Do you ever have one of those days where you just don't feel like doing whatever it is that you're supposed to be doing? Like you really do not feel like working out, eating a healthy dinner, or going grocery shopping (or, if you are me � a day when you didn't feel like writing your fitness column). These are my top five pieces of inspiration and motivation for when I'm feeling a little (or a lot) lazy:

1. "The best time to plant an oak tree is 25 years ago. The second best time is today."

- James Carville

For me as well as many of my clients, one of the biggest drains on the motivation and positive energy to do what needs to be done today is knowing that I messed up yesterday (or maybe for quite a few consecutive yesterdays). That negative momentum weighs on me and makes me angry with myself. I love this quote because it is 100 percent true that the best time to get in shape was six months ago, but I don't have a time machine, so right now will work.

2. "We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once."

- Calvin Coolidge

The next mental block is going overboard on your plans for today and having excessive and defeating expectations for yourself. This is especially true when you haven't really been very diligent lately because we all feel like we need to "make up" for our recent mistakes. In practice this means that if you've been out of the gym for a while, then today isn't the day to be setting all time personal records. Today is about just getting anything done.

Just show up and do your exercises once, then be done. Doing an exercise once is infinitely better for you than zero � you'll have stopped your body from going in reverse, you'll feel better, and you've just built some positive forward momentum.

3. "Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce."

-Vivian Komori

A lot of people think that getting in shape and losing fat are "happily ever after" stories, that is, they think that you put in work to improve your eating habits and exercise habits and you get to a point where you can just coast happily ever after. I'd like (love!) for that to be true, but it's not. Life, if you're at least reasonably ambitious at home and at work, just seems to wait until you're not ready so it can knock you off track.

You will make mistakes every week for the rest of your life. Everyone falls off the wagon over and over again. You're not going to change that, but you can change how you respond to those mistakes. Mistakes aren't evidence of failure. Be glad you're aware of your mistakes (you used to not be), and just pick up where you left off.

4. "Motion beats meditation."

-Gary Halbert

This quote is especially important on the days you're having an internal battle with yourself. You know when the good angel is one side saying, "We should work out today," and then the bad one is on the other shoulder saying, "Oh, but there's a "Pawn Stars" marathon on TV tonight and it's been a long week... we deserve the break." Let me tell you an unpleasant secret: the good angel can't win that argument.

We see this internal battle as an intellectual one, but it is not. The good angel is your intellect, and the "bad" one is your body and/or habits. You can't out-reason your body, habits or feelings. Your cells don't speak English. While you can't win the argument in your head, you can use your head to just move your feet. Ignore what's going on between the good angel and bad one, and just move � grab your gym bag, and walk out the door. Movement really does beat meditation if you want results.

5. "The biggest life lesson I learned is that you have to discipline yourself to do the work. If you want to accomplish something, you can't spend time hemming and hawing and making excuses. You actually have to do it. I still have to go home every single day, know where I am, what I'm doing - and include 45minutes to practice on my clarinet, because I want to play. You can't string paper clips together and play around."

-Woody Allen

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Josef Brandenburg is a Washington, D.C.-area certified fitness expert with 14 years of experience and Co-author of the international best-selling book Results Fitness. In 2004, he started The Body You Want personal training fitness program, which specializes in weight loss and body transformations for busy people. Read more about The Body You Want at www.josefbrandenburg.com/.

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@2013, Josef Brandenburg

Visit him at www.josefbrandenburg.com

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