Monday Fitness Fun Fact

You have the right to remain fat. Or skinny. Or weak. But every workout you miss will make your belly bigger, your muscles weaker, and your life shorter. Here's how to stay motivated:

1. Put your money where your muscle is.

A trainer still charges if you cancel without notice. Treat yourself the same way. Pay a friend $5 if you miss a scheduled workout. Or take the opposite tack: Pay yourself for every session you make. Put the money in a fund for a new set of golf clubs.

2. Set a 20-minute rule.

Make a deal with yourself that even when you're dog tired, you'll do a light workout on your scheduled days. Even if you only work up a light sweat or get your heart rate up to 55 to 65 percent of max, most of the time that's enough.

3. Track the benefits. Keep a job-performance journal on the days you exercise and the days you don't. You'll find that you do more on the days you exercise, despite taking time out for your workout. Just make sure you compare days that are similar in workload.

4. Schedule your training.

Make appointments for exercise as you do for meetings. If your secretary schedules your business lunches, ask her to schedule your workouts as well. When one needs to be bumped, she can automatically reschedule it for you.

5. Cross off your workouts.

Mark an X on your calendar on the days you exercise. Researchers found that those who used this simple system of tracking workouts made more progress than those who didn't.

6. Ask your wife to join you.

You'll follow an exercise program better if you work out with your spouse. Nearly half of men who exercise alone quit their programs after 1 year, but two-thirds of those who exercise with their partners stick it out.

7. Set specific goals.

Research shows that people who set goals that are too general ("I want to get in shape") typically don't achieve them. Make specific, challenging, yet realistic goals. And set a deadline.

8. Combine things you do anyway with athletics.

If you feel strapped for time, set up business meetings during which you walk or jog; play tennis with your date; take a spin class to find dates; or take your family hiking, suggests Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., author of The Automatic Diet.

9. Switch it up.

If you get bored easily with your workout, organize it differently for 1 to 2 weeks, says Gunnar Peterson, C.S.C.S., author of G-Force. Try working opposing muscle groups, such as your back and chest. Or try a total-body workout a few times a week.

10. Join a gym that's close to home.

"The gym has to be within 10 minutes of your house or your office, or on a straight line between the two points," says Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S, Men's Health fitness advisor. "Otherwise you won't use it as much as you need to or want to."