Okay, so we already know that exercise is good for us. We try to work out on a regular basis, reminding ourselves that the payoff is well worth the effort.

Still, we all have times when we 'fall off the wagon' and somehow miss those exercise sessions. We get sick, there's a big deadline at work, relatives come for a visit, or the kids are out of school.....there's no end to the reasons why we take a break from exercising.

But did you know that CONSISTENCY is the key to success in health and fitness? It takes only about two weeks to start losing your level of cardiovascular fitness when you stop exercising. After about three to four weeks without exercise, you'll start losing muscle (losing muscle is the WORST thing we can do when trying to lose fat!). Source: Shape magazine; June 2005.

We agree, it just doesn't seem fair that fat 'goes on' faster than it comes off and now we learn that we can get 'out of shape' in just a few short weeks! Hey, we don't write these rules, we just report them!

So what's the take-home advice? Stay consistent in your workouts. Get into the gym at least three times each week. Can't make it three times? Two is better than none! For that matter, one exercise session is better than none! We only really backtrack in our fitness levels when we quit exercising completely.

Consistency is the key, so let's all take whatever steps we need to take to make sure we're getting to the gym regularly. Maybe we need to set an appointment to work out with a friend. Maybe we need to go to the gym early, before the day gets crazy. Maybe we need to go to the gym late, after dinner is done and the day is winding down. Whatever we need to do, let's do it today. Let's be consistent with our exercise.