Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best reponses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

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Does going to the gym give you energy to face the rest of your day, or is it an obligation you dread all day? Here's what motivates (or aggravates) these Tweeps:

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Next time you're sweating it out at the gym, pump up the volume on your iPod. Recent studies showed that women who listened to their workout tunes a bit louder than usual not only increased the intensity of the workout but were in a better mood too. During the study, women who listened to loud music did 36 reps of the leg press, compared to 29 reps for women who listened to low or medium-volume music and 26 reps for those who listened to no music at all.

While the findings were true for both cardio and strength training exercises, the difference was most noticeable in participants who were pumping iron. Could it be that listening to music takes your mind off the fact that good grief, this hurts like heck? Yep, study author Janet McMordie tells MSNBC: "Psychologically, music gets you pumped up and it also distracts you from what you're doing," she says. Additionally, listening to music helps bust boredom in even the most routine workout.

A word of caution, though -- don't crank your tunes too much. Prolonged exposure to levels of 85 decibels or higher can permanently damage your hearing.

Ready to fire up your fitness? Check out our That's Fit playlist, sure to inspire you through the toughest of sets.

What are your favorite workout tunes?

Photo: Lisa Kong, sxc.hu

Think you can't lose weight? I bet you can. Let's put money on it -- or not. When it comes to money being a motivator for weight loss, the jury is decidedly out.

Earlier this year, we heard about studies that found that some people -- especially men -- were motivated to lose weight when it meant making or losing money. Sites like StickK.com and FatBet allow people to put money where their mouths are -- betting on their ability to take the weight off for good, and workplace bets were becoming popular too. But a new study suggests that when it comes to getting serious about weight loss, money just isn't a factor.

More than 2,400 people -- all overweight or obese -- enrolled in workplace weight loss programs were studied. One group was offered $60 for maintaining weight loss for one year. A second group of folks paid $100, with the promise it would be returned once they lost 5 percent of their weight. A third was told they'd receive $20 just for staying in the program for 12 months.

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Is your best friend of the furry variety? Those playful pals can actually be a great boon to your workout. But, as Liz Neporent told us, more than 50 percent of the 60 million dogs in the U.S. are considered overweight. With that statistic, it seems like our bad habits are rubbing off on our dogs more than their active natures are rubbing off on us.

If you have a dog or two, don't train them to be couch potatoes. Not only will a sedentary lifestyle affect their health (and ultimately, your vet bills), but you're also missing out on a chance for the best exercise partner. Most dog breeds have unflagging energy and will be right by your side while running, biking, or just going for a walk.


Besides, if you've got a little pooch around your belly, your pooch might be able to help you work that off.

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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!

If you are at the point of popping in workout videos and watching from the sofa while sipping on milkshakes and eating popcorn, or you're supplementing your healthy diet with handfuls of peanut M&Ms, french fries and margaritas, well, then some new motivation is in order!

Heck, on occasion even I need motivation -- and I am known as an enthusiastic health and fitness advocate and motivator. I am only human, after all. So I decided to conduct a bit of research on some common and not-so-common motivators. I gleaned information from my body-obsessed hair stylist and from the editor of a popular fitness magazine. Plus, I checked out a few online sources. I came up with some "interesting" motivational strategies. Read on!

Set an alarm clock in your living room. There was a fellow who had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning to go to the gym. Since his wife and small children were sleeping, he felt it was easier to sleep in with the rest of them. So he decided to set two alarm clocks -- one by the bed and one in the living room. If the one in the living room were to go off, it would wake his children at 5 a.m., which is something he did not want to happen since havoc would inevitably ensue. So he learned to hop up when the first alarm went off, he turned off the one in the living room, and then he headed to the gym.

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They say the camera adds 10 pounds, but when you're faced with an exact replica of yourself, it's a little hard to blame your weight gain on optical illusions.

That's what London Mayor Boris Johnson recently discovered when his wax likeness was revealed at Madame Tussuad's. The museum captured the 44-year-old mayor's friendly, tousled look perfectly, and his expanding waistline a little too well. "It's only when you see yourself in 3-D res you realize just how fat you are," Johnson tells the Daily Mail. "I have got to get out and start jogging more. I have to lose some weight."

Johnson concedes that the waxworks did an accurate job with his replica. He's not blaming that spare tire on an artist's creative license. "It's a brilliant job they have done," he says. "It is an amazing, eerie, lifelike, spooky version of myself."

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Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

Starting an exercise routine is easy, it's maintaining one that causes many people trouble. One of the most common pieces of fitness advice is to find a friend -- a fitness friend, that is -- so that you're accountable to someone other than yourself to show up for that workout.

It's reasonable advice. If you've made a date with yourself for a 6 a.m. morning run, it's pretty easy to roll over and hit the snooze. But if you know your fitness buddy is standing outside, stretching and warming up, it's a lot harder to say no.

But fitness buddies offer more than accountability, they also might extend the length of your workouts. According to a recent study from the University of California at San Diego, people who were well matched with a fitness partner worked out longer. The trick is finding the right workout partner, because that same study found that exercising with someone fitter actually caused people to cut their workouts short.

Accountability, emotional support and enhanced workout? Sign me up! My plan this week is to convince a friend to commit to seven days in a row of shared workouts.

Day 1: I call up my neighbor, Christine, and explain to her what I'm doing, then ask her if she wants to help.

"Yeah," she says enthusiastically, "Sounds like fun!"

"Great," I say, then sheepishly, "Only I don't have time to start today."

"Sister," she replies, "I think I'm exactly what you need."

Fifteen minutes later, our four-year-olds are strapped into jog strollers, and we're out for a 30-minute power walk.

Lessons learned today: 1) Don't ask for help unless you're ready to accept it, and 2) If you think you don't have time for a workout, think again. Even a short workout is better than none at all.

Day 5: We both have time for a workout today, but not at the same time. This is when waking up before the alarm and getting our workout in would have come in handy. But we didn't do that, so we've made a plan instead. We can't work out together, but we can still be accountable to each other for exercising.

After I finish a fitness DVD in my living room, which completely kicks my butt, I send her a quick email. Later on in the day, I get a voice mail from her telling me she finished a short run. "Did it!" she said. "Good for you. Good for us," I think to myself.

I've got a "virtual" fitness buddy this week too, That's Fit blogger Kristen Seymour and I are keeping tabs on each other's workouts. If you can't think of anyone local you'd like to break a sweat with every day, try a virtual buddy for emotional support.

Day 3: I'm not comfortable walking in the dark by myself, even with my trusty old dog by my side. But having a workout buddy has opened up my options for walking.

Today, our alarms went off before our kids and husbands could even think about starting their days and took a nice long walk. The frigid arctic blast brisk spring air woke me up, and it was refreshing to have all that exercise under my belt before breakfast. It really set the tone for the day. Not only that, but later in the afternoon, when I usually would have taken a walk, I had time for some arm and abs work. Bonus!

Getting up early is a relatively easy way to eliminate the "I don't have time" excuse, but it's a tough one for me. My alarm goes off at 6:45 as it is. But I really loved the way I felt today, so it's something to consider.

Day 7: OK, I'm going to state the obvious here: Seven days a week spent with a workout buddy who is not your BFF or your soul mate is too many. And even then, I'm dubious. We're both clearly getting tired of this routine and of trying to accommodate each other's schedules.

But I knew that going in. Seven days is a big commitment. The good news is that we're going to keep this up one or two days a week, and I'm really looking forward to that. It's fun being able to have some girl time, and it's motivating to push each other to step up our pace or to walk a little farther.

It's time to decide -- is this a healthy habit that can be realistically worked into day-to-day life?

• Piece of cake! I can definitely work this into my daily routine.
• Not my cup of tea. This is harder than I imagined. Still, I plan to stick with it and do my best.
• Nuts! This seems nearly impossible to keep up. But I'll definitely do it whenever possible.

I had a great time this week, and the benefits were noticeable immediately. I'm really good at denial -- as in, it's easy for me to deny that a plate of nachos has at least double the calories that I should be eating for dinner, and it's easy for me to say, "I'll exercise later." Having a workout buddy meant no more excuses, especially since she lives next door and can see into my kitchen window, so it's pretty hard to pretend like I'm not home.

It was nice pushing each other, too. Having someone there saying, "Just 10 more minutes," or "Let's pick up the pace," encouraged me to work harder, and I like to think I did the same for her.

I did miss solo workouts, though. I missed listening to music, which can inspire both a longer and faster workout for me. I love the idea of combining them both -- a few days a week with a friend, a few days solo.

If you think committing to one or several workouts a week with a workout buddy would improve your exercise routine, here are some tips to get you started:

• Seek out a compatible partner -- someone with similar goals, a similar fitness level, someone who'll be encouraging and supportive.
• Look outside your home. Sure, it might be fun exercising with your hubby, but if it means you feel like every bite you take is being policed, it might not be good for your relationship.
• Pick someone who isn't judgmental. The best workout partners are strong, supportive and honest, but never make you feel bad about yourself.
• Look for a friend who's as motivated as you are. While you can expect to have to push your friend now and then, if you're carrying all the weight of the relationship, your own motivation might start to wane.
• Check out local walking, running and cycling groups for like-minded friends, or post a note on your gym's bulletin board.
• Find alternative friends. If you absolutely can not find a real, in-person buddy to workout with, turn to a furry friend (check out these safety tips first), your iPhone, or a virtual community.

Have you ever had a workout buddy? What kinds of tips and tricks can you share with our readers to make this healthy habit stick?

Got a Walking the Walk idea you'd like to see Bethany try for seven days? Share it with us in comments!

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.

Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Everlast and Everlast Woman have been giving gorgeous workout T-shirts to each featured member! We are so grateful for their generous support and have been honored to partner up with them. We bid them farewell with great thanks, and are excited to introduce our new That's Fit Club sponsor. We welcome adidas to our club and are proud to announce they'll be providing awesome gym bags to each new featured member starting next week. To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions, with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: JJ Gies

Age: 35 +

Occupation: Utility Player, part time student, teacher and customer service.

How often do you exercise? I used to train six days a week with one day of rest, but because of the tumor in my foot, I am limited to working out every other day.

What type of exercise do you do? Rollerblading, mountain biking and lifting weights. On a good day, I play beach volleyball.

What gets you to work out, even when you're feeling lazy? I just convince myself that no matter the pain or how I feel that the end results justify the means, Plus I know that after a workout i feel so much better all around.

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