Be specific about your goal

According to Liz Neporent, C.S.C.S., a trainer and coauthor of Fitness for Dummies, we get stupid. We join a gym, buy a $3,000 treadmill or hire a $100-an-hour personal trainer, all without any idea of what we ultimately want to accomplish.

But we need goals, not gadgets.

"Don't start with, `I want to get in shape and lose weight,' " Neporent says. That first goal has to be specific: Lose 2 inches off your waist, drop 10 pounds, get ready for a summer basketball league, bench-press 200 pounds.

Once you have a specific goal, the next step is to give yourself time to accomplish it. Tell yourself you're going to lose 2 inches or 10 pounds in 6 to 8 weeks. "It's hard to see progress from day to day, so this way you always know if you're reaching your goals or falling short," says Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., a trainer in North Hills, California.

From Men's Health online