5 Outdoor Exercise Ideas To Build Muscles & Torch Fat This Summer! [Infographic]

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5 Outdoor Exercise Ideas To Build Muscles & Torch Fat This Summer! [Infographic]

Image by UrbaneWomenMag
It’s summer – who wants to spend the days inside a stuffy, smelly gym? Here are 5 great outdoor activities that will give you a great work out as well as let you have fun… And soon you’ll be showing off those lean, sexy muscles!

If the above infographic is unclear, you can click on the following link for a full-sized version of the infographic -> 5 Outdoor Exercise Ideas To Build Muscles & Torch Fat This Summer! [Infographic]

Exercise calisthenics #2

Image by Ed Yourdon
Note: this photo was It was published in an undated (Jan 2010) Squidoo blog titled "Fastest Way to Lose Weight." And it was published as an illustration in an undated (Jan 2010) Squidoo blog titled "Free Printable Exercise Log – Get in Shape for 2010!" It was also published in a Mar 28, 2010 Health Knowledge blog and an Apr 24, 2010 Shakeway blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jun 21, 2010 blog titled "Placer, diversión y salud son las principales motivaciones para ejercitarnos." And it was published in an Aug 20, 2010 blog titled "what is the fastest way to lose 10 pounds?" It was also published in a Sep 21, 2010 blog titled "Help, I need to lose my “Just had a baby weight” FAST! Any ideas?" as well as a Sep 28, 2010 blog titled "Unsafe Ways To Lose Weight – My When – Fastest To Lose Weight." It was also published in an undated (Oct 2010) Weight Loss Shakes City blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page; and it was published in an undated (late Oct 2010) blog titled "Workout With An Exercise Bike." It was also published in an undated (mid-Dec 2010) blog titled "LA HCG Weight Loss Program Is Based On Cutting Edge Techniques," as well as a Dec 14, 2010 Buy HCG Cookbook blog with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written on this Flickr page.

In 2011, the photo was published in a Jan 2, 2011 Exercise BIke Zone blog, with the same title and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jan 7, 2010 blog titled "What Is The Best Exercise Machine For Weight Loss?" and two undated (early Jan 2011) "Weight Loss Helps" blogs titled "The Big Role of Insulin In Your Exercise Program ," and "You Are Not Alone… The True Role of Supplements in Weight Loss and Muscle Building." It was also published in an undated (early Jan 2011) blog titled "Does anyone recommend any good fast weight loss diets?", as well as a Jan 11, 2011 blog titled "Weight Loss Supplement At Work – Is There A Special One?" It was also published in a Jan 19, 2011) blog titled "Finding the Best Weight Loss Supplements." And it was published in a Jan 20, 2011 blog titled "How To Lose 37 Pounds & Melt Away Belly Fat By Going Against Mainstream Diet & Exercise Advice!"

It was also published in a Feb 27, 2011 blog titled "How to Get People to Read My Blog." And it was published in a Mar 16, 2011 blog titled "The Poll Results About Solo Slim Side Effects Have Been Tallied!", as well as another Mar 16, 2011 blog titled "Get Rid of that Muffin Top and Enjoy a Free Waistband Best Diet to Lose Belly Fat." It was also published in an Apr 4, 2011 blog titled "Mejorar la salud con disciplina." And it was published in a May 20, 2011 blog titled "Get Fit Lake Mary! Fitness Classes @ Lake Mary Farmers’ Market." It was also published in a Jun 29, 2011 blog titled "Ab Workouts: Three Exercises for Fast Abs." And it was published in a Jul 3, 2011 "Cellulite Patches" blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in an Aug 16, 2011 blog titled "Tenersi in forma col wellness coach." It was also published in an Oct 25, 2011 blog titled "Nice Exercise Programs And Weight Loss photos," with the same caption and detailed notes I had written on this Flickr page.

Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Jan 5, 2012 blog titled "Some thoughts about exercise and motivation," as well as a Jan 5,2012 blog titled "what is the best weight loss programme from an indian point of view?", and a Jan 6, 2012 blog titled "Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and LA Weight Loss is the variation among what?" It was also published in a Jan 31, 2012 blog titled Exercise fights chronic disease sadness," as well as an undated (early Feb 2011) blog titled "Exercise for Depression: Suggestions for Making It Possible." And it was published in a May 31, 2012 blog titled "Exercise could be, er, bad for your heart, study says." It was also published in a Jun 4, 2012 blog titled "After Drug and Alcohol Rehab: Healthy Living." And it was published in a Jun 6, 2012 blog titled "Question by needtoknow: What is a good AB workout machine under 0?" It was also published in a Jun 22, 2012 RAAL blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written here on this Flickr page. And it was published in an Aug 11, 2012 blog titled "Take A Look At These Muscle Building Tips!" It was also published in an undated (early Sep 2012) blog titled "How To Choose A Gym," as well as a Sep 5, 2012 blog titled "Exercise Your Mind And Improve Your Mental Health Before You Have A Breakdown." And it was published in a Dec 3, 2012 blog titled "How much weight do you have to lose to have excess skin?"

Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a blog, "Pack On More Muscle With This Weight Training Advice." It was also published in a Jan 6, 2013 blog titled "Tips For Getting The Right Amount Rest In Between Muscle Building Sets." And it was published in a Jan 8, 2013 blog titled "Great Advice To Help Build Muscle Fast!" It was also published in a Jan 20, 2013 blog titled "Ways On How You Could Achieve Bigger Muscles," as well as a Jan 25, 2013 blog titled "Aerobic Exercise is Best for Weight Loss, Study Says." And it was published in a Feb 14, 2013 blog titled "Exercises You Should Do For Putting On Muscles," as well as a Feb 18, 2013 blog titled "Muscle Development Tips That Will Help Get You Your Dream Body." It was also published in a Feb 24, 2013 blog titled "Discover The Muscle Building Tips Of The Pros." And it was published in a Mar 11, 2013 blog titled "Muscle Building Tips People Don’t Want You To Know! " It was also published in a Mar 17, 2013 blog titled, simply, "Exercise," as well as an undated (mid-March 2013) Dude Mountain blog titled "The Most Effective Muscle And Strength Building Tips." And it was published in an undated (mid-Apr 2013) blog simply titled "Exercise," as well as an Apr 14, 2013 blog titled "Tips That Will Help You Build Your Muscles." It was also published in an Apr 17, 2013 blog titled "10 Ways To Be Healthier In 10 Minutes Or Less," as well as an Apr 22, 2013 blog titled "Use These Ideas To Gain Bigger Muscles," and a May 7, 2013 blog titled "Helpful Ways to Build New Muscle Fast." It was also published in a May 8, 2013 blog titled "What is Mind/Body Exercise, And Why Should I Do It?", as well as a May 15, 2013 blog titled " Want To Increase The Size Of Your Muscles? Consider These Tips! " And it was published in an undated (mid-June 2013) website titled Lean Green Cleaning Machine. It was also published in a Jun 22, 2013 blog titled "Exercise and Harm," as well as a Jun 28, 2013 blog titled "Haftada 150 Dakika Spor YeterliyMİŞ" and a Jun 28, 2013 blog titled "Training Techniques In Order To Avoid Injury."

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For the past several years, my family has spent a week, in early January, at the Club Med village in Punta Cana, on the southwestern shore of the Dominican Republic. (Our first visit to Club Med was back in 1985, and some photos of last year’s trip can be seen here.)

This year’s visit coincided with the awful earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti — about 260 miles away, on the eastern coast of the island of Hispaniola. From what I understand, the fault line went straight west, in our direction, but then cut south at approximately the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In any case, none of the vacationers at Club Med felt even the slightest tremor; we got all of our news of the ensuing events just like everyone else, by watching CNN. But because we expected the capitol city of Santo Domingo to be chaotic and congested with relief efforts, I decided to skip a daylong trip that I had tentatively planned to photograph the churches and markets of what turns out to be the oldest city in the Western hemisphere (settled in 1497 by Christopher Columbus’ brother).

In recent years, most of my photographic efforts have focused on the vacationers who fill the beaches and pool — especially the children, who come from Canada, France, Venezuela, and various other parts of the world besides the United States. So I decided to focus on something else this year, and … well, you can judge the results for yourself…

The 5 Best Exercises For A Toned, Sculpted Butt [Infographic]

Image by UrbaneWomenMag
Do you think you have a nice butt? If not, don’t worry – most of us don’t. Although body type and genetics do play roles in determining the shape of your butt, you can do something about it with the right kinds of exercises. These exercises will point you in the right direction for a toned backside that looks great in a bikini bottom!

If the above infographic is unclear, you can click on the following link for a full-sized version of the infographic -> The 5 Best Exercises For A Toned, Sculpted Butt [Infographic]

6 Tips for Better Photos

Image by abanakas

In today’s electronic world, almost everyone has access to a camera. Whether it’s your expensive professional DSLR with interchangeable lenses, filters, flashes, and all the other accessories, your “free-with-contract” mobile phone, or any camera in between, we all have one, usually within arms reach.

It’s easy to take that photo, but when we go back to look at them, there’s that moment when you think, “Why did I even take this?” “There’s nothing interesting about this.” “I have hundreds of these types of shots.” Don’t worry, it happens to all of us. It still happens to me.

The question that always comes up is how do I make my photos better?

Purchase Print

I’m going to share with you some tips that I’ve come across that have helped me to become a better photographer. But before we go any further, let me first tell you that I am nowhere near a professional photographer. I’m just a person with a passion for a hobby and spend a lot of time researching techniques in either composition of shots or processing the final photograph.

Keep In Mind

One thing that you should keep in mind about photography. Photography is a lot like cooking. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a Cuisinart pot, or a Mainstays (Wal-Mart’s house brand) pot to boil water. You only have to know how to boil the water. The same holds true with photography. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a top of the line Canon or Nikon, or an iPhone to take your photos. It’s knowing how to compose your shot that makes the photo.

I’m not going to promise you that when you get done reading this, and head outside, you’re going to take the most perfect photo the first time you press the shutter button. But I bet you that if you put an effort in and take time to practice, your photography will get better, regardless of the camera you are using.

Tip #1: Use Your Camera

The first and probably most important tip I can give you about getting better photos, is to get out and use your camera. You can read all you want about how different people approach a specific shot, or what a certain feature on your camera can do, but you will not get any better photos, if you don’t get out there and take them.

While using your camera, take a few moments and try to incorporate some of the tips that I’m sharing. Your photos will become better. One thing I’ve noticed in my own photography is that if I’m being rushed, either because of my surroundings or some sort of self-imposed “hurry up”, those shots that I took during that time, typically don’t even make it to post-processing.

Tip #2: Don’t Center Your Subject

The Rule of Thirds. The principle of this, is that in your frame is broken down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically). This in turn gives you a grid of nine parts, as seen below:

Rule of Thirds Grid

The theory of the Rule of Thirds is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines, you will create a more balanced photograph. This will allow your viewer to interact with the image more naturally. Studies have shown that a viewer’s eyes usually go to the imaginary intersection points of the image more naturally than trying to focus on the center.

Rule of Thirds – Centered

Rule of Thirds – Off centered

Tip #3: What’s that “Odd Rule”?

Whenever possible, it’s best to frame your images with an odd number of objects. Generally speaking, odd numbers of objects is better than an even number. Why is that? Well, it’s simple, kind of!. When there is an odd number of objects in the photo, it is harder for your brain to take in an image. When an image has an even number of objects, it’s easy for your brain to group those objects and makes an image a bit boring. When your eyes move through the image, from object to object, your brain has to work a bit harder, which actually translates into a more interesting composition.

Even number of objects

Odd number of objects

Tip #4: Horizon Line

In your photo, what you show above or below the horizon line can make or break a photo. If you have a boring foreground, lower your horizon line accentuate the sky. If you were to center your horizon with a boring foreground, the viewer is going to take notice and not be able to focus on the beauty of the photo, hence “the point of no return”.

The same holds true in the opposite direction. If you have a fascinating foreground and a dull background, raise your horizon line and create a point of interest that your viewer will enjoy. Also, a high horizon will give your photo more depth.

The examples below show how a simple change in the placement of your horizon can change the way an image looks:

High horizon

Low horizon

Tip# 5: Change your angle

I have an exercise for you to do to illustrate this tip. No matter where you are right now, you are probably in a normal position. Whether it’s at your desk, reading this on your monitor, sitting on the couch relaxed with your laptop or tablet, or wherever you normally do your internet browsing.

First take a look at your immediate surroundings. Notice your drink on the table, your keyboard on the desk, your pen holder, even your dog laying at your feet.

Stand up! (sit down if you were already standing)

Now, look at your surroundings. Things are the same, but they all look a bit different than you are normally used to seeing. There’s a different look to the shadow cast by the drink on the table. the keyboard on your desk looks a little flatter, your dog is probably looking at you differently. Even though things are the same, they are different now.

Do this with your camera. Get high up. Get down low. Get close. Get far away. Things that seem ordinary will now become unique.

Close

Far

Tip #6: Break the Rules

Break the rules? What rules? Well, the tips that I’ve given you are all “rules” that every image that you “ohhh” and “ahhh” at, follow. That’s what makes interesting images, look, well, interesting.

But there is one last rule that you should know about. It’s completely ok to break these rules. If I took every image the same way, they would start to become boring. As a photographer, you have to know how to create interesting captive images, but at the same time, know that these are more suggestions then rules.

Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning, these tips probably won’t turn you into the next Trey Ratcliff (check out his work here), but over time, the introduction to these tips will definitely help you make better photographs.

This is the first of I hope many articles that I want to write to help you become a better photographer and these are just a few tips to get you headed on that track. Since I’ve just given you some tips to help you better compose your shots, I think next, we need to take those images from the camera and make them really pop. I’ll share with you some tools that are available (including some free ones) to help you make good photos better.