threshold workouts.

The Difference: Live Lean Today is the only online personal trainer program to have precise heart rate training programs to optimize your results. Training in the right heart rate zone makes each workout as effective as it can be. The fastest way to your results is through proper heart rate training and progression.

---

Find the best online fitness trainers and LG Science products at LIveLeanToday.com

Tips for a Great Halloween Photo Card

Halloween photo cards are the perfect way to show of your growing children to family and friends. Here are some ways to capture the perfect Halloween photo.

1. Costume Photo

A snapshot of your child in their Halloween costume is a very popular choice for a Halloween photo card. What could be cuter than dressed up babies? To capture a great shot of a small immobile baby lay them on a solid colored blanket as a backdrop. This will ensure there are not distraction objects in the photo. For older babies and children shots taken outdoors work great.

2. Pumpkin Patch

Colorful pumpkins make a festive backdrop for Halloween photo cards. Make sure to snap lots of pictures as your child picks out the perfect pumpkin. This is also a great setting for family photos to be used on fall cards or a holiday photo card.

3. Face Paint

A unique idea for a Halloween photo card is to feature a photo after your child has had their face painted at a fall festival event. Close ups work best for this type of photo.

4. Fall leaves

If you live in a cooler climate rake up those leaves and let your child have a blast playing in them. These shots are great for both Halloween and Seasons Greetings photo cards.

Focus on the photo - Photo cards are becoming a popular choice for girl birth announcements, boy birth announcements, birthday invitations and other events. Holiday cards will be included in this trend this year. We are predicting that consumers will seek out collage photo christmas cards or cards that focus on one unique photo. We will be seeing more families choose a creative or artistic photo rather than a traditional family portrait.

Custom Cards - Stylish families will seek out a unique custom card vendor such as Addie Kate Creations to tailor their holiday card in their own unique vision. Cookie cutter designs offered by large realtors will be passed over in favor of a more unique look. Discerning customers are looking for a more personal experience and are seeking out vendors that create a custom holiday card to suit their taste.

Simple Messages - Long verses and text will be forgone in favor of short and simple phrasing. This year’s designs feature simple greeting such as “Peace, Hope and Love”.

Simplicity is key this year when it comes to the message on your holiday card.

Retro Design - You will find many cards that feature traditional elements with retro color schemes as well as modern characteristics on this years holiday card offerings.

Elegant and Simple - Elegance is always in style. This year there will be many consumers that opt for simple clean lines and an upscale elegant look.

Whatever idea you choose to incorporate, remember to take lots of shots and have fun!

---

See the high quality Halloween photo cards from Addie Kate.

Achieve a Movie Star Body

We watch TV and we see these amazing movie or music star bodies, and we are like how do I get a bod like that. Most people dismiss that they could never look like a movie star. Though very few people are blessed with the looks and body of Halle Berry, learning what it takes to have a movie star body will give you a hot body as well. Live Lean Today looks at the fitness and diet plans that create sexy bodies.

No matter whom you are if you want to look like a movie star than you have to exercise and eat healthy. If you want the magic pill; exercise and diet are it. Exercise builds the sexy tone lean muscles we like and your diet trains your body to burn fat and lose those love handles.

The movie star plan combines cardio and strength training with a balanced 5 small meals a day diet. What works for movie stars is exactly how Live Lean Today set up their fitness and diet plans. You don’t need expensive equipment or a lot of time. A few hours a day and some dumbbells and a stability ball will have you on your way to the new hot sexy movie star you.

Cardio Training has two major goals. The first goal is to train your body to use fat effectively as a fuel source. This allows your body to adequately burn fat on a daily basis. The second goal is to increase your metabolism so you burn more energy on a daily basis. Studies have demonstrated that people who do interval cardio training burn more fat while not exercising that doing other forms of cardio. Live Lean Today customizes your personal cardio program to optimize these results.

The best bodies have slender tone lean muscles and this is what strength training provides. The key to movie star looks from your strength training is to incorporate core training. Core training engages your abdominal muscles throughout the movements which burns more energy and develops nice looking abs.

lea newmanFive small meals may seem like a lot though it doesn’t have to be. Most people when switching from their current diet to 5 small meals eat fewer calories. When you eat throughout the day your cravings go away and your body starts to burn more fat that ever before. You know this is working because you will have more energy than ever before.

The last step to creating a movie star body is a personal trainer. Always on the news we here what the next celebrity trainer is talking about. You probably can’t afford your own celebrity trainer though with Live Lean Today you get all the benefits of a personal trainer and dietician for less than a gym membership. Live Lean Today is the only personal training website that allows you talk in real time to your own online personal trainer and dietician. Professional support is the key to overcome the weight loss and fitness challenges and personal trainers are the difference for movie stars to create their amazing bodies.

---

Shop.liveleantoday.com offers the latest legal ephedra diet pill and redline vpx at discount prices.

How to Eat for Health: Fats and Oils

Fats are an extremely important part of a healthy diet, and the essential fatty acids are named essential for a reason. They aid in just about every bodily function as they play a crucial role in cell wall function. Working as a transporter, they pass oxygen and nutrients through the cell wall and help to keep invaders and other foreign bodies out of the cell. Other functions performed include brain cell function, immune system, nervous system and hormone function.

So what is hydrogenation and what are the results of ingesting partially hydrogenated fats into your body? Well, hydrogenation is simply the process of heating an oil to the point where hydrogen bubbles enter, becomes attached to the fatty acids and form a solid in fully hydrogenated and more of a thick cream, or butter texture when partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oil has a high level of trans fats and these trans fats act within a cell in a confused manor and will keep nutrients out and let the foreign bodies in. Not only do these trans fats lead to obesity, but also are linked to disease such as diabetes and coronary disease (the leading killer in America).

Trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils can be found in a number of foods, and are used because they are a less expensive alternative to other cooking substitutes such as butter. Baked goods, potato chips, cookies, crackers, are just a few of the food categories that contain partially hydrogenated oils, the worst of which is partially hydrogenated soybean oil. This soybean oil is noted to negatively affect the thyroid function resulting in feeling sluggish, a decrease in energy and reluctance to want to exercise.

How much trans fat is bad? When you find out something can lead to heart disease and obesity, I wouldn’t take any chances and I would avoid any of it at all costs. Some reports have shown that .5g of trans fat is equal to approximately 1.5g of unsaturated fat in terms of how it affects your health. You won’t see this in the label of many products as .5 g can still be labeled as 0% trans fat due to federal law. But when you scroll down the ingredients, you might come across partially hydrogenated oil present in the first few lines.

The best way to avoid trans fat is to read your labels thoroughly. Avoid grocery shopping in the middle aisles for food and stay on the outskirts of the store where the fresh produce, dairy and meat are located. When cooking, choose to cook with virgin coconut oil, although high in saturated fat, and low on many health food lists, it is unaffected by heat, and it is metabolized differently than other oils as it will be burned as fuel and not stored into the fat cells. Fats are extremely important to our diet, but you can make healthy choices about fats by reading labels and learning about the different types of fats and how they affect the body.

---

Find the best deals on Kre-Alkalyn 1500 and Zylene at Everything Pills.

5 Foods for Instant Healthier Diet

Have you ever said to yourself that "I want to start eating healthy?" Then only to figure out you don't know where to start. The first idea is often fruits and vegetables which are important though there is more to eating healthy. Live Lean Today has listed 5 foods that will work perfect for any person to add to their diet and it will become instantly healthier. You can plug these foods and more into you own online diet plan.

Cranberries

They earn super status for their ability to help fight off nasty urinary tract infections. About 10 ounces of juice a day does the trick. Plus, recent research shows that cranberries might also help fend off colds and fight stomach bugs, gum disease, and certain types of cancer. Add a little unsweetened cranberry juice to smoothies, and sprinkle some dried berries into cereal and muffin mix. Cranberries are great to add to any weight management program.

Walnuts

These nuts are rich in omega-3s, which help reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol. They may even help with depression and reduce your risk of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Top your salad with 1/4 cup or try them in pesto.

Beans

The humble legume may prevent heart disease and help head off colon cancer. Rich in two heart-friendly phytochemicals, beans are packed with magnesium, potassium, folate, and fiber. Get a 1/2 cup five to six times per week by adding canned kidney and garbanzo beans (rinse and drain first) to salads, burritos, and dips.

Fish

Studies show that eating seafood rich in omega-3s at least twice a week could reduce your risk of heart disease. And the reports say women of childbearing age and nursing mothers can safely eat as much as 12 ounces of seafood a week if they avoid high-mercury swordfish, shark, tilefish, and king mackerel; albacore tuna should be limited to 6 ounces a week.

Tomatoes

Loaded with the antioxidant lycopene, tomatoes and cooked tomato products pack a big health punch (at 32 milligrams, 1 cup of spaghetti sauce serves up the day's recommended intake). Studies show that women with lycopene-rich diets can have as much as a 50 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer. The antioxidant can also lower your blood pressure and bad cholesterol, and may even reduce your risk of getting macular degeneration and a host of cancers.

---

Find the latest diet products like Nuphedrine and Hoodia Bites at LiveLeanToday.com.