Health, Fitness Training & Nutrition

Spending time outdoors and exploring our Earth takes time, a spirit of adventure, and a solid commitment to improved personal fitness and nutritional balance. Earth Gear is here to help get you out there and be your guide, with knowledge and advice on improving your cardiovascular conditioning, leg and core body strength training, and proper nutritional balance designed specifically for your outdoor activities. Dedicating the time, making sure you are eating the right foods, doing the work to get physically prepared, and knowing the right steps to take to improve your overall health will make all the difference in your life and ensure your adventures are safer and more enjoyable. Be adventuresome. Don’t let anything get in your way of achieving your goals.

Work/Life Balance

We live in unforgiving times. Work is all-consuming. Productivity is critical but, as work hours increase, results suffer. The modern professional works more hours, under greater demand, than ever before. We’re always connected, and what were supposed to be advancements to make life easier have simply allowed for greater expectations and more responsibility. The job never goes away. Stress, depression, and anxiety are as common as rush hour traffic, shortened deadlines, and that person in the office that is always taking the last cup of coffee but never making more – only adds to the list. The stresses of the work week can create anxiety and feelings of…[read more]

Nutritional Balance & Training

Nutritional balance means your diet consists of the right number of calories and mix of nutrients needed to sustain your activity. Ideally, balance is hit when you get all the nutrition you need without eating more calories than you need. How do you know if you’re in nutritional balance? Good question. If you are maintaining a healthy weight, have good blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and experience good energy with no extreme ups or downs, you’re probably there.
Being in nutritional balance when simply sitting the couch is hard enough. The real challenge is maintaining it as you increase your activity. To maintain proper nutrition…[read more]

Cardio Training for Hiking

Hiking is one of the few outdoor activities that nearly everyone can do and only requires that you get out and try. Hiking makes everything better. It helps your blood pressure and lowers your risk of heart disease. Hiking helps you build strength, improves balance, works your core, helps maintain a healthy weight, and most importantly, improves your mood and makes you happy. It’s true. You can look it up. As much as hiking improves your cardiovascular fitness, it’s equally important to work on your endurance in order to improve your hiking. It’s the chicken and egg thing. Which came first? Hiking to improve cardio, or improving your cardio to be a better hiker?…[read more]

Building Core & Leg Strength for Hiking

Imagine walking 30 miles over a few days. No big deal, right? Now imagine walking 30 miles over a few days, with 30 pounds on your back. That’s backpacking. There is nothing more peaceful than carrying everything you need on your back and just heading out to where other people just don’t go. The natural world. The quiet. The stars at night. The right backpacking trip is emotionally and spiritually rejuvenating. But it can also be a leg and back killer if you’re not prepared. When you’re spending days lugging your pack up and down hills and over uneven terrain, leg and core strength are as critical as cardiovascular health. Spending the time…[read more]