If you live closer to sea level and are planning a high altitude trip this summer, you'll have to do more than casually hike some hills. Strapping on a pack and hitting outdoor hills or indoor stairclimbers are terrific ways to get muscles ready to accommodate a load in the mountains and prevent Stupid Sore Moments, but your heart and lungs also need serious workouts at higher intensity levels to get ready for high altitude. Outside's Chris Carmichael explains high altitude hopefuls need to strengthen their aerobic engines to ultimately maintain their normal pace at a lower heart rate by transporting oxygen to muscles with less effort.

Here enters the idea of increasing your ability to hangout at your maximum sustainable intensity. Carmichael recommends working out at the highest intensity level you can maintain for 10-20 minutes at a shot, then ramping down to a gentler jog or walk for eight minutes before ramping back up to a higher pace. If you seriously and regularly challenge your aerobic engine pre-trip, your body will ideally develop into a much more efficient machine at high altitude.

I'm planning a high altitude backpacking trip to Wyoming's Wind River Range this summer -- it's time for me to strengthen my low altitude heart and lungs with some intervals. Check out AOL Body's helpful article on interval training. Considering I haven't done any intervals in a few weeks, I'll start conservatively with three or five minutes at my maximum sustainable intensity and carefully work up to Carmichael's recommended 10-20 minutes. Sounds difficult, but it's definitely worth it to become physically stronger up high.

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Plenty of nurses have taken my pulse during physical exams, shouting out a number usually in the low 60s before recording it on my chart. They're taking my resting heart rate, which is the number of beats per minute your heart beats at rest. A resting heart rate between 60-90 beats per minute is considered normal. Many factors can affect your resting heart rate, such as activity level, stress, posture and even temperature.

Elite athletes commonly have lower resting heart rates, some as low as the high 20s. According to Chris Carmichael at Outside magazine, a lower resting heart rate is the side effect of aerobic fitness. However he says there's no real health or performance benefit associated with a lower resting heart rate -- for as many elite athletes with a resting rate in the 30s, there are just as many elite performers with a resting heart rate in the 50s.

You may just be splitting hairs comparing the ultra-low resting heart rates of elite athletes, but for ordinary folk across a wider spectrum of fitness levels, lowering that resting heart rate indicates strengthened heart muscle gained through aerobic training. Simply put, if your heart muscle is stronger, your heart rate decreases since your heart can pump blood more easily. This is a good thing says one research study, a bit dated from 1999. Northwestern University researchers followed the pulse rates of around 34,000 adults aged 18 to 74 years old for a total of 22 years. Relative risks for deaths from heart disease, cancer and all other risks increased as participants' resting heart rates increased.

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