"Most of us have the best intentions when we start a new workout program...(however)... something went wrong and we ended up sitting on our lazy butts for six months straight as our muscles went into hiding and our waists expanded."

"Everybody has an excuse about why they haven't yet achieved all of their fitness goals.  Don't feel too bad though...At least 95% of people are not too pleasing to look at naked."

Let's face it.  Most of us have the best intentions when we start a new workout program.  "This is THE time that I will actually stick to exercising and not quit!" or "Last time I was forced to quit because I was too busy to lift... but this time I am serious!"  Something went wrong and we ended up sitting on our lazy butts for six months straight as our muscles went into hiding and our waists expanded.

Everybody has an excuse about why they haven't yet achieved all of their fitness goals.  Don't feel too bad though.  How many really buff and ripped people do you see on an average day while walking around the city?  Maybe one or two, if any!  At least 95% of people are not too pleasing to look at naked.  Sticking to a workout or diet plan is hard!  Should that be depressing to you?  No!  It means that once you succeed you will be one of the very few hard bodies around for everybody to be jealous of.

How do you become one of these motivated and dedicated people?  It is 90% psychological.  Most of the time when you skip a workout or quit your program it is because you were downright lazy.  You need to figure out what works for you when it comes to staying motivated for longer than a month or two.  In this article I will teach you what works for me... and most of the people I know.

Emotions motivate us to want to do things.  We FEEL the NEED to do certain things or accomplish certain goals.  The following list of reasons to stay motivated are emotional triggers that can help you remember why you wanted to do this in the first place.  Most people forget these things 30 minutes before they are supposed to be at the gym.  All they can think about is the fact that they are tired and had a long, stressful day.

Top 10 SHALLOW Reasons To Never Quit!

Yeah, yeah... I know.  Exercising is about the healthy lifestyle.  It's great that because of exercising you will live longer, feel healthier, have more energy, prevent diseases, decrease stress, get sick less often and all that other stuff.  Let's be truthful for a second.  Did you start exercising so that you could prevent some future disease that you might get someday in the distant future?  I seriously doubt it.  Here are the REAL reasons why we started or are starting exercising.  Modify this list so it fits your life and print it out.  Put it in your car or in your bathroom so you see it everyday and read it before you decide to skip a workout or eat fattening foods.

10. Swimsuit Season.  Just think of the first time you take your shirt off or put on a bikini this summer.  Won't it feel GREAT to know that everybody is looking at you. You will pull your shoulders back and stand tall knowing that you are looking good.  Seriously IMAGINE this happening.  Don't just read this paragraph and go on.  Take a minute to make a detailed mental picture and make it last for a few minutes.  Imagine your friends, family and complete strangers looking at you. Think of your favorite beach or swimming area.  Just as motivating can be the thought of NOT working out and then getting into a swimsuit looking as you do now. Scary, huh?

9. Some Jerks Expect You To Quit.  Many of us know those people.  You tell them that you are starting a workout program and they just roll their eyes. "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it!"  They expect you to fail and never expect to see any changes.  They don't think you can do it.  You WILL prove them wrong and you WILL love to see the look on their jealous faces when you succeed.  Take a minute and right now create a list of names of these people.  It may be one person or it may be many.  Write them down and look at these names before deciding to miss a workout!

8. Friends Think They Are Better Than You.  Some of us were not born athletic and muscular.  Some of us are actually pretty puny naturally.  Don't you hate the fact that everybody thinks they can kick your butt?  Yes, I know this is immature and doesn't really matter, but let's be realistic.  If you are a guy, this is one of the worst insults to your manhood.

We all know people who just act like they are better because they are in better physical shape.  Some of these people simply have good genetics and have no reason to feel all high and mighty.  But they do anyway.  You eat one Snickers bar and gain 10 pounds while this person eats fattening crap all day long and still doesn't gain an ounce of fat.  Ugh!  How will they feel when they realize that you are better conditioned and more defined than they are?  Laughing in these people's faces will be a new favorite past-time of yours.  Write a list of people like this in your life and keep it close by.  Do it now!

6. Feeling Good About Yourself.  We all know that you don't look much different after one week of working out.  Isn't it weird though that you suddenly find yourself flexing in the mirror a lot more often?  You will walk around just feeling better looking even if you haven't changed at all yet.  This self confidence can extend itself to other parts of your life and make you an overall more successful person.

5. Feel Good When You Run Into Old Friends.  How many people can you name that gained a lot of fat almost immediately after high school?  A lot.  How many people can you name who are now in better shape?  Not many... if any.  We all love to gossip about how we ran into Bob Smith and couldn't believe how fat he had become.  His face was all pudgy and his body looked bloated.  Don't let that be you!  Be the one who people can't believe how great you look.  Let them wonder how you did it.

Write down a few names of people you haven't seen in awhile who you will be happy to impress.  A good list would include ex-girlfriends/boyfriends, people who used to look better than you and knew it, people from past sports teams that you were on... etc.

4. Succeed In Life.  If you have a job where you see new people often, this could be important.  Better looking people have a better chance of getting the best jobs, getting promotions, making the sale and being respected.  This may not be morally right, but it is true. We naturally trust good looking people.  Many people also assume that fat and out of shape people are lazy, dumb, rude and untrustworthy.  This has been proven by many studies.

Think of how a good personal appearance can benefit you in your current job.  Write these thoughts down now and be specific.

3. Have The Dream Life!  Most people's idea of the perfect life would be to be rich, smart, good looking, buff, tan and happy.  Obviously, exercise can help you become better looking and muscular.  Exercising will help you have more energy and feel better about yourself.  These will naturally help you to be more successful in your career.  Many people will assume you are smarter than others based on your healthy appearance.  This can all bring you closer to living the life most people only dream about!

2. Going To The Gym Is Fun.  After you belong to a gym for awhile, you will get to know the people who work there, or workout there.  You will make friends with people who have your same interests.  The gym becomes like a second home to many fitness enthusiasts.

The feeling of exercising becomes an addiction to many exercisers.  There is almost nothing better than squeezing out that last rep.  The feeling of driving home afterwards knowing that you just ripped your muscles to new extremes is great.  Your daily stress slowly fades away.

1. The Opposite Sex.  This is the number one reason most people start working out.  They want to attract the best looking girls or guys.  The first time a hot woman asks to feel your bulging bicep, you will know that every ounce of sweat and pain was worth it.  The first time the attractive guy notices you, it will be well worth the dedication.

If you are married, or engaged, then you may think this is not important to you.  Wrong!  Don't you want to make your spouse feel proud/lucky that they have you?  I bet they will be a little nicer to you knowing that you could get any girl/guy that you want, yet you are with them.  Maybe this will motivate them to start working out, too.

Other Tips For Staying Motivated:

The above will help almost anybody get into the gym.  If you are truly serious about staying dedicated, follow the following tips.

Get A Workout Partner.  If you know this person will be waiting for you at the gym at 6:00 then you will be less likely to skip.  This person is counting on you!  Make sure your partner knows that he/she has the right to force you to go.  Tell them in advance that you may get lazy one day and that they have the permission to keep bugging you until you go to the gym.

Take Supplements.  If you know that you have been taking many great supplements over the last few days, you will be more motivated to go to the gym.  Why waste those supplements that you made sure you took 12 times per day over the last week?  They won't do anything if just sit on your butt at home.  Supplements will also help you get better gains which will help keep you from getting frustrated.

Join A Gym.  Sign up for a long term membership!  You will know that you are wasting your hard earned money if you don't go.  Why write a check every month for something you are not using?  Taking supplements and buying a gym membership can hit you in the pocketbook.  They are both very worth it if you actually workout.  Otherwise you are throwing your money away!

Joining a gym will also help most people workout harder than if they workout at home.  Just knowing that people are watching you will motivate you to lift heavier and harder.  People would laugh if you spent 20 minutes in between sets watching The Simpson's. Nobody at home can motivate you quite like this, and besides, you've already seen every episode of The Simpson's.

Tell yourself that you WILL go to the gym at 7:00 p.m. on each workout day, or whatever time is best for you. Do not change from this schedule no matter what is going on.  Meet your partner there each day at that time without even calling him/her.

Tell Everybody You Are Working Out.  Do it!  This won't be scary to you if you KNOW that you are not going to quit.  Let all your friends, co-workers and family know that you are starting a new workout program and you can't wait to get results.  Just the thought of failing in front of all these people will be enough to keep you going strong.  Soon they will all be asking how you did it.

Change Your Routine Often.  The same old routine for six months at a time will bore you to death.  This can also lead to frustrating plateaus.  Change your routine every 6 - 8 weeks.  Change the exercises, the number of days per week, the order of the exercises, the time between sets and the number of reps per set.

Don't Be Negative.  Some people skip certain workouts (like leg day) because they are hard.  Don't even let that thought enter your mind!  Don't go around telling your friends, "Ugh! I hate leg day!  I almost puke every time and I friggin' hate it!".  Just saying a sentence out loud like that will help reinforce it in your mind.  Soon you will be skipping every leg workout and then skipping every workout altogether.  Every time you start to think negative thoughts about working out, make yourself think of something else.  Don't dread your workout all day long.  Be positive and remember how it feels to finish a hard workout.  Think of the results!

Music.  Most of us know the emotional power of music. Pick out your most motivational and exciting songs and put them in the car.  Listen to them on the way to the gym to get motivated to workout harder than you ever have before.

Visit ProDiets.com often.  Reading a fitness magazine, book or web site can keep you on track.   Check out the many new articles posted each month and learn everything you can.  Make fitness your life!

The human mind can justify murder.  Don't let yourself make excuses for not sticking to your fitness plan.

"I need a day off."
"My mother is in town."
"My leg kinda hurts."
"I'm too tired today."
"I have too much on my mind."
"I'm not making any gains, I might as well quit."
"I don't have time."
"A Simpson's marathon is on TV tonight!"