Commitment to exercise by spending money that will be lost if you stop working out

The hardest part about exercising is not deciding what to do - it's actually sticking with it. Everyone is excited and motivated when they first start a new workout training schedule, but it's easy to lose passion over time.

Unless you're in the small minority of people who have more money than they know what to do with, the thought of totally wasting cash is properly motivating so "put your money where you mouth is."

Sign up for a fitness event (i.e. 10K, marathon, triathlon, charity walk, bodybuilding contest, etc.) in another state. Pay your registration, buy a plane ticket, book your hotel and take a couple of vacation days from work. By paying everything up front, you are investing in yourself and creating an environment where not training properly will hit you where it hurts - in your pocket.

I'm not cheap, but I am discriminating about how I spend my money. When I wanted to jump-start my workouts, I signed up for a marathon in Virginia with one of my girlfriends. We paid the Early Bird registration fees, pre-paid for our hotel and requested the days off of work. We also told EVERYBODY about our plan to do the marathon - guaranteeing that we would be thoroughly ashamed if we backed out at the last minute.

This plan definitely worked for me. There was no way at all that I was going to forfeit that money just because I didn't feel like getting up early to train. Every time I thought about backing out, I remembered the money that I would lose and how bad I'd feel for letting my partner down since she was consistent with her training.

Brought to you by Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Café Physique, a fitness and nutrition company specializing in studio and in-home personal training, yoga & pilates and nutrition & wellness counseling in Metro Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.CafePhysique.com.