To start with why not use the stairs in your home to get fit? If you have ever run up or down stairs you know how winded you can get. So why not start stair climbing on a daily basis. Aim to walk up and down the stairs five to ten times each day. Then once you have this mastered the next day add one more set. If you can do it once you can do it again, so there is no reason to do fewer repetitions.

If your stairs at home are really steep or you just want a change of venue, see where in your town you have lots of stairs. Is there a church, library or community building that has lots of stairs? How about your local mall? The mall is a great idea for rainy days plus you can walk around the mall as well as climb the stairs and get a great workout.

For those who live in a community with lots of parks or nearby trail walks you may find nature walks that incorporate stairs. These are the kind that are built right into the ground and are not as evenly spaced. This way you will have to adjust your steps to navigate the stairs.

If your child is in soccer, hockey or baseball you can walk the flight of stairs on the stands while your child is playing or practicing. This doesn’t allow you to have any excuse about not having time to exercise because of after school activities.

If you haven’t tried climbing stairs in a while you will be surprised at just how good of a workout this is. Your leg muscles will be burning afterwards and you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing. If you experience shin splints they will go away in about a week or two. This is just a sign of your muscles becoming adjusted to your new activity.

Stairs are available almost everywhere and you shouldn’t have any problem finding a set that you can use each day. It wasn’t that difficult to find a low cost exercise solution now was it?

The United States is a car-based country. The vast majority of individuals who are of an appropriate driving age happen to own an automobile, and many children spend hours and hours saving up for that very first car. While much can be said for the car in terms of convenience and accessibility, our constant attachment to our cars contributed heavily to the United States?

The formula is weight in pounds divided by the height in inches squared divided by 703. The total of that calculation then is used against the chart to determine if the individual is underweight (18.5 or lower), healthy weight (18.5 24.9), overweight (25 29), or obese (30 +).

Obesity and coronary heart disease are closely related based on clinical studies. Obese people tend to have a higher risk of heart disease due to their other health related factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. The one contributing factor with heart disease is directly connected to the high cholesterol, which also has issues with clogging of the arteries; increasing the risks of heart disease in every individual, but is extremely higher in obese people.

People with high risks of heart disease; generally have other health issues that once were thought to contribute to the disease. Yet in recent studies it has been discovered those that are obese have a higher risk of heart disease; even without the other factors. Obesity causes heart disease since the obese person is not as active as the healthy weight individual is. The amounts of exercise play a role in heart disease.

Other contributing factors include the diet of the individual. Obese individuals tend to have a high caloric and carbohydrate diet, which blocks the blood vessels and can lead to heart muscle damage.

When the individuals limit their amounts of fat, sodium and starch, which are turned into fat when not burned up by the body with physical activity and exercise, the individuals can reduce their weight and risks of heart disease. Learning to eat a healthy diet will help with the levels of risks, while not completely removing the risks, if damage to the vessels and heart muscles has previously occurred; prior to the weight loss.

Medication is available for heart disease to help with the complications. Other methods are extensive such as surgery for heart bypass and heart transplants in extreme cases.

The fact of learning to take care of the heart and blood vessels, prior to any damage, is the most important factor, many need to realize. As once the damage is done to the cardio system, it is not possible to repair the damage; short of surgery and transplants.

Several methods are available to reduce the risks of heart disease including eating a healthy diet, avoid smoking, add a daily exercise regimen to the life style, and avoiding stress when possible.

4 cups water

3 Tbsp hemp hearts

1 apple (core removed)

1 medium-sized carrot

1/4 lemon wedge (skin & seeds removed)

2 large kale leaves (stalks removed)

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend on juice mode.

1 1/2 cups unprocessed oat bran

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup skim milk

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Cooking oil spray

Directions

Combine bran, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl and stir well. Make a small well in center of mixture. In a second bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, beaten egg whites and vegetable oil. Stir until well mixed. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spray 2 muffin tins with cooking oil spray or use paper liners. Spoon into the muffin tins until each is 3/4 full. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately; serve warm or at room temperature.

How to do the squat

You will want to start off with your legs shoulder width apart and your back straight. You want your toes to be facing straight ahead so that they are perpendicular to your shins.

While holding in your abdomen and keeping your back straight, you will bend your knees as if you were sitting on an imaginary chair

3. Without arching your back you will then stand back up to return to the starting position to start the next repetition

Tips for getting the best results when using the squat

It is very important to remember to breathe while you are doing this exercise. You can exhale while you squat and inhale while you stand back up

There are many ways that you can challenge yourself with this exercise and you can get very creative in what you do for this, though adding dumbbells or wrist weights are a great way to increase the intensity of this workout and can be done while holding them at your side

One way to work your entire body all at once with this exercise is to include some sort of upper body exercise with this. You can do anything from bicep curls or overhead presses (which are actually cool because it is basically the same motion on the top and bottom of your body). The important thing is to make sure that you do not sway while you are doing these exercises and interfere with proper posture as this can cause significant injury to you

Also keep in mind that the lower you sit, the more you will be working all these muscles. This is great for getting beautifully sculpted butts and thighs, but make sure that you do not go past what you can do as this can also cause serious injury

Make sure to take your time while doing the squat in order to get the full effect. Do not try to rush this as it can also damage your muscles.

Another great way to add a little extra to this exercise is to do a jump after you squat and are on your way back up. This is a burst that is made in place and helps to get your heart pumping a little more and incorporate more of your calf muscles into the exercise

The organic farming movement actually dates back to the 1940?s to something known as the Green Revolution. This revolution helped to ease the numbers of people suffering from starvation and introduced new cereals and grains to many nations.

As well as spreading foods the Green Revolution spread technology around the world. Organic farming is now replacing some of the principles used during this revolutionary period. Less or no pesticides are being used to grow the same foods and this has resulted in a higher quality of product being produced.

In countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia organic foods are defined as foods that contain at least 95of their listed ingredients as natural. They must be free from chemicals and synthetic food additives. They may contain pesticides as long as they are also not synthetic.

At one time organic foods could only be purchased from local farmers. Today more organic food is showing up in your local grocery store. In addition many natural food stores are being opened that focus on natural and organic foods. This wider availability makes it much easier to purchase organic foods than ever before.

Benefits of Organic Farming

The largest benefit of organic farming is the reduction of synthetic pesticides and chemicals being released into the soil. This one practice alone has a huge environmental impact.

Organic farming also helps to protect the wildlife, insects and plants in their local areas. Plus organic farmers are actually better equipped to help sustain the ecosystem. They understand their environment and take steps to keep it healthy.

Organic farms have been shown to use less energy in their farming techniques and to produce less waste. This includes things like less packaging and creating waste from using chemical products.

Consumer Safety

The benefits to the consumer are huge in regards to organic foods. The fresh produce is normally shipped locally and arrives in stores quickly. There is less chance of diseases being passed through the foods which makes for everything being healthier to eat straight from the store!

Yes, organic foods do cost a little more but the prices are also dropping. If you look in your produce department you may find that a bag of organic carrots is only 25 ? 50 cents more than regular carrots. That small amount is worth paying to protect your families health isn?t it?

The first tip that I can give you is to make exercise fun and more of a game. This can be done in several ways.

Going for a scenic hike

Playing a game of soccer, volleyball or baseball with your kids

Going for a family bike ride

Going camping for a weekend

Jumping rope

Using an outdoor trampoline

Swimming at the pool or beach

For example if the entire family goes on a camping trip your kids can go looking for firewood, swimming and even fishing. This provides them with exercise and fun at the same time.

Back at home even building a new picnic table or tree fort is exercise. You don?t have to think about running or doing pushups and jumping jacks to get exercise. The more fun and less like a regimented exercise the activity is, the more likelihood your child will enjoy their time and want to do it again.

It really is important to get your children into the habit of exercising regularly. Obesity in children in the Western world is at an all time high. This is mainly due to lack of exercise both at home and because of cutbacks in the education system. Many schools today offer very limited programs when it comes to sports.

Other easy tips to encourage your kids to exercise more are to get them to take the stairs instead of using an elevator. As a family when you visit the mall park your car further away so everyone has to walk further to get to the entrance.

Get into the habit of going for a family walk or go swimming together on the weekends. Depending on where you live you can go ice skating or cross country ski-ing and even skateboarding together. This way you are actually practicing what you preach to your children and this can make a huge difference.

Setting limits for television, video, computer and cell phones is sometimes a necessity in order to get your children active again. As your child becomes more active they will sleep better, have more energy and will probably lose a few pounds in the process too.