Remove the jelly from your belly!

As we discussed in the last week's newsletter, exercise is an excellent way to speed up the weight loss process and also help you develop a whole new relationship with your own body. In addition to Aerobic Exercise, there is also Flexibility Training and Strength Training. We will focus today on the latter two.

Flexibility Training can be described as stretching. While it doesn't immediately benefit weight loss, it is a highly recommended part of all other forms of exercise, and it also may help easy tension in your joints, arthritis, or help prevent future joint-based illnesses.

In contrast to stretching, Strength Training does directly affect your ability to lose weight and maintain weight loss. Unlike fat, muscle is an active tissue. Every time you move your muscles, whether it's walking, lifting up a box, or typing on your computer, you burn calories. The more massive your muscles, the more calories you burn.

One other somewhat surprising advantage of weight training is that it helps counteract the effects of aging on your bones. In other words, it may help thicken your existing bones, and help stave off Osteoporosis.

One specific set of muscles to mention working on are abs. The advantage of abs is that their risk of injury is relatively low and they don't have an impact on joints as long as you are lying on your back on level ground and starting off from there. Also, you don't need any special equipment, and nothing prevents you from working on them while watching your favorite TV show. Last but not least, a strong core will always motivate you even more to rid of the layers on top of it and to be able to show it off!