With the New Year resolutions behind us and the warm weather ahead, our fitness needs are still as important now as they were then. Clearly, health is by far the most valuable asset we have so you might as well try and figure out how to make it work for you. Otherwise, you’ll be back at square one every New Year.

In order to succeed at incorporating a lifestyle of regular physical activity, there are 5 essentials to consider. These essentials need to be taken into account when trying to master the art enjoying consistent fitness - “enjoying” being the operative word. Familiarize yourself with these essential fitness tools to dramatically increase your personal well-being and increase the odds of your success.

The first essential is your support system. Start by assigning yourself a positive support system to help you stay motivated and encourage you to go the extra mile, literally. Ideally, your best bet would be to hire an experienced and certified fitness professional. If this isn’t realistic for you, your support system can be a friend or family member who will commit to tactfully hold you accountable with friendly encouragement that will ultimately help you achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Accountability is the second essential for fitness success. Studies are continually showing that when people begin exercising, they are more likely to stick to a program if they are held accountable for their actions. Another simple yet crucial tip that factors into your success is your short and long term goals. Simply writing your goals down holds you more accountable for your actions and gives you direction for each workout.

Let’s face the facts. People can come up with a slew of excuses why they aren’t exercising. The main ones remain lack of time, knowledge or desire. But first and foremost, the real reason people don’t exercise is because they simply aren’t having fun. Making your workout fun takes on a different meaning for every individual so explore the alternatives.

Your options to keep you entertained with your journey towards optimal health are numerous. With the advancement in technology, we are spoiled with amusing fitness toys. By all means, experiment! You can dabble into everything from running shoes that will communicate with your IPod and “coach” you through that last mile, to heart rate monitors that will automatically beep if you let yourself drop below your target heart rate.

I started running about 15 years ago with a walkman the size of a brick strapped to my waist. Talk about a distraction! With the mini MP3 players on the market these days, it’s you and the music. In fact, music enhances a workout. It makes you work harder without realizing it, and it makes the workout go by faster. A study conducted is 2005 found that exercising to music boosted participants weight loss as well as kept them more consistent than participants exercising without music. When you notice how much better your body feels after a couple of weeks of being active, you'll start looking forward to your workouts. 

Bottom line is this: Being well is a lifetime investment that requires time, knowledge, direction and desire. So make it a point to find out what makes fitness enjoyable for you. That way, you will find consistency…and consistency means results and results mean you being happy and you being happy…well, you get the picture. Arm yourself with all these 5 fitness essentials, and you will be amazed by the person you can be.