Just say 'now.'

Men's Fitness, April, 1999 by Ben Kallen

8 Prepare to succeed

Even if you've had trouble with procrastination in the past, tell yourself that this time you're going to meet your goals. "If you think you're going to fail at an exercise program, you won't work as hard because you'll have a built-in excuse," says psychologist Timothy Pychyl, PhD, director of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Try visualizing your success - picture yourself with a more muscular body, feeling more energetic and improving at your favorite sports.

9 Get an "exercise identity"

"Your self-concept as an exerciser can be very motivating if people reinforce you for being active and you like to hear it about yourself," says Cardinal. In other words, start seeing yourself as a jock. Join a sports team, hang out with people who work out themselves and will appreciate your progress buy yourself some new clothes that enhance your physique. You'll stop missing workouts as you begin to view exercise as an integral part of your life.

10 Let yourself off the hook

Chronic procrastinators tend to have high levels of anxiety, and Worrying about YOur workouts will JUSt add to the pressure. When you dwell on the sessions you've missed, exercise can start to seem like an odious chore. Instead, concentrate on enjoying your next Workout more than the last. Think about the "high" you'll get when endorphins flood Your body, or anticipate the feeling of accomplishment you'll have when you've gotten one step closer to your goal.

Call you give up workout procrastination entirely? Maybe not - but Cardinal believes that once you make the transition from being a sedentary person to someone who enjoys working out regularly, it's harder to slip back into your old bad habits. And when you begin to see fitness as a lifelong process, you may find that you don't want to put it off anymore.

Men's Fitness senior writer Ben Kallen would have finished this article earlier, but somehow he never got around to it.

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