Liz Neporent is a diet and fitness expert and co-author of "The Fat-Free Truth."She regularly appears on national TV programs and is the president of Wellness 360, a New-York based wellness provider. You can also follow her on Twitter @lizzyfit.

Can't I just get on a treadmill and start running? Is having a goal for my workout program really important? Yvette Carpenter, New York City

Normally, goal setting is a topic I tackle during New Year's resolution season, but since I just got a question about whether or not goals are really that important if you want to lose weight or do something meaningful with your fitness program, I figured this is as good a time as any to remind you how important it is to have real, tangible goals for your fitness program. As Edwin Locke, the father of modern goal-setting theory once pointed out, "Telling someone to 'Try hard' or 'Do your best' is less effective than telling them to 'Try to get more than 80 percent correct.'"

If you are serious about getting results from your workouts, diet or any other aspect of your fitness plan, go through my 10-step goal-setting guide. Is it too much to ask when you're trying to squeeze the most out of your efforts? Me thinks not.

Exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Bob Greene has helped millions of people slim down, most recently with his online program TheBestLife.com. The best-selling author shares the sure-fire strategies for losing weight, protecting your health and living your best life.

When you first start working out or following a diet plan, you probably set your sights on a specific goal weight. Maybe you choose that number because it would put your BMI (body mass index) in the healthy category, or perhaps you're hoping to get back down to the size you were before you were married or had kids. Whatever your reason, it's important to set a goal that you can actually reach -- otherwise, you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment.

These four tips will help you aim for a healthy weight: Take a history lesson. What you weigh is largely determined by genetics, so if your parents have always been overweight or obese, you may not be able to get to the lower end of the BMI scale. Certainly aim to be in the healthy category, but taking a look at mom and dad can help you set a realistic goal.

Look at your life. Your habits over time can alter your weight destiny, so assess your past, starting with your childhood: Were you an active, thin child or sedentary and overweight? Then go right through adulthood: What has been the lowest weight you've been able to maintain as an adult? Have you had children? Ultimately, you shouldn't be hoping to drop back down to your high school weight. These questions will help you figure out what a healthy, attainable weight will be for you now.

Evaluate your commitment. Be honest about how much time and effort you're willing to devote to exercise. I don't recommend doing something that you can only sustain for a short period of time because even if you're able to reach your goals in the short-term, if you haven't changed your habits, you won't be able to stay there. Make sure to ask yourself: Can I maintain this for the rest of my life?

Be flexible. Choose a weight range instead of focusing on a specific number. Weight naturally fluctuates during the month and even throughout a single day, due to water retention, hormones and other factors, so trying to hit a certain number and stay there can be tough. As long as you fall somewhere in your healthy range, you should consider yourself successful.

That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind.

Name: Lucciana Costa

Age: 20

Occupation: Student and musician.

How often do you exercise? Five to six days a week.

What type of exercise do you do? I switch between interval and endurance training on the treadmill (I absurdly love the treadmill), the elliptical, and then weight train every day alternating muscle groups.

What gets you to work out, even when you're feeling lazy? I like to do one crunch or one squat when I'm unmotivated. When I feel how strong my muscles are now, I realize that they only got that way from consistently exercising. These single reps almost always inspire me to go to the gym.

Source

Every Monday, That's Fit's very own "charged up" wellness guru Laura Lewis presents The Passion Principle, a weekly guide that will help you achieve your greatest potential through words of inspiration, cutting-edge ideas and action tips you can use in your every day life!

Becoming the best you can be and achieving goals that seem unreachable is as easy as one baby step at at time -- and a whole bunch of "gumption," as my Grandma Ruby used to say. Case in point. There I was in the seventh grade, participating in my school's President's Fitness council testing. Armed with a bit of talent and a whole lot of mental "game," I became one of the best in the sit-ups category in the county. Nancy Ormsby, she was the champ. But I gave her a run for her money. I attribute my success as a "sit-up" superstar to my mental game, the daily sit-ups I did in my living room as my sister timed me, and my tremendous focus upon the specific task at hand: To do as many sit ups as I could in 60 seconds flat.

Roger Bannister, the fellow who first broke the four-minute mile, achieved his goal in a step-by-step fashion -- not by over-training, but with regular daily workouts that lasted less than one hour. Every day, he ran for 45 minutes, training specifically on breaking a four-minute mile. He knew in his mind it was possible. He believed he could do it. And he did. Click here to watch Roger share his refreshing point of view.

Source

Source

Funny and handsome, actor Ryan Reynolds recently proved he's far more than your typical Hollywood man candy. He hit the streets last November and ran his first New York City marathon. We told you all about it back when it happened -- here and here. But we're still inspired by the guy, and we think after you read this, you might just want to hit the streets in your sneakers too.

Ryan raced to raise money for Michael J. Fox's Foundation for Parkinson's Research foundation, because Ryan's dad has suffered from the disease for 15 years. But he also did it to test himself physically. "Marathon running, for me, was the most controlled test of mettle that I could ever think of," Reynolds told Men's Health. "It's you against Darwin."

Reynolds was plenty fit before he started training for his marathon, but he discovered what many people who race already know -- having that long-term goal in your sights is a powerful motivator. Running with a purpose -- whether the purpose is the prize or the money you'll raise for charity -- is a great way to give your running or walking routine new life.

Kristen recently challenged us all -- runners, joggers, and walkers, alike -- to sign up for a race this year. I've got my eye on a 5K in May ... what about you?

Source

For the first time, ever, my husband and I are both trying to lose weight, and I am amazed at how much easier it is to eat healthfully and find time for a workout when I have a partner in crime. I knew having a workout buddy was helpful -- I take full advantage any time one of my friends goes on a fitness kick -- but having the person with whom you live share your goals? It's phenomenal.

Of course, that's not always possible -- sometimes, you have to seek out a workout partner. And, if you're in the process of looking for a new one, Go Healthy Go Fit has three tips for finding the right one.

For one thing, look for someone with a similar schedule -- I've gotten some great midday workouts in with a friend who also works from home. Then, make sure you have the same goals, whether those goals are weight loss, running faster or gaining muscle. Finally, make sure you're both equally dedicated -- it's no fun if one of you is constantly forcing the other one to work out!

Source

Many people can tell you how to lose weight. But success comes from your own motivation.

Source

Why is it that when we want to lose weight, we pick an arbitrary number out of the air?

Source

How many late Decembers have you spent furiously resolving to do this and not do that?

Still have holiday goodies hanging around the house? I know it's hard, but it's time to stick them in the trash. January 1st is just two days away, and we want you to be ready.

Is weight loss on your list of New Year's resolutions? Here are five easy ways to make that resolution stick, once and for all. Here's to hitting your goal weight in 2009!

Source

Thanksgiving is a day filled with diet derailers. Fatty foods are available all day long for munching, and you're basically encouraged to overeat. Plus, you're so busy that it's really easy to let your fitness routine fall by the wayside. What can you do?

Active.com has seven tips for avoiding weight-gain on Thanksgiving, and believe me when I say that these are tips you might actually be able to follow. Nobody's suggesting you just have a salad at dinner when everyone else is loading up on turkey and gravy, but there are a number of ways to avoid adding five pounds to your frame.

Check out the gallery for these tips, and if you have other suggestions, leave them in the comments!

Source

We've all been guilty of it. You get a great workout schedule started, and you're feeling good. In fact, you're loving it! You've found exercises you enjoy, the timing is right, but then ... what happened? All of sudden, you're missing workouts, or cutting them short, and you have no good excuse. And then, it's even harder to get back in the swing of things. Trust me, I understand.

The Mayo Clinic has three rock-solid tips for helping you stick to your workout. Of course, first it's important that you find something you enjoy doing (for example, if you hate running, don't plan on running five miles every day -- that makes it too hard), but once you've done that, try incorporating these simple steps to make sure you don't slack:

• Set goals. Know what you want to get out of your workouts. A weight loss goal is fine, as is a goal of hitting the gym four times a week. Or, maybe you just want to have more energy. Either way, have that goal set in advance.
• Get a workout buddy. Whether it's someone with whom you're competitive or just someone who'll hold you accountable for logging the hours, a friend will help you get more out of your workout. Unless, of course, said friend is more likely to talk you into getting ice cream instead of hitting the gym. Then you need to find a new friend.
  
• Try something new. Are you always going hard, trying to beat your fastest time, or lift more weight than you did last week? Change it up and try a yoga class, or something less competitive. You might get a whole new perspective on exercise!

Source

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Pound for pound, Shawn Johnson would probably be the strongest member of the U.S. Army ... if she were in it. This petite 16 year old can do an insane amount of pull-ups on her first set alone, and has more drive than any NASCAR vehicle on the road. Wouldn't you love to have the strength, stamina and flexibility she's earned? Take some of the advice she gives here, and you may do just that. Just like the brilliant medals she won in Bejing this summer, Shawn's advice is golden!

Fitz: How many hours a week do you train before a competition?

Shawn: Before the Olympics I was training about 26 hours in the gym a week and up to five hours out of the gym running and swimming... doing anything extra I could.

Fitz: Your upper-body strength is amazing. How many pushups and pullups can you do?

Source

Several years ago I was in the process of losing some extra pounds. I was working out every evening and had gradually progressed to a relatively intense routine. And then I hit that dreaded point most people who are trying to lose weight hit at one time or another... a plateau.

I increased my exercise, I reduced my calorie intake a bit further, I did everything I could think of to shake myself out of that darn plateau. Then, at the suggestion of my boss at the time, I added a second workout session in the morning. That did the trick! Better yet, I found that I enjoyed the morning exercise and stuck with it for a long time.

I think we all have fitness frustrations from time to time. Whether you're trying to lose weight or training for a specific event or just trying to reach a personal fitness milestone -- as rewarding as fitness is, some amount of frustration is to be expected. But, like anything worth doing, if you stick with it, you'll get through the frustrating points and reap the rewards. Self Magazine asked readers for their fitness frustrations and then experts offered possible solutions.

What are some of your fitness frustrations?

Source

There are some fitness maxims you just can't argue with, one of which is that in order to reach your goals, you have to be willing to work for them.

That being said, if you want next summer (or even next winter) to be your fittest yet, prepare to put the time in at the gym. But, the last thing you want to do is waste your effort. Instead, you want to make sure that every pound you lift, every second you run, and every step you take provides you with the maximum return on your fitness investment.

The first way to help ensure max ROI is to incorporate interval training into your workout. Research from Laval University in Canada found that 15 weeks of high-intensity interval training shed nine times more fat than 20 weeks of steady, moderate-intensity exercise.

Source