It’s a new year but that doesn’t mean it’s a new YOU! Are you planning to do the same old thing you do year after year like try to lose the same 10 pounds that never go away? Or will you start something new in your life that can change your life for the better?

Use this New Year as motivation to make changes in your life!

Health and fitness is one of the biggest challenges people face all year long. We all know we need to eat right and exercise but very few people do it! Why? It all comes down to habits. Most experts agree that it takes about 21 days to create a habit and six months for it to actually become a part of your daily life.

The funny thing is that you can spend that time creating bad habits or good ones! The choice is always yours.

You may be looking for a quick fix to your weight problem but there is none! It took a long time for you to in your current health condition and it take time and work to improve it.

Did you know that regular exercise provides more health benefits than anything else? Exercise helps to reduce some cancer risks, maintain weight loss, lower blood pressure and much more!

This year, start something new by creating new healthy habits that will last a lifetime! Feel better and look better! Small daily changes equal life changes over time!

Make it happen!

• Click here to join the largest online community for health and fitness - get the support and motivation you need to get moving!

Set realistic fitness goals
Losing weight and getting fit takes time. If you have a special event and want to lose 25 pounds in 1 month, forget it. It’s not going to happen and you should not expect it to. Be smart – losing 1 to 2 pounds a week is the healthy way to go for lasting results.

Focus on being healthy, not thin
Shedding pounds is often temporary if you just focus on being thin. Instead, learn how to eat healthy and incorporate your new eating habits into your lifestyle. When you start living a healthy lifestyle, you will likely lose weight and start feeling better.

Get your proper sleep and rest
Rest is as important as exercise! When you workout, you tear down your muscles. Rest helps you recover from those tough weight workouts! You also recover faster from exercise when you eat proper nutritional foods.

Do not overtrain your muscles
If you are just starting out with exercise, don’t overdo it! Ease into your new exercise routine so your muscles have a chance to adapt to your new lifestyle. If you get over-enthusiastic and over-train your muscles, you will get burnt-out and your muscles will be exhausted.

Be disciplined
Are you committed to your exercise program or just interested? Committed means you stick with it while just interested means you will do it whenever. To reap the benefits of your fitness program you must be disciplined and do it!

Track your progress
When you track your health and fitness progress, it helps you see results and keeps you motivated! Weight loss is not the only way to measure your progress, there is so much more! For example, you can take your measurements, write down the weights you use and how many repetitions, or take a new photo of yourself every couple of weeks!

• Join Team Beachbody for FREE and get all the fitness tools you need to track your progress and stay motivated!

You can find millions of pages on High Intensity Interval Training workout plans, but it all does the same thing. I like to keep it simple. High intensity bursts, then low intensity. I usually perform it on a track. Since I live about half a mile from a school, I would jog there and be warmed up for my HIIT workout. I sprint the straight aways and jog the turns, simple. I aim for 8-10 laps. By the 8th lap, I’m beat, I sometimes have to walk the turns for the last couple of laps, my lungs gasping for oxygen and my legs feel like jello, by the time stumble back home I feel like a zombie. I’d have my Shakeology and a scoop of P90X Whey Protein Powder , take a shower, and I’m ready for bed…

But running could be hard on my joints, plus it gets boring and could be un-motivating, so I often switch it up my routine by doing INSANITY workout on days that is too cold, raining or just don’t feel like running. Insanity is definitely a TOTAL body HIIT workout, especially the Max Interval Circuit DVD, excellent alternative and nice change of pace. I get the same satisfaction as if I get home from my track workout, except it’s my whole body that is beat. The only stumbling is to my kitchen, have my Shakeology + P90X Whey Protein Powder, take a shower, and I’m ready for bed…

Lisa suggested that I try the recently introduced TurboFire, She said that TurboFire is a HIIT gem, adding another option to my workout routine. I will definitely give that a try. Plus Chalene is more pleasant to look at than Shaun…

Long and slow is how a 30lb overweight person finish a marathon, great feat indeed, but our goal here is to burn fat in the most efficient manner, not run a marathon. So if you want to have the ability to raise your metabolism and fat burning capability, HIIT is much more valuable than just a cardio workout or a simple calorie deficit. Whether you try my track workout, Insanity, or the new Turbofire , you will burn more calories for many hours post exercise and more of it will be fat compared to low intensity cardio.

Try the Ultimate workouts!

• INSANITY
• Turbofire

The answer for many P90X grads is One on One with Tony Horton.

One On One brings you up close and personal with Tony Horton, inventing new high-intensity workouts in his home gym. The video is raw and unedited, with no fancy effects or studio audience — just unfiltered footage directly from the source.

One On One With Tony Horton brings the same intensity as P90X in 20 to 40 minute focused workouts.

12 All New Extreme Workouts

• Plyo Legs
• Road Warrior
• Killer Abs
• Just Arms
• 30-15: Upper Body Massacre
• Fountain of Youth
• Super Cardio
• Mammoth UML
• Bun Shaper
• Medicine Ball Core Cardio
• Recovery 4 Results
• Diamond Delts

Get One On One With Tony Horton (Volume 1 Full Edition)
Every workout in a convenient DVD Collector’s Box, plus a FREE bonus workout

Get One on One with Tony Horton (More Workouts)
Select a DVD of your choice from the drop-down menu

Now Available — Volume 2 Full Edition

Related: P90X2 Release Date and Early Review

Motivation and discipline are the number 1 reason why people fail to complete a fitness program. Need some tips?

• Work out at the same time daily. When you look at the clock and see your exercise time, you can choose to get up and do it, or sit and feel guilty as the time passes by.
• Find a buddy! Working out with a friend will help keep you accountable!
• Reward yourself.  Have you stuck to your program for two weeks straight?  Get the new pair of shoes you had your eye on!  Or maybe a new movie or video game.
• Compare the amount of FAT in junk foods to the amount of FAT in health food which you may not be so crazy about eating.  Did you know you have to run the length of a football field to burn off one single M&M?
• Think eating healthy is more expensive?  Try thinking of it in years off your life.  The cheap junk food takes years off while eating healthy can add years.
• Talk to people! This one has worked wonders for me.  If you just casually chat with co-workers and friends about your exercise routine, eventually they will occasionally ask how it’s going.  How will you feel when you have to fess up that you haven’t been sticking with it.
• You can join Team Beachbody for free and get access to online fitness tools and community support.

What are YOUR exercise motivators? Let us know!

I am currently working through P90X for the third time.  I didn’t jump right in — I first conditioned my body gradually and got used to daily exercise using Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer, completing two rounds of TMT before moving on to P90X.

The first round was actually the easiest for me to stick with.  I was extremely devoted and never missed a day, even when sick.  The pride and psychological benefits that come with starting and finishing a program are just indescribable, especially an extreme fitness program like P90X or INSANITY.

This sense of pride is developed through the devotion required to finish a program and overcome the mental and physical challenges involved.  It’s also a proven fact that exercise boosts  self-esteem.  The TV infomercials neglect to mention the psychological benefits and mental changes that occur as you work through a fitness program.  To finish a program alone takes will power, devotion, and mental strength, which in turn builds a sense of pride, accomplishment and confidence that affects all aspects of your life.

Choose the fitness program that’s right for you and get started today!

Here are some thoughts and tips for dealing with those days (or weeks) when you either don’t feel like exercising or have too much going on to get in a regular workout. This assumes you’re doing a comprehensive, structured program, such as P90X, INSANITY, or Turbo Fire.

First things first:  Don’t get down about it! Everyone has these days, weeks, and even months or years. Just accept it and move on.  The most important factor is that you do exercise the majority of days out of the week/weeks out of the month.

Here are some tips for dealing with lack of motivation:

• Go for a walk on your lunch break or after dinner.
• Try working out at a different time of day.  It’s common to become bored with a routine schedule.  Maybe you’ll feel more motivated early in the morning or as the day draws to a close.
• Find a friend to walk or workout with; help each other stay motivated.
• Mix up your workouts. Try Ten Minute Trainer one day–  It’s only 10 minutes!
• Let yourself have a “cheat meal” IF you’ve done your regular workout.  Sometimes a little reward can keep you on track…just don’t do this one on a daily basis.

Here are a few tips to get you through those days when exercising is just not happening. Maybe you need some new ideas or something to shake up your workout!

• Music:  Make a playlist full of your favorite music.  This can often help get you feeling more motivated, energetic, or help increase your workout intensity.
• Change your workout: For instance, if you have a favorite routine, do that one instead and do the one you’re skipping in place of the favorite on the day it comes up.
• Do a less intense workout: If you’re a P90X graduate, or have completed Insanity – heck, even if you’re still working on either of those, take a small break!  For example,  get moving with Ten Minute Trainer instead!  It’s better than nothing!
• Workout with a friend: Get a friend to be active with you.  Even if they can’t match your intensity level, just them being there and going through the motions will at times do wonders for your motivation.
• Reward yourself: Plan a small reward for yourself if you do your workout.  Maybe a SMALL J  cup of ice cream later that evening.  Or maybe go buy that book you’ve been wanting.
• Join Team Beachbody FREE and workout using WOWY, the online super gym!
• Just do it: Just make yourself.  Yes, this is the hardest option of all, but usually even when I’m not feeling like working out, I’m loving it once again about 10-15 minutes into it.

Well, that’s all for this post.  I hope these tips can help you stay motivated at those times when you really need it as much as they have helped me.

Remember:  Keep pushing play!

This topic occurred to me about two weeks ago while doing my P90X Plyometrics workout.  That day I chose to workout in the bedroom, which is much smaller than my regular workout spot in the living room.

I quickly realized that exercising in a smaller space was forcing me to maintain better form during each exercise.  There wasn’t as much room for mistakes and my form was tighter and I was making each movement as efficiently as possible.

Another benefit was being able to watch my movements in the mirror.  This helped me not only maintain proper form, but also to keep my intensity level consistent.

Having more objects available to focus on during certain exercises was also helpful.  For example, during the “hot foot” exercise that involves jumping in the shape of a cross, I  was able to make sure my cross lined up with the gaps in the tile on the floor.

Always consider the environment you exercise in…and mix it up.  It really can make a big difference in motivation, focus and results.

Ready to lose some weight and get in the best shape of your life? Learn more about our top workout program recommendations:

• P90X
• INSANITY
• TurboFire
  

My daily schedule has worked well for my needs and led to great success.  When I get home from work absolutely nothing gets done until I do my P90X workout.  I don’t even sit down or check email until the routine is finished. On weekend mornings my workout always comes first.

Here are some benefits of a structured exercise schedule:

• Builds self-discipline
• Keeps you motivated
• Easily becomes a habit
• Helps plan other daily activities

Need some help choosing and getting into a routine?

• Join Team Beachbody for FREE
• Learn more about P90x