Succeed!

This morning, as a result of a few snags in my normal routine, I skipped my morning workout. Even though I had every intention of exercising, I didn't. And because of what happened, it made me think about what it takes to exercise on a regular and consistent basis.

Decide.
If you're not exercising now, but want to start, you first have to decide that's what you want to do. If you can't decide if you want to or not, you probably won't. First step: Decide you want to do this.

Commit.
Next, make the commitment. For the long haul. Every day. If you commit to yourself and you don't do it, no one will know. Except you. Deciding is the "I'm going to do this!" part of the equation. Committing is the "I will do this! part of the equation."

Accountability
Holding yourself accountable to yourself is one thing. But if you tell others what you're going to do, you're now holding yourself accountable to other people. And if you and the other people can be accountable to each other, it can be even more powerful. So, find a workout buddy. Or three. And whether you workout with them or not, it doesn't matter. Make it someone you can talk to every day, to share your exercise experiences with. It's amazing how motivating and inspiring a good conversation about exercise can be.

Get Started
Figure out what you need to do to get started. And by "getting started," I mean several things. You need to start your fitness program, but once you've started it, you have to figure out how to get yourself "started" everyday. The main thing: Just start. And then, get up the next day and do it again. One day at a time and before you know it, you'll be in the habit of doing your own fitness routine.

Make it Routine.
Find a time that works for you. Every day. It might be different times for you each day - weekdays vs. weekends - but make a plan and then, stick to it. For me, mornings work best. Less distractions. Feel great the rest of the day. Most likely time for me to succeed and be consistent. If you try to "fit it in when you can," you'll find excuses, you'll miss a lot of days and ultimately, you'll never make exercise a routine. Find your time and stick to it.

In the morning, the only thing preventing me from exercising is me. Am I able to get out of bed everyday when I'd rather sleep for an extra hour? I have the same internal conversation with myself every morning. The inner debate: sleep in vs. workout. When the inner voices start their conversation, I remind myself I've never regretted a single workout and almost every time I've finished, I feel better than when I started, both physically and mentally. But when I sleep in or skip a workout, I've regretted it and wished I would have exercised instead.

Be Prepared.
Be prepared to workout. If there's one piece of advice I would give to someone starting out, it is this: think about what your workout will be tomorrow and get yourself prepared for it today. For me, that means reviewing what my next DVD is going to be and getting my clothes ready for my workout the night before. When I get up in the morning, everything is ready for me to workout and I can't make an excuse for not being prepared. Do whatever you can to put yourself on "autopilot" when it's time to workout.

Succeed.
If you decide you're going to get fit and you commit to a fitness program; If you make it routine and prepare in advance, you will succeed. And if like me, you have days where it doesn't all go as planned, don't beat yourself up over it. Just do your best to make it happen the next day and get back to your routine. You'll never regret it and you will succeed.