AS the Christmas memories fade, all we are left with is a hammered bank account, a bulge around the waist, gloomy weather and a return to work after weeks of partying.

These factors all come together in a perfect storm for a single day believed to be the most depressing of the year, which has been dubbed "Blue Monday". 

10 best workouts to lose weight and burn fat

We all experience stress but how we manage it affects our lives to various extents. Maybe you’ve tried to be less stressed but you haven’t found many effective ways to cope with stress.

How something so simple as sitting with your eyes closed could deliver such incredible benefits? We are used to seeing the Shaolin Monks in a few popular American movies meditating all day and yet being able to do crazy things with their bodies but what’s the line between fiction and reality? 

According to a report of the NHS in May 2019, 64% of the population in the UK is overweight or obese. This means that more than half of Brits are marked "out of shape." When it comes to health and fitness, we all know the basics: eating healthy fresh food, exercising regularly, and resting. There's no magic to it, and yet so many people find it hard to follow these three simple principles. Why is that?

Nowadays, life is hectic. Work, family, travel, social life, and housework are extremely time-consuming activities. For most people, trying to fit exercise into their schedule is a real challenge. Even so, there is a substantial amount of "busy people" that seem to be able to make everything "fit" in their agenda. How do they do that? 

Hollywood actors can get in killer shape for a major role in less than 12 weeks (examples include the cast of 300 and the most recent Ben Affleck in Batman vs. Superman). They can also maintain that physique throughout the filming of a whole movie (like Dwayne Johnson on the last Fast and Furious). 

Vacations, barbecues, pool parties, and glorious sunsets are some of the things we've all been longing for. This long-awaited season is finally blooming, and we feel strangely energized by the thought of enjoying ourselves in the sun. You should relish this time of the year, but there is one problem that affects most people when it comes to enjoying summertime: feeling out of shape.

In my past years of work as a Personal Trainer, I have seen a common trend: even by prescribing the best diet and training program (totally backed up by cutting edge science), I could achieve great results, but only with some clients. Some were applying by the book, and others seemed to find it too hard or fell back down the dark tunnel of booze and junk food.

During my years of work with clients in the gym, I often saw some of them gaining incredible confidence by losing weight and straightening their posture. Some of them were single and got into a relationship. Others changed their job for a better paid one. Many quit their corporate job to start a successful business and my clients and I believe that the improved self-confidence, gained by changing one’s body, ultimately reflects in people taking more challenges and succeeding in life.