To carry on where we left off in the first column, you have now settled into a routine of regularly exercising in whichever way you feel comfortable, and you have even started to push yourself a little.

But now you have a routine, how do you keep it going?

The first point to consider is that this new exercise habit should be exactly that - a habit.

To get long term results, with fitness or weight goals, there needs to be a permanent change in behaviour.

This means adopting new habits and routines that you will keep indefinitely. Choosing to exercise regularly but only until you reach your goal will eventually put you back to the same situation you started in.

This doesn’t mean that you can never have a break from exercising; it just means that it should be an occasional break.

The second point to consider is that to keep going with the exercise habit it has to be enjoyable.

Exercise needs to be enjoyable to some degree, especially when you are trying to establish this new, permanent habit.

This is where you get to be creative. Providing you are still working hard in the sessions (more on this subject next week), then it doesn’t really matter what the ‘scene’ is or how you make it enjoyable.

It could mean that you spend the duration of your favourite TV soap working out on a cycling machine. Alternatively, you may want to create a playlist of your favourite music and play this whilst exercising.

Whatever works for you, make the most of it and use it to secure the idea in your mind that exercise is fun and enjoyable.

So, from the last column you have established a habit of exercising and have started to push yourself a little.

From this week’s column, you have helped to ensure that the habit keeps going and that you have a positive outlook on exercise as being fun and enjoyable.

Now you can look towards aiming for the results you originally started exercising for, whether they be weight based or fitness based.

But to achieve your goals, one question you need to ask is “are you working hard enough?”