I’ve always exercised, but the intensity of my current program makes it necessary to find motivators to keep going to the gym, and give it an honest effort, week in and week out. I’ve been discovering lately what makes it easier for me to do so.

- My iPod. I’ve been a runner for 14 years, but it was only last year that I tried running with music for the first time, and it’s something I became instantly addicted to. Such a small change dramatically increased my enjoyment of an already favorite activity. It’s no exagerration to say that it is now very difficult for me to cardio workout without it.

- Reading. I can do a treadmill run without it, but if I’m reading a magazine, I’m always astonished by how quickly the time goes. The open magazine hides the treadmill’s gauges, and it’s only when the treadmill slows down that I know I’m done. This routinely happens when I think I’m only halfway there. This lesser perceived effort allows me to increase the difficulty of the workout, by running on steeper inclines and at higher speeds. I’m convinced that this is what has allowed me to recently shave a whole minute off my lifetime record for the 5 k (Comet did it, too!).

- Boost Nutritional Drink. By keeping everything else equal from one day to the next, but varying my pre-workout snack, I’ve found that Boost allows me to push myself hardest, longest, to do most and heaviest reps. And it’s delicious. So if I’m having trouble motivating myself, I can easily down a can of the yummy stuff; then I feel I have to work out within an hour, lest those 240 delicious calories and 4 grams of fat stay permanently attached to me.

- Workout clothes. I have bought a few articles of attractive workout clothing that I look forward to wearing.

- Journalling. Keeping close tabs on my ever-increasing maximum number of reps, and seeing the results of my efforts, gives me such joy that I actually wish not to improve too quickly so I can keep this happy feeling for a while yet.