Most of us have been "derailed" from our fitness goals at one time or another. It's a very demoralizing experience and can stop you dead in your tracks. Here are ten proven steps for lifetime fitness based on years of research on human behavior. They will help you see where you've fallen off the fitness track and show you how to get right back on again:
1) Set Specific Goals. Most people fall of the track right here. They take on fitness blindly without really knowing where they want to go. Define both your long term
and short term goals.
2)Vizualize Your Success: Think and see in your mind's eye how you will look and feel as you exercise consistently and progress towards your goals. If you can't visualize it then it probably won't happen.
3) Create Motivations: Think of reasons why you want to workout and also reasons why it's not acceptable to stay the way you are. These motivations are necessary to success.
4) Reaffirm Your Desired Results: This is similar to goal setting. Simply remind yourself and affirm your desired results. Go through these affirmations often.
5) Develop an Action Plan: You can have the best goals in the world but if you don't have a planned method to reach them you will likely fail. Always make up two plans. If one doesn't work you already have plan B ready to go.
6) Be Consistent and Accurate: Once you have a plan you need to follow it consistently. The 90% rule works well in fitness. If you do everything right 90% of the time you're likely to succeed.
7)Evaluate Your Progress Objectively: We live in a "quick fix" world. The average fitness program doesn't work overnight so judge your progress accordingly. If you have less success than you anticipated take the time to find out what went wrong and make the necessary changes.
8)Identify Problem Areas: If things aren't going as well as you expected you need to find out what in your plan isn't working and what is. If you don't clearly identify problems you will never be able to fix them.
9)Change Strategies When Needed: Once you figure out what's wrong make changes. Don't be afraid to keep experimenting until you get it right.
10)Redo Steps 6-9 as Needed: Make changes as required, redesign the action plan and see how the new program works.
The above ten steps are very simple but they take some time and a lot of thought. Most people simply want overnight success or they don't want to mentally challenge themselves when it comes to their exercise program. Build your program around these ten steps and you are more likely to avoid those nasty pitfalls and move forward towards your health and fitness goals.
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Dr. Lanny Schaffer is an Exercise Physiologist and President of The International Fitness Academy. For more savvy fitness ideas go to
http://www.aerobic-exercise-coach.com 
