You'll get more out of exercising when you enjoy your workout

What is the first thing on nearly everyone's minds this time of year? Maybe something like: "I have to get moving and stop feeling like such a slug!"

For years I watched it as a longtime health club member who actually went -- and worked out -- regularly. Every January, and into February, the parking lot gets overly crowded. Unfamiliar faces wander around, looking for the locker room, trying to figure out where to stand in the group exercise classes, standing by the weight machines, looking vaguely puzzled -- or worse, using them completely wrong.

By early March, things are pretty much back to normal -- the usual groupies are still there, a large percentage of the rest have disappeared, either canceling their memberships or keeping them, holding on to the hope that being a member will improve their fitness, regardless of whether they actually show up.

I, too, am feeling overfed and under-exercised right now. My usual dog-walking routine has been interrupted by cold weather, traveling and sleeping late -- though that last bit is really too delicious to complain about.

But I know my routine will get back to normal, because it's too much a part of my life -- not to mention, the dogs' begging eyes are just too hard to ignore.

I'm no fitness expert, but after 25-plus years of mostly exercising on a regular basis, I've learned a few things.

No excuses. Develop a routine and truly schedule around it. No "I have a doctor's appointment" or "the carpet cleaner is coming" when you know that every day at that particular time you will be working out. It's a previous, unbreakable appointment you have and you simply cannot schedule anything else for that time except in unusual circumstances, of course. Treat it as such and you'll find that you actually do have time to exercise.

Find a friend. Find one where you're working out or drag one with you. Habits are much easier to develop and keep when you know someone is there waiting for you, counting on you, hounding you on the phone if you are late or don't show up. Friends make working out much more fun.

Seek variety. Same time, different routine. Try spinning if you like to bike ride. Weight train alone or in a class. When something new comes up -- bosu, the slide, whatever -- try it quickly so you're learning along with everyone else and you won't be too shy to try it months later when everyone else knows what they're doing.

Enjoy. This is one I've only recently mastered. After years and years of faithfully working out at health clubs from Denver to Seattle to Naperville because I knew I should -- somewhat afraid to skip days, figuring if I realized how much I could get done when not going there, I'd quit -- something changed a couple of years ago: I learned to actually look forward to my exercise routine.

That was when I started Pilates. Not health-club Pilates, which I also tried, but real Pilates, taught by people who teach what Joe Pilates actually created years ago. A funny thing happened, something that hadn't happened during my years of lifting weights, aerobicizing, spinning and sliding -- I began to anticipate my workouts. I honestly hate when something interferes with them, though I still don't let that happen very often.

Pilates builds strength in your body while actually occupying your mind. I used to go to aerobics and think about all the errands I had to run after class, what I should put on my grocery list, what time it was.

At Pilates, I think about all the zillions of small details you have to work on and think about to keep your body in the right position -- things I'm training my body to do, not just in class but whenever else I think of it outside of class.

I understand why they call it "practicing" Pilates because it's like anything else you practice, such as playing an instrument. You will never be perfect, but you are always striving to execute the exercises better. As such, the routine actually gets harder each time.

While half my devotion to Pilates is how much I enjoy actually practicing it, the other half is in the results. I participated in various health-club classes for more than 20 years and stayed fairly fit, but two years of Pilates has actually changed my body.

So, other than preaching Pilates, my point is this: Keep exercising until you find something you feel about the way I feel about Pilates.

If all else fails, get a dog and walk him or her at about the same time every day. Pretty soon, you have a cuddly, lovable undeniable exercise-prod.