"By Michael Scholtz, M.A., Best Life fitness expert

Ever wonder how they do it—you know, the fitness pros that always look like they’re ready for the next challenge? It seems as though it’s just so easy for them: Getting up early, getting to the gym and getting in a workout. Yeah right! We all have those days when we just want to pull the covers over our heads and go back to sleep—trainers included. But instead of rolling back over in bed, we resort to a bunch of tricks that help us stay motivated even on the toughest days. I’ll let you in on some of these secrets to help make your sweat sessions feel like, well, no sweat!

Always Be Prepared
Make it easier to squeeze in a workout by having your equipment ready. Keep a bag stocked with shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, soap, a towel, and whatever personal items you need to feel comfortable after getting hot and sweaty. (For an idea of what to pack, check out It’s in the Bag.) It’s like having a traveling locker in your car or office. Then, when you use something, simply rotate a new item in its place. In fact, make restocking your bag the first thing you do as soon as you get home. That way, it will always be ready, and so will you.

Build a Bigger Engine
Fitness pros are really, really fit. At first this sounds like no secret at all, but pros know that the more you challenge your body, the more it adapts to the workload. In other words, taking on a greater challenge today gives you the ability to take on even tougher challenges in the future. And tougher challenges equal more calories burned.

It basically comes down to having a bigger engine, or a healthier cardiovascular system. Your cardiovascular system and the muscles it feeds with oxygen are what determine how much physical work you can do. Fit people have the capacity to perform a lot of work. For example, it’s not unusual for a fit person to be able to increase their metabolic rate (the rate at which they burn calories) 15 to 20 times what their normal resting level is during a workout! A less conditioned person may only be able to elevate the calorie burning rate by six to eight times if they push as hard as possible. That means that during sustained exercise, they are only burning three to four times the number of calories they would at rest. That sounds great until you realize it’s less than half the calories a fit person can burn!

To find your potential, focus on getting the most out of your workouts. For example, if you find yourself reading the paper or watching TV during a ‘hard’ workout, then you may need to reconsider what hard really is. You’re there to sweat, so save the distractions for your easy days!

Live an Active Life
One of the most important turning points for a dieter is when she stops being an “only when I have to” exerciser. You know the type: They park in the spot closest to the gym door, take the nearest treadmill, walk their 30 minutes and not a second more, and hit the door. Fitness pros know that to be healthy, you have to be a truly active person. That means not just hitting the gym for your workout, but incorporating fitness into every aspect of your life. The payoff: You’ll be more fit overall. If you can run, then walking several blocks to get to work or the theatre is no big deal. If you can crank out an hour on the stairclimber, you’ll smile as you bound up a flight or two at work.

Spice It Up with Variety
Doing the same thing day in and day out can get stale pretty quickly. To be fit, you have to shake things up a little. Professionals do it with a fancy system called “periodization.” That just means you train a certain way for a period of time, and then you change it up to keep your body guessing and progressing.

Try lifting lighter weights and doing sets of 20 reps and then change things up and lift heavier weights for 8 to 10 reps. Or focus on really long aerobic workouts and then change the emphasis to shorter workouts with harder intensity. Although periodization typically involves cycles of three to six weeks, you can vary your workouts monthly, weekly, or even daily.

Set Goals
Ever wake up, think about going to the gym and then wonder “Why am I doing this?” That’s where having goals comes in. Fitness pros set realistic but challenging goals to help keep them on track. And believe it or not, these goals aren’t just focused on how fast you can run or how much weight you can lift. It’s about being a healthier person in order to achieve your dreams. For example, you have a hiking trip planned with pals and you don’t want to let them down. Or, your son really wants to ride Space Mountain in Disney World, and you want to take him. The bottomline: If a goal is personal, challenging, and rewarding you won’t even blink when that alarm clocks goes off. Keep one on your calendar and find out for yourself."