fitness goals

It's true what they say: 80 percent of success is just showing up. Once you're there — you're there. This advice can be hard to take when, after a late night of fun, your alarm goes off before the sun is up. Propelling yourself to the gym, pool, mat, or trail can feel like a hurdle in its own right, but it's always one worth jumping. If you've resolved to work out more this year and get fit for 2013, motivate yourself to keep on sweating with these tricks.

1. Channel that glorious post-workout feeling. Whenever you feel the instinct to skip a sweat session, imagine how accomplished and energized you feel after just 30 minutes or an hour of exercise. Just get there already.
2. Make a date with a friend or fitness trainer. If you set a time to meet someone, you'll feel obligated to go, even when your mind and body are telling you otherwise. If you're looking to get your sweat on outside of the gym, here are some of our favorite ideas for fitness dates, from rock climbing to ice skating.
3. Create a healthy post-workout routine and make time for it, too. Reward yourself after a workout by scheduling extra moments to relax in the steam room, blow out your hair to perfection, or get a hot coffee or a protein-rich smoothie.

Keep reading for more tips.

Whether it's a new semester at college, an upcoming tropical vacation, or a recent health-risk scare, chances are, there's some sort of motivation behind starting a new fitness plan. The scale gives a hard-and-fast number, but it's not always reflective of all the different ways hard work is paying off. And unfortunately, it's easy to feel discouraged if you're not seeing the results fly off the scale or into your favorite pair of skinny jeans. But the best bet for weight-loss success and enthusiasm is to make lots of different attainable goals and take the time to jot them down on a to-do list.

The sheer commitment and energy that goes into a healthy lifestyle is something to be proud of, so don't underestimate the power of setting doable goals — there's no reason you can't celebrate fitness triumphs both big and small. A big goal like losing 20 pounds won't happen overnight, but bumping up cardio for an extra 20 minutes or lifting heavier weights can happen a few weeks into a program. Heading to the gym day after day is no easy feat, and coming up with a plan you can stick to will have you feeling positive and in control of your health. And there's no better feeling than crossing something off that list!

If you're the type of person who likes to set New Year's resolutions each year, then you've probably already come up with some fitness-related goals to add to the list. With the holidays soon coming to a close, it can be difficult to carve out some time to plan for the next 12 months, which is why I've come up with some easy tips to help you get your workout plan underway. Just make sure your list doesn't include some of these unrealistic resolutions, which are pretty much guaranteed to fail!

• Get Calendar Crazy: Don't stress about filling in your calendar for the entire year, but what can be helpful is to plan out the next two or three months. Is there a yoga or spin class you've been wanting to try? Find the class time each week and add it to your calendar so you instantly block off that time. If you know you want to get back into running, carve some time out of your calendar for scheduled running sessions. Also pencil in marathons and anything else fitness-related that interests you and is happening in 2012.

Keep reading to check out the rest of the plan!

FitSugar reader fitgirl792 shared her fitness goals for the sixth challenge of our Get Fit For 2011 giveaway, and you should too!

TOP TEN FITNESS AND HEALTH GOALS:

1) decrease my body fat by five percent

2) get long, lean dancer legs (Fergalicious)

3) tight toned abs like that of Britney Spears in her hey day

4) high, perky butt

5) increase my endurance and VO2 Max

6) cut down on as many processed foods as possible, whenever I'm hungry I will eat fruits or veggies as a snack

7) bring my water intake to about 90 ounces a day

8) remember to take all my supplements every morning:)

9) drop down a size or two . . .

10) hopefully get my favorite person in the whole world (my sister) to join the journey with me!!!

It's catch-up week since we are midway through in our Get Fit For 2011 challenge. If you missed any of the first five challenges, here's your chance to enter to win a Nike gift card and a chance to win our grand prize — a four-day fitness boot camp in LA!

When trying to stick to your New Year's resolutions, having a support system can be very important. After all, encouragement from your significant other motivates you to stick to your new diet and exercise regimen, right? Actually, a new study says that all that support from your partner may be keeping you from accomplishing your fitness goals.

The study, published in the new issue of Psychological Science, surveyed 52 women and found that focusing on specific ways their significant others supported them in reaching their health and fitness goals made them decide to slack off more than those who did not think about it. Another group ended up procrastinating longer on a task after they thought about the help they would receive from their loved one.

Turns out, when we realize how much support we're getting from our loved ones, it may subconsciously allow us to give ourselves more leeway, a phenomenon called "outsourcing exertion." In other words, thinking about how much your partner shares the burden of your goals allows you to justify working less hard toward them yourself!

If you're paired off, however, you're not doomed to a couch potato life. The researchers said the effect was only seen when respondents focused on a specific goal, and the respondents' dependency on their partners made them more likely to stay committed to the relationship. So while musing about all the ways your partner supports your daily gym run can be detrimental, their actual acts of helping you stick to a diet and exercise routine are all good news!

Most everything in life takes effort. Getting your booty to the gym after a long day at work can require iron-clad motivational techniques, and even then, the excuses are quick at hand.

The other day after a strength training class I overheard two women talking in the locker room. One asked the other if she was going for a run later, to which the woman replied, "Are you kidding me? I just flat ironed my hair. I'm not doing anything to work up a sweat for a week." I giggled, empathizing with misbehaving hair issues, but realized that's just another silly excuse to wiggle out of a workout.

I asked fans of FitSugar's Facebook page to share some of the lamest excuses they'd heard or used to get out of a workout, and the answers were a classic mix of relatable and ridiculous. Here are some of my favorites:

After a long day of work, school and every obligation in between, fitting in ample workout time can be a tough race. With so many readers joining our Get Fit For 2011 challenge and hoping to work out more this year, we offered up some helpful ways to motivate yourself to get your sweat on. Need more kick starts (who doesn't?!)? Here are some inspiring tips we received in comments from readers like you.

• "My gym provides shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion — and it's a lot nicer than what I could buy myself. So there are times when I literally won't buy shampoo for weeks or months after running out, but it motivates me to get to the gym since they have it there. A friend of mine doesn't belong to my gym but she does a similar thing: she buys the trial sizes of really nice brands of shampoo and uses them as travel washes in her gym bag, but she can only use them after working out." — laellavita
• "I like to visualize how my body will feel both immediately after the workout, as well as in the long run if I continue to go. It helps me get to the gym for both the endorphins, and the toned muscles that will come with time!" — Gabriela Une Vie Saine

Keep reading for more inspiration.

Meet FitSugar reader TiffanyG11 and check out the fitness goals she posted in our Get Fit For 2011 community group.

I have been involved in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years. Actually, longer if you consider all the years I spent playing sports while growing up. I was the starting point guard on my college basketball team and at that point I was in the best shape of my life. I was motivated, dedicated, and determined.

After college I became a personal trainer to help motivate and inspire others. Recently, I became the fitness manager at my gym and have now found myself spending countless hours behind a desk and not taking the time to take care of myself. That is my goal for 2011 . . . take care of myself so I can take care of others!

I am going to stretch everyday, read more, get eight hours of sleep, increase my cardio, and register for a fitness competition in May!

Be well and here is to a great 2011!

We're on week two of our Get Fit For 2011 giveaway. For the second challenge, be sure to post a day of your food journal to enter our weekly giveaway of a $100 Nike gift card and a chance to win our grand prize — a four-day fitness boot camp in LA!