Working out is hard enough; therefore why make it more difficult than it needs to be? Whether you are new to the gym, or exercise in general, have difficult staying motivated, or are a seasoned fitness buff looking to be challenged, hiring a personal trainer comes with all kinds of benefits. It is no coincidence that almost every well-known actor, actress and model lining the pages of your favorite magazines, has their own personal trainer. Working with a personal trainer is one of the quickest and simplest ways to kick your booty into gear and guarantee yourself to see success.

Setting Goals and Committing:

One of the biggest rewards of having a personal trainer is the commitment it requires you to make towards achieving your fitness goals. It is much harder to blow off a trip to the gym when you have a pre-scheduled appointment with your trainer. Together with your trainer, you can establish realistic goals and determine how you will go about achieving them. Your trainer can help keep you motivated as well as offer additional support and advice with any setbacks you may run into along the way.

Efficient Workouts:

Everyone wants to make the most of their workouts, which means you need to know how to use your time as efficiently and wisely as possible. This is where hiring a personal trainer can come in handy for those well acquainted with the gym environment and also for those who have never set foot in a fitness center in their entire life. Perhaps you don’t know quite how to keep challenging yourself, or always do the same workouts and are looking for some variety and new ideas. Many times, you may not even realize if your form is off or if you are using a machine incorrectly. Oftentimes, improper use of equipment is not only completely ineffective in building up your fitness abilities, but can frequently be the cause of injury. For those who are new to the world of fitness, a certified personal trainer can teach your correct form and help show you how to properly use workout equipment.

Injuries:

If you have already been injured in the past or are working out with special restrictions, using a trainer can help guide you through this process as well as offer you innovative workout solutions. Many times, those with injuries, especially joint, knee and backs problems, start to avoid working out all together for fear of further exacerbating an injury. In fact, implementing a regular fitness regime can often help certain injuries by maintaining your weight and keeping your body overall fit and healthy.

Many gyms will now offer a free first sample session with a trainer, or special deals and rates. If you have never considered working with a trainer before, sign up for a session and experience some of the advantages that it can offer you. Ask at your gym or from friends and family for tips and recommendations for a specific trainer; finding the right match for your personality is also vital when it comes to working out.

This post was provided by Brian S. from NCSF.org, the National Council on Strength & Fitness.

Image Credit: 1.

Aging is an unfortunate current reality of the human condition But, if you’re smart, you can delay it and protect yourself from its negative effects. There’s a lot of doom and gloom out there regarding the “inevitability” of aging, but this has a lot less merit than people often think it does, as long as you keep a few things in mind.

Keep Exercising

The important thing to note here is that the “keep” part of this phrase is nearly important as the “exercise” part. A lot of people will start an exercise routine only to give it up a few weeks later. Honestly, the intensity of your routine is nowhere near as important as its regularity. Getting your heart rate up for 20 minutes a day can be all that you need. Everything else like muscle training or more hard core cardio is extra. According to the CDC, heart disease is a huge killer in the United States, and one of the leading culprits for those nasty effects we often just blame on “aging.” Taking a good hour long walk every day can be all that it takes to keep aging at bay.

Stay Clear of Poisonous Foods

And this doesn’t just mean foods that have lead poisoning in them. Saturated fat might not be instantly poisonous in a way that will make you keel over 5 minutes after the fact like some second rate mystery movie. But this is essentially what happens, just on a longer time frame. Saturated fat, sugar, and too many carbs, and other terrible food are simply poisons that take a bit longer to kill you. If you want to keep aging at arm’s length, then you need to lay off them as much as you can.

Being Stress-Free is Golden

Many studies have been done recently that link stress to all sorts of nasty effects from aging. If you can find ways to destress effectively this can go as far to keeping you feeling and looking young as many other things you can do. It might seem obvious, but this is often even more important than ll those creams you can buy. Being happy, having fun, and staying away from stress are worth gallons of cream which will only cover things up. Staying stress free will ensure that you don’t age very much in the first place.

Stay Fertile

Staying fertile and having a lot of sex with consenting partners is a good way to stay young as well. Studies have shown that sex is one of the best ways to destress, for example. Studies have also shown that if you take steps to preserve your fertility through staying in shape, and avoiding stress, this could be a positive feedback loop. This is because studies have also shown that the more faily you have, the more you will be connected to them. The more you have something to live for, the longer you will be around and the more aging will be kept at bay.

If you exercise, eat well such as fruits with Vitamin C, and avoid foods and behaviors that will stress out your body like smoking and drinking, you will find that you’ll stay young in every way much longer.

• Image License: Image author owned

Writer Biography

This is a guest post by Lindsey Mcmahon. She likes to travel, play and read in her free time. Her interests are entertainment, television, parenting and health but she is constantly extending her field of view to incorporate interesting news suggested to her by her readers. She currently works for California Cryobank.

Stay Clear of Poisonous Foods

First of all let’s be clear. Stretch marks can’t ever be completely removed. They occur when there’s a tear in the middle layer of our skin; the dermis. This then forms scar tissue. No pills, creams or surgery can do anything about it. Think about it – to remove the scar tissue (such as with surgery) you’d have to replace it with something else, which would create another scar in its place!

So don’t trust any product or service promising guaranteed stretch mark removal. Unfortunately it’s just not possible.

There are quite a few treatments which can help with the appearance of the stretch marks, such as the ones listed here. There are also some natural treatments which can potentially reduce their appearance. How well these methods work will depend on the individual. We all have different skin types and what works well for one individual may not work as well for another.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter essentially is a vegetable fat which has a number of hydrating properties. It contains antioxidants and essential vitamins. This means it can soften and smooth the skin. The butter needs to be used on a regular basis and over time can aid in the fading process. It can also be used as a preventative measure during pregnancy to keep the skin soft and supple. This may be able to prevent the dermis tearing. Be warned though, scientific evident for its effectiveness isn’t clear-cut.

Vitamin E Creams

Unlike Cocoa Butter these creams have performed very well in clinical trials. Tests involving pregnant women show that use of the cream results in fewer stretch marks than those given a placebo. Vitamin E has antioxidant properties which can promote skin health; especially elasticity. These may help on current stretch marks but the greatest impact from its use will be found if the cream is used before the stretch marks occur.

Massaging

Massaging has numerous benefits, but for stretch marks it can speed up the healing process. A massage can help speed up circulation and stimulate the flow of blood. This helps to evenly distribute collagen around the problem area. You can use Cocoa butter or vitamin E cream along with the massage for even better results. This treatment should be done consistently in order to see the best results. Any massage techniques should be appropriate.

Salt and Honey Scrub

For this natural remedy, combine 1 tablespoon of honey and ½ tablespoon of salt. Stir them together and massage the solution into your skin for several minutes and rinse. Do this twice a day for several weeks and you should begin to see benefits. It works because the honey can help break down the scar tissue and the salt can aid in exfoliating the top layer of skin, revealing the fresh new skin below. Results may even be visible soon after the treatment.

Time

This is by far the most natural method – just wait and let your body do the best job at healing it can! When your stretch marks first occur they’ll be in their worst and most visually obvious state. At first they’ll usually be red/purple/pink in color, but after a few months they should then turn to a less obvious white/silver color. They may then continue to fade further for up to 2 years and sometimes beyond. Although some of the methods and techniques mentioned above may be able to speed the whole process up.

The great thing about these treatments is that they’re very inexpensive. They can easily be done in the home rather than a clinic or salon. But remember that prevention is the best cure. Take care of your body – stay well hydrated and eat a balanced diet. Especially during times where you’re vulnerable to stretch marks, like during pregnancy.

Whether you are a sporting professional or someone who simply likes to keep fit in their spare time you are always at risk of an injury occurring. Often it can be through nothing but pure misfortune and the extent of an injury can impact upon your whole life in so many ways. The exact recovery time is dependent on so many factors and this is why it can often be difficult for doctors, surgeons and physiotherapists to put an accurate timeframe on the situation. When the time does come for you to begin taking part in physical activity again you should treat it as the perfect chance to make improvements in the way you do things in order to give yourself the best possible protection from future problems.

Evaluate your activities

If you experience an injury then the first thing that should be in your thoughts when you return to fitness is whether you can change your activities in some way to benefit yourself in the future. If you can clearly see that the technique you used was one that increased the chances of injury occurring then put in the effort to find a better way of doing things. Also consider whether the activities you take part in provide you with enough opportunity to work all areas of your body or whether you are overloading on specific parts.

Make it a steady return

It would be very difficult to find an example of someone who has gone through an injury and successfully thrown themselves straight back into physical activity at the same pace they were at before they experienced the problem. Your body is a sensitive instrument and it needs to be treated in this way when you are getting used to exercise again so do not try to do too much.

Focus on your core

A good basis to a healthy body is a strong core and this can help you with avoiding injuries in a number of ways. It is sensible to devise a schedule that allows you to give focus to improving this area of your fitness when you work your way back from an injury.

Set targets

Giving yourself goals that are possible to reach but suitably testing is a key part of returning to physical activity after an injury. You should look to introduce targets that can be achieved on a weekly basis for example and you can alter this over time as you begin to get stronger and fitter.

Article written by Emma Campbell who recommends www.irishfit.eu for triathlon wear.

Image Credit: cat with injured eye.

Maintaining the right weight is a survival necessity that no one can afford to ignore. Some people may manage to lose weight by a diet and exercise regimen over a few weeks or months. But they often hit a roadblock when it comes to maintaining that weight.

Even the extra weight of a few pounds is not good for anyone’s body. Aches and pains will be your constant companion if you let those extra pounds tag on to you all the time, and a plump body will weaken your immune system also. Above all, whatever your age is, it is important to have a trim body to look good and feel fit.

The commonly found weight reduction shakes help weight loss by melting away the muscle mass also along with unwanted body fat. Muscle is in fact heavier than fat, and when both fat and muscle are lost, the weighing scale would obviously show reduced weight. We would foolishly feel happy when we find that we are indeed weighing much less.

What people do not realize is that losing muscle mass is actually counterproductive because insufficient muscle mass will cause the metabolic rate to become slow. The body will then lose its capacity to burn calories at the required rate and that will only help weight gain instead of weight loss.

The net result is that you would eventually be gaining what you are trying to shed.

Solving the problem

An almost foolproof solution has been found to prevent this scenario, and that is including Leucine in the food you take. Leucine is an essential amino acid that the body has to obtain from outside sources since it is not synthesized within. It improves protein synthesis in muscles and thus prevents the loss of muscle mass.

Shaklee, a nutrition company that has been in the field for more than half a century now, has established the potential of Leucine to reduce weight and protect muscles. It has introduced a weight loss program known as Shaklee 180, based on the use of protein bars, shakes, energy tea, and dietary supplements containing Leucine.

The program, also known as the Cinch Inch Loss Program, consists of a 3 month regimen when the user subsists mainly on these shakes and bars and tea and vitamin tablets. The company will provide full support to the users through recipes and exercise guidelines, and by educating them in the way in which the program works.

Every food item that you will be using for this weight loss program is absolutely free from defects and is above reproach. Dr. Jamie McManus, who heads the research team that has created the program, and her teammates have ensured that. Following the program will lead not only to immediate weight loss but also to maintaining that right weight continuously.

Regular exercising is an inseparable part of this weight loss program. There is no short cut to weight loss without exercises.

Finally, a small tip. Try to get a partner or friend to join you in the program to make the whole process smoother and more enjoyable.

Check out Harvest Nutrition’s blog for more nutrition tips about healthy eating.

Many alternative health therapies have become commonly accepted; think of acupuncture, homeopathy and aromatherapy. Not everyone believes in them, dismissing them as quackery, but there are just as many people who swear by them.

However, some alternative treatments are more alternative than others, like chelation therapy.

What is it?

Chelation therapy is an alternative treatment for heavy metal poisoning. Chelating agents, like ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) are injected into the body where they bind to mercury, lead and arsenic. The metals then can’t bind to anything else in the body. The agents and the metals are naturally excreted (Wikipedia).

It’s fairly controversial as it is, but it’s getting even more so as it is being increasingly touted as an effective treatment for heart disease, cancer and even autism. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) stirred up the controversy a little more in November 2012, when it announced that it would be sponsoring a trial to determine the effectiveness of chelation therapy in treating heart disease (Forbes).

The American Cancer Society has published an article in which it lists other ailments that have been treated by chelation therapy – it doesn’t endorse them, it just lists them: multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and gangrene.

It notes that there is no scientific evidence to prove that chelation therapy actually, truly works for anything except metal poisoning.

Criticism

In addition to the lack of scientific proof of its effectiveness, chelation therapy has been criticised for its side-effects, some of which are very serious. For example, Mayo Clinic says that chelating agents bind to more than just metals in your body. They also bind to essential vitamins and minerals, depleting your body of natural resources. It can also affect your body’s ability to produce new blood cells and can even cause kidney failure.

Natural chelating agents

If you like the basic premise of chelation therapy but don’t want to risk the side-effects of clinical treatment, you can always try some natural options.

The Institute for Natural Healing says that cilantro is an effective natural solution. The recommended dosage is a teaspoon of cilantro a day (5mg). It can easily be added to food while cooking, especially if you like Asian and South American food.

Other natural chelating agents include various acids found in foods like eggs, lemons, yoghurt, seafood, sauerkraut, and vinegar.

Chelation therapy has many, many critics, but it also has its fair share of supporters, including the NIH, apparently. One of the most common criticisms is that it only has a placebo effect; people think it works when it doesn’t. But, provided it doesn’t do harm, is that such a bad thing?

Featured images:

•  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1126721

Sandy Cosser writes for Skilled Migrant Jobs, a job board that helps immigrants, including healthcare practitioners, find jobs in Australia.

Everyone wants to look their best. We know we can’t look like James Bond or Wonder Woman all the time, but as long as the inconvenience isn’t excessive, we all want to maximize our appearance. Many people make the mistake of thinking that this desire is purely sexual or romantic and geared toward finding potential partners. While the drive to attract a partner certainly plays a large role, personal appearance plays a role in every interaction we have. People tend to be subconsciously drawn toward more attractive individuals, whether it’s in the context of business, networking, leisure, or even basic friendship. Most importantly, when you feel like you are looking your best, you live with a much higher level of confidence, and this confidence influences everything you do and everyone you meet.

So what can you do to maximize your appearance without breaking the bank or adding an hour to your morning prep routine? Don’t worry, we have the answers.

1) The Difference Is Your Hair

What!? No way! YES WAY! If you don’t read another word of this epic list, remember this: your hair is the single biggest changeable factor in your facial appearance. The right hairstyle can instantly take you from average to attractive. Even extremely attractive people can do a fair job of hiding their good looks with an awful hairstyle. The best part about hair is that it grows back, so you can feel free to try different looks and see what works best. The other best part is that there are oh so many aspiring hair stylists, some of whom are quite good, who will give you salon quality cuts for $10-$15. And always make sure you are choosing the right hairstyle for your facial structure. Short and long styles don’t look good interchangeably on every person. Do some quick online research on what haircuts or styles best suit your unique face.

2) Buy Clothes That Fit Right

Depending on your body type, buying well-fitted clothes could be either the cheapest or the most expensive item on this list. If you have very average dimensions, you are good to go. Walk into any store and you’ll find hundreds of options and plenty of deals. If your body is a bit more unique, exhibiting dimensions that make finding the right fit more difficult (and more expensive), you might just have to be patient in building your wardrobe. Regardless, DO NOT buy ill-fitting clothes. Sure, fashion choices matter, but regardless of your style, clothes that fit right will make the difference between “Who is that?” and “What was he/she thinking?” If you are carrying a bit more weight than you’d like, don’t compensate by wearing excessively bagging clothes. Rather, choose styles that complement and enhance your body as you work toward achieving your fitness goals.

3) Hygiene

You’d think this would be a given, but so many people overlook basic levels of hygiene. Trim and clean your nails (toes and fingers!), brush your teeth, bathe, wear deodorant, deal with those pesky nose and ear hairs, etc. Take care of yourself. Even if you don’t care about your appearance, you are worth the effort. Do it for you. If you’ve just had one of those seasons in life where you let yourself go a bit, that’s fine, we’ve all been there. If your teeth are looking rough, go to the dentist or a local teeth whitening service. If your hair is on the fritz, go get it treated and styled. If you just haven’t been bathing… bathe! It’s hard to motivate yourself to maintain something that’s already ruined, so get yourself back on the proverbial horse, and then resume your basic hygiene.

That’s it! Just three simple steps. Get the right hairstyle, wear clothes that fit right, and keep up your hygiene. These three tips will do wonders for maximizing your appearance and helping you look you best!

Tiffany Olson resides in the great state of California (the North, of course!) and works as a Communications Manager at a small web company. Her primary duty is to educate the public on a wide array of topics including teeth whitening in Redding, CA. On her off time you’ll usually find her looking for the best health and beauty deals around town or sitting under a tree reading a book.

Image Credit: 1.

With all the research that is out there, we know that being at a healthy weight and exercising is the best course for our future. Living a healthy lifestyle can greatly reduce our risk of heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers. With its many health benefits, plus added energy and a more pleasing look, it is no wonder the weight loss industry continues to thrive with business. If you are starting your weight loss journey and feel you need an extra push to help you along the way – it does not mean you need to shell out the big bucks for a nutritionist or trainer. In fact, you probably have everything you need at the tips of your fingers – that is right; your smartphone can provide you with a wealth of information through a number of different weight loss applications. So do not delay, check out these amazing apps that can help you focus even more on being the best you can by getting into the best shape of your life! 

Noom Weight Loss
This cool app is a total weight loss support application. With this free smartphone app allows you to set weight loss goals, and tracks your food intake and exercise and displays your progress along the way. Through this app you can easily see how everyday activities and daily exercise can make a big impact on your weight loss journey and can even help you make healthier decisions.

Eat This, Not That!
This application is great for anyone that has difficulty making healthy choices in the food arena. This free application teaches you to make healthier options via a fun game atmosphere. By playing this addictive game, you will soon realize what foods are healthier choices over others. This app will help you in your own kitchen, as well as many restaurants. Start playing today and understand the how the power of nutrition knowledge can help you achieve your weight loss goals faster!

Nike Training Club
If you are just starting to try and lose weight and do not know the best exercise routine, this is the perfect app for you. The Nike Training Club app gives you multiple workouts made from professional fitness gurus. The fitness plans are divided into categories so you can pick workouts that best suit your athletic ability at the time – it is like having a personal trainer in the palm of your hand!

Fooducate Nutrition Scanner
This is another educational app that allows you to truly understand what you are putting in your mouth. This app allows you to scan the UPC code of any food and it will then display all the details you need and much more. Not only will you see the basic supplement facts of the food, the Fooducate will also alert you if there are any warning levels of a specific ingredient (extremely high saturated fat or sodium) plus if will show you if the food is derived from natural substances or chemically created. It is a great tool to learn a lot about the food you eat.

Kathryn Thompson, professional nutritionist and assistant to Susan Wright DVM who is the staff expert for Dog training Collars , devotes part of her time providing encouraging advice and great new technology apps regarding life changes and healthy living that make a difference.

Image Credit: 1.

There’s a lot of writing out there that condemns celebrity culture and airbrushing for damaging our self-esteem and causing psychological problems like anorexia and bulimia. While I can’t really defend the air brushing (though I’m pretty sure it’s obvious to most people), I feel it’s a little strange to criticise celebrities for looking good and being healthy. After all, isn’t that what everyone is always telling us we should strive toward? While some people might get upset by seeing slim and attractive celebrities, surely others will be inspired to hit the gym?

And actually in many cases you can emulate the celebs without having to spend your whole life eating dry bread and running on treadmills. Some of the secrets they use to look that good are things that anyone could take advantage of, so here’s how you too can look like Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston. Rather than feeling insecure, why not let them help you feel confident and sexy?

Cosmetic Procedures

Right off the bat before we get started we need to address the fact that many of these celebrities will use cosmetic procedures to achieve their good looks and perpetual youth. A lot of these ‘secrets’ actually involve needles and silicone. But if Botox isn’t your thing (it is invasive and not terribly good for you) there are many other non-invasive procedures that anyone could use to look better. How about using laser hair removal to get rid of your ‘tache for instance? Or maybe teeth whitening to get a Hollywood smile? (Veneers if necessary). Likewise you could go to the salon for bronzed skin, or use laser treatment to tighten up your lines and get a deep exfoliation. These are all relatively inexpensive procedures and none of them are painful, so why not indulge yourself?

Contouring

Here’s one of the other little tricks that celebrities use though that you can do at home all by yourself. Contouring is essentially a style of applying makeup that is designed to change the appearance of your features. Here you will use darker shades of foundation and shadow and then apply them so that they look like shadows falling on your face. For instance a bit of dark foundation down the sides of your nose can make it look slimmer, while use shadow under your cheek bones can make them look more pronounced. This way you can alter the shape and size of your features almost like plastic surgery but without the pain or expense. Many celebrities use this technique and swear by their particular makeup artists to give them their look.

Generally doing your makeup well will also help a great deal, and knowing which colours work best with your skin tone/how to draw attention to your best features can help you make the most of your look. There are many classes and courses you can attend that will teach you to apply your makeup better, so consider giving them a shot.

Fitness

Generally improving your health and fitness will improve not only your well-being, but also your appearance. Losing weight for instance will help make your features more chiselled as well as improving your body, while your general health will give your skin a natural and healthy ‘glow’.

The ‘secret’ here is that most celebrities have personal trainers and teams of experts helping to devise their diet plan and their workout routines. Actually you don’t need all that though, as long as you can stick to your goals and make sure that you keep training day in and day out. To do this, consider joining classes like spin class with friends so that you will feel more motivated and even obligated to attend. Likewise by getting your friends to diet with you, you will encounter fewer temptations throughout the day when socializing and you will again have their moral support.

Airbrushing

If you want your Facebook pictures to look like they came from a glossy magazine then you can cheat to and apply a little PhotoShop magic. The basic skills are easy to learn and if you keep subtle with your techniques you can make sure that you look blemish free and beautifully vibrant in every picture.

Featured images:

• License: Creative Commons image source
• License: Creative Commons image source
• License: Creative Commons image source
• License: Creative Commons image source
• License: Creative Commons image source

Penelope Jones is a certified beautician. She loves her job and feels that the right kind of hairstyle can make you look more beautiful. She says people should not believe the brochures they get from the beauty clinics and to personally go there to know the exact laser hair removal cost in Toronto.

One of the most common questions that many people ask when getting a new piercing is whether or not they can resume their normal exercise regime straightaway, or if they need to wait until their piercing has fully healed. This is a difficult question to answer, because much of it comes down to the type of piercing you’ve got and the exercise that you want to do.

If you’re a piercing expert, you’ll know that any body piercing is likely to be red and sore for the first few weeks of its life, and this is a natural part of the body’s healing process. The healing time for your piercing will depend on which area of your body has been pierced and, of course, how well you look after it.

Types Of Exercise After Getting A New Piercing

There are many types of piercing that you’ll be able to carry on your exercise regimes with, without changing much at all. Swimming though, is not an exercise that will do your piercing much good. Despite chlorine in the water of swimming pools, it is very easy to pick up an infection in a new piercing, and you should be careful to avoid swimming in pools, lakes, rivers and sea as all these bodies of water have the potential to contaminate your piercing.

The time that you need to wait before jumping back in the pool depends on your piercing. If you’ve got your ear lobe pierced, you should be OK to swim after six weeks. Any other area of the ear cartilage and you’re looking at more like four months or longer, a nose piercing around three months, and a belly button piercing can take up to a year to heal properly. These are all general timing guides, and the real length of time that your piercing will take to heal will be specific to your body, and you should get personalised advice from a piercer or a doctor if you are unsure.

How To Keep Fit With A Piercing

You can take steps to lessen the impact on any piercing during the healing process, while continuing your exercise routine. For example, if you have a belly bar you could cover it up to resist its movement and the chance that it will get dirty, and this will help reduce the chance of infection and swelling, while allowing you to stay in great shape.

While your new piercing shouldn’t be harmed by any workout routine that you’re trying to keep up, you need to make sure you keep it clean and dry as much as possible. The best advice is to keep your piercing totally dry for the first three or four days after you’ve had it done, and it would be best to refrain from exercise during this time to reduce the chance of sweat getting in to the hole. If it does get wet, dry it gently, and clean it using appropriate aftercare techniques if it gets sweaty or dirty.

Featured images:

• License: Image author owned

Laura Watson is someone who has been pierced from the age of 16, but still enjoys working out in a safe and clean way.