If ever there were a time to regroup, recharge and commit to your personal fitness, it’s now.With the change of seasons, shorter daylight hours and the kids back in school, there are fewer distractions and more opportunity to fit exercise and healthier lifestyle habits into your schedule.In the coming weeks I’ll be outlining a simple, but effective, 10-week training plan that will get you in your best shape ever, just in time for the holidays. This week I want to touch on strategies that can help you enjoy your fitness routine moreThere’s nothing worse than slogging away through something you don’t enjoy, simply because you know it’s good for you or because someone told you that you should.If you tailor your fitness plan to suit your personal preferences, you’re going to get off to a good start.Here are some tips:Pick what you likeWhen it comes to keeping your muscles strong there are a few possible approaches. Some people like lifting free weights, and don’t mind loading or unloading barbells. Others like selectorized machines because they are convenient and easy to use. For some, lifting weights seems like work, but get them using resistance bands and medicine balls and they really start to have fun. Recently I’m seeing more people who enjoy the personal challenge of training with nothing more than their own body weight, doing exercises like pushups, chin-ups and lunges. Try a few different methods and choose one that appeals most.Rock onAs a facility owner, one of the most challenging aspects of our daily operation is finding music that everybody enjoys. I tend to pick a satellite radio station that is middle of the road, and brings the fewest complaints. This is part of the reason that I appreciate the emergence of I-Pods and other personal MP3 players. Now everyone can train with their own selection of music, and I can tell you from personal experience that my workouts are twice as good when I’ve got a great playlist to listen to on my iPod.Partner upSome people like to exercise alone, turning into themselves and paying attention to how their body feels and how it performs. However, for most of the people I come across, there is a general feeling that exercise can be monotonous. They often struggle to keep motivated to start the sessions, or to keep the intensity up for the duration of their workout.If you’re one of these people, you can increase the success and enjoyment of your fitness training by finding a compatible personal trainer, or a good friend to exercise with.Other great options are group fitness classes and running clubs, where there is a sense of companionship and community. Having someone to encourage and push you goes a long way, even if just to get you to your workout on days where you might not have gone on your own.Success is a great motivatorOne of the best ways of getting fired up about exercise is to see positive results. In our business we come across a lot of people who have been doing the same workout for years.Usually, it’s been a long time since they enjoyed it or saw any benefit. When a good trainer helps to develop a program that gives them the stimulus they need to start seeing positive changes, they start to enjoy exercising again. The same applies to nutritional efforts as part of a fitness program. It’s a lot easier to continue with healthy changes to an eating plan when you’re jumping up and down in a pair of jeans you haven’t been able to get into for years.- Rob Williams is a kinesiologist and posture specialist in downtown Vancouver. His website is www.williamshealthgroup.com.

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