5. Drink water before, during and after your workouts. By the time you feel thirsty, you're in the early stages of dehydration, which saps your energy.

6. Have a light snack before exercising (leave yourself at least 30 minutes to digest) and another light snack within the 30 minutes following your workout. This will help keep your blood sugar steady so you don't zonk out in the middle of your workout or a few hours later.

7. Make an appointment with yourself to exercise. Write it down in your calendar or enter it into your Palm Pilot. Then KEEP that appointment, just as you would any other important engagement.

You can't make up for years of inactivity with just one workout, so don't go overboard in the beginning. Do as much as you can to start, and gradually build from there.