To bulk up, hit the weights and the road, endurance exercise boosts your anabolic response to resistance training. Healthy, untrained men who cycled before lifting saw their type-I and II muscle fibres grow by 28 percent. Those who did weights alone experienced virtually no change.

FOR BETTER ABS, WALK THIS WAY

If you brace – or “hollow” – your abs while you walk, you can protect your back. Men who did this in a study were able to contract key abdominal muscles 69 percent more than when they took a regular stroll. Hollowing activates the deep core muscles that support your spine.

Try it: Pull your belly button in, and walk.

MULTIVITS FOR MULTITASKS

If you’re after a mental edge, whether in the boardroom or during a pub quiz, Northumbria University in the UK found that a simple multivitamin, taken regularly, is enough to reduce mental fatigue while boosting cognition. Add one to your morning routine and watch your brain gains multiply.

CARB LOAD TO GO FASTER

Here’s how you can justify your extra-large sandwich: A study conducted by UK scientists found that men who hit the good stuff before a 30K treadmill time trial were 10 percent faster than those who stuck to carb-light fare. However, if you’re looking to cut fat rather than seconds, consider abstaining. You’ll run slower but burn off far more from your waistline.

BE KIND, UNWIND

According to research in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, those who perform more acts of kindness throughout the day are less emotionally affected by work stress. “Our findings suggest that if we do small things for others, we won’t feel as unwell on stressful days,” says Yale University psychologist Emily Ansell. Looks like the next round of teh and kopi is yours.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Smashing through fatigue is great, but ignoring damaged muscles can leave your training regime in

pieces. If your movement is restricted or you notice signs of swelling, call it a day to prevent an ache from turning into an injury.

TAKE YOUR COFFEE STRONG

A pre-workout espresso will help you grind out more reps. Caffeine blocks adenosine, a painprocessing chemical, says the University of Illinois in the US. Not hot on coffee? Pop a caffeine pill 20 minutes before you train.

1. SOLUBLE FIBER REDUCES APPETITE

When you eat foods that lack fiber your blood sugar can spike quickly then it crashes leading to hunger and overeating. If this happens repeatedly, you will gain belly fat.

Soluble fiber can help you lose belly fat due to its ability to act as a natural appetite suppressant.

It does this in two ways. One, by emptying your stomach at a slower rate compared to other foods hence you don’t feel hungry so often.

Soluble fiber also swells when it gets to your stomach after absorbing water. This makes you stay full for longer.

Oatmeal is a good example of a food that is rich in soluble fiber you can have every morning.

2. SOLUBLE FIBER REDUCES CHOLESTEROL AND BLOOD LIPIDS (FATS)

Soluble fiber reduces the amount of cholesterol absorbed into your bloodstream.

Research shows that soluble fiber aids in reducing your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, “the bad” cholesterol which accompanies belly fat more often than not.

Foods rich in soluble fibers include kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, apples, and pears.  Cinnamon (a spice not food) is also an excellent addition to your diet.

According to this study, cinnamon doesn’t add calories and helps burn fat. In fact, taking as little as ¼ to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon daily can lower your blood sugar levels.

Moreover, it lowers cholesterol by 10 to 25%. So be sure to add cinnamon to smoothies, teas, and main meals.

3. SOLUBLE FIBER LIMITS THE AMOUNT OF FAT YOUR CELLS ABSORB

Soluble fiber is also known as the viscous fiber. This is because it absorbs water to form a thick gelatinous substance.

This thick mass limits the absorption of dietary fat into your cells. It works by binding on to the fats and carrying them through the digestive tract. As a result, fats pass through your stool instead of entering the bloodstream.

Additionally, fiber binds on bile acids produced in the liver to help digest fats, which prevents them from being absorbed into your system.

In short, eating bananas, apples, pears, and beans will reduce the amount of dietary fat absorbed into your body. As a result, you will lose belly fat faster.

4. SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS THE BODY METABOLIZE SUGAR

Since your body cannot break down fiber into nutrients like glucose, it uses it to get rid of excess blood sugar.

Moreover, fiber slows down the rate of absorption of sugar into your body. When your blood sugar levels are low, it is easier to lose belly fat.

5. SOLUBLE FIBER BOOSTS LEVELS OF SATIETY HORMONE

Recent studies show that regulating satiety hormones can aid fat loss.

Leptin is produced by fat cells and has been labeled a “satiety hormone”. It signals your brain that you are full and you don’t need to eat anymore.

When your body has high levels of leptin, your brain assumes that you are full.

Well, you can increase leptin levels without overeating by eating foods rich in soluble fibers such as beans, lentils, fruits, and vegetables.

6. SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS REDUCE YOUR TOTAL DAILY CALORIC INTAKE

You and I know that high caloric intake is the main reason people gain belly fat.

Therefore, you need to reduce your total daily caloric intake to lose belly fat. Eating foods rich in soluble fiber can help cut your caloric intake by half since these foods are very filling and low in calories.

For example, eating a fruit before meals can make you feel fuller and as result, eat fewer calories in the main meals.

You may also want to drink soups before meals. Some healthy soups include pure vegetable soup, chicken soup with vegetables, and chunky vegetable soup among others.

7. SOLUBLE FIBER ENHANCES FAT BURNING IN CELLS

The more fat is broken down, the less fat there is to form the belly fat. Well, most vegetables rich in soluble fiber also produce acetate. Acetate is an acid that turns on the fat-burning activity in your cells.

Clearly, eating soluble fiber will keep your body in fat-burning mode all day.

8. SOLUBLE FIBER FIGHTS INFLAMMATION

Inflammation occurs when your body responds to unwanted substances in your body.

Things like excess fat cells that accumulate in your belly area. Your body’s ability to suppress inflammation can lead to a flatter belly.

By consuming foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like sea vegetables (seaweeds), your body will able to fight inflammation.

Research shows that increasing the intake of omega 3 fatty acids is one of the best ways to reduce inflammation.

Other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include olive oil, tomatoes, almonds, walnuts, fruits like strawberries, blueberries, cherries, fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines.

9. SOLUBLE FIBER REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF INSULIN RELEASED INTO YOUR BODY

Research suggests that high fiber intake reduces insulin resistance, which means your body doesn’t have to produce excess insulin to balance your blood sugar.

Your body tends to store glucose as fat when there is too much insulin in your body. Even worse, too much insulin blocks the use of stored fat as energy.

I may also note that soluble fiber reduces the absorption of carbs, which in turn reduces blood glucose and insulin levels in your body.

10. SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS DIGEST FOODS EFFICIENTLY

Soluble fiber such as beta-glucan and glucomannan mixes with water to form a viscous gel-like substance that slows down how fast the stomach releases digested food into the gut.

This soluble fiber-effect allows food to be digested more efficiently. When food is digested efficiently, you get all the essential nutrients that balance hormones and enhance fat loss.

Every weight loss expert agrees that soluble fiber is essential for belly fat loss. However, it is not a magic bullet. You still need to make other changes in your diet to get a flat belly.

This program will show you simple changes you can make in your diet to lose belly fat fast. Frankly, if you follow exactly what the VFX BODY program teaches, you can’t fail to lose belly fat.

Since humasn first existed, physical strength has been crucial in our survival. However with the constant change in society and evolution of humanity, physical strength has become less of a focal point to the moderm-day lifestyle that typically involves a sedentary way of living. Strength used to be the factor that determined if a person  could hunt for food, build shelter and stay alive. Put simply a person had to be physically strong in order to stay alive.

Thankfully modern life is far easier to survive than what our ancestor had to deal with, but there can be no dooubt that there is room for improvement when it comes to our health and ensuring that physical exercise becomes a way of everyday life. Strenght training is an excellent way to achieve this using the basis of progressive overload.

WHAT IS PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD?

There is a tale from the 6th century that helps illustrate the concept of progressive overload. It involves a wrestler called Milo. One day a calf was born near his home and he hoisted it onto his shoulders. He did this every day, so as the calf grew in size, so did Milo's strength and abitlity to withstand the amount of wewight on his shoulders. In the end, he wasn't lifting a calf onto his shoulders, but a fully grown bull!

Progressive overload is a method of strength training that advocates for the gradual increase of the stress placed upon the musculoskeletal and nervous system. It is the single most important component of anyone's training programme.

WHERE TO START WITH STRENGTH TRAINING

For years resistance training has been categorised in isolation by looing at the area they target: 'biceps', 'triceps','shoulders', and so on. However pioneering work from  Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky and Dr michael Yessis accelerated the use of strength and conditioning both for athletes and the day-to-day individual seeking a better performance.

FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT PATTERNS

To optimise human movement and behaviour, we simply nee to be able to perform basic patterns efficiently well. These have been categorised and defined as fundamental to everyday life.

In the gym we may know them as a deadlift or a squat, but in everyday life they transfer to picking something up off the floor or squatting down to pick up our children.

Incorporating strength training into your life brings so many benefits, some of which we examine below:

1. IT AFFECTS LIBIDO AND HORMONES

To date, there is nothing from natural sources that will have a greater effect on testosterones in males as lifting weights. The body sends a rapid signal to the brain that initiates the release of hormones. This then releases testosterone. As for women, resistance training is key in balancing progesterone to oestrogen hormones.

2. SHARPENS YOUR MIND

Adding resistance training to your lifestyle will accelerate your brain response, giving better memory recall, increasing the ability to learn and finally bring a cleaner picture to your life.

Another considerable benefit that you will gain from strength training is proprioception (perception or awareness of the position  and movement of the body). With strenght training being so versatile in routine, order and selection, you can adapt the exercise you use to continuously challenge the body and brain with the law progressive overload.

3. BOOSTS YOUR METABOLISM & FAT LOSS

Strength training plays an integral part when it comes to burning body fat and also increasing muscle size strength. Your metabolism gets a healthy boost from strength training because of the cellular response the body receives. If you are increasing your activity level, you will be improving the rate at which your metabolism burns calories throughout the day as a resul of the increaed muscle percentage it produces.

Resitance-based training should feature in every individual's weekly training regime with a mixture of compound strength exercise. Mix the focus on lower body and upper strengthening in order to get a fully comprehensive programme.

4. IMPROVES IMMUNITY

Staying healthy plays an integral role in fighting off illness and disease. When our bodies are healthy our muscles are more sensitive to insulin and utilising the foods we eat. If we are fuelling the body with wholefood  choices as opposed to processed options, it increases our changes of avoiding illnesses. Alongside this, when our bodies are healthier and stronger, it means that we are more equipped against long-term wear and tear such as osteoporosis, which refers to the deteriration of bones.

5. SELF ACHIEVEMENT

There is no better feeling than the sense of achievement after a training session. Completing something uncomfortable or getting up early for your training improves a capacity for physical and mental boundaries. Our honest work and commitment in the gym can transfer into everyday life. Anything in life worth working for often requires consistency in order to see the results. The same goes for physical fitness. It is the consistency of adhering to a training programme or principle that sets our foundation for long-term progress.

6. ENHANCES THE SKELETAL SYSTEM AND IMPROVES MOBILITY

Strength training can improve the structure of bones by increasing protein molecules that in turn strengthen the outer surface of bones. Exercise movement patterns that require the body to be put under lenghtened tension have been prove to increase the body's range of movement. That being said, the old system of static stretching prior the exercise in a method that is no longer suitable to optimise efficient lifting and should be considered as a form of recovery exercise.

7. IMPROVES YOUR MOOD

Undertaking resistance training has been shown to have a postive impact on people's physical and mental wellbeing. When we exercise it stimulates the production of endorphins (chemicals in the brain). The release of these chemicals stimulates the production of dopamine and serotonin, which are transmitters that benefit our mental and physical wellbeing. Taking regular exercise also can help with balancing the stress hormone known as adrenaline. This hormone plays a cruial role in controlling the body's fight or flight response.