If you're reading this, you've already completed the first step towards creating a personal workout plan – finding out the basics! Here you'll be able to find different tips that will help make your workout plan best fitted to your specific style and aid in giving you good pointers that you can further expand on depending upon your ability level and style.

1) Don't be so hard on yourself!

In order to get the best results you want, it's important that you don't try to be a hero. Being practical is important in creating your workout plan and attaining your fitness goals. Pacing yourself and taking a break when you're not feeling well is a key attribute towards completing your overall goal – looking good and feeling good. A popular and practical plan going forward is to use the "80/20" plan.

Basically, what this plan entails is that you try to devote 80% of your time towards regularly exercising, eating healthy, and making fitness-conscious decisions. The other 20% of your time can be devoted to enjoying holidays and vacation, crunching in extra hours at work, or just a little laziness. If you don't hold yourself to an impossible task and understand that you'll probably slip around twenty percent of your time, you'll learn not to be so hard on yourself. Once you can learn that keeping fit isn't an all or nothing situation, you'll be more likely to stick with your plan until you've attained your goals!

2) Follow and track your progress

The best way to stay motivated and keep track of your progress is to keep a detailed log of everything you're doing. It doesn't need to be anything more than a word document on your computer or an old-fashioned note pad, but doing it is important for you to keep an eye on your proximity to attaining your fitness goals. Just jot down the basics – what you worked out, how long/far you worked out, how you felt before and after, and any other general comments. You'll be surprised to look back a few months after you've kept a log and see what you were saying about that “impossible” four mile run back then!

3) Don't quit!

Most of us have been there – we see a friend or co-worker who looks great after spending time working out, get ourselves all psyched about getting in shape, spend a week or two trying to be fit, and then just give up. Whether it was due to laziness, lack of time, or just plain soreness, it's all irrelevant now. The most important part of having a workout plan is to actually follow through with it! You will not be able to see those results like your friend or co-worker unless you persevere and keep yourself going.

If you find yourself getting bored after a few days, try a different exercise or location to workout. If you are having a tough time staying motivated, find a friend or local group where others like you are all working towards a common goal. Many metropolitan cities have running clubs or fitness groups that meet daily or weekly to keep each other motivated and going strong. If you're just frustrated because you don't see immediate results, you've got to be realistic! Most people who look great and are in good shape didn't just turn out that way without working at it. If you keep working hard to attain your goals, pretty soon that reflection in the mirror is going to look back at you and say, "I look good!"

4) Don't let the weather stop you

Rainy? Cold? Big deal. Snowstorm? Sweltering heat? Hurricane? Ok, maybe then you need to take precautions! The point is, don't let the weather stop you from keeping your regimen. If it's cold or rainy, try and tough it out. Make sure you wear the proper apparel for the weather, however. Surprisingly, cooler temperatures are the most optimal for outdoor exercise. Of course, everyone's body is a little different, but we all have one thing in common – we sweat and lose fluids faster as the temperature rises. Always be sure to protect your extremities in inclement weather.

Sometimes, whether it's just exceptionally nasty out or you're just not ready to brave the elements, you just know you're not making it out. Don't let it stop you from your goals! You'd be surprised to learn that there are many indoor exercises you can do, even in your own home that will suffice. For the basics, pushups, sit-ups and jumping jacks are good aerobic exercises to get the blood flowing and increase heart rate.