We bet that when you drunkenly rang in the new year, you vowed it would be the year of the gut bust. You would stick to your muscle-building, fat-burning covenant: no missed days.


No, really. We believe you. But of the 16 per cent of guys who resolve to work out more in the new year, 49 per cent fail to adhere to their resolutions. And now, months later, where have all those ambitions fled?

We've heard all the excuses. (We've used a few ourselves.) So we made a list of them - the lame and the understandable. Then we called around to psychologists, dietitians, trainers and men who manage to work out no matter how busy their lives are. First, the legitimate excuses. We found four: sore, sick, exhausted and hurt. That's it.

Soreness means your body needs a break. "Recovery is as important as working out," reveals Carter Hays, a sports scientist and personal trainer.

Overtraining prevents as many men from reaching their goals as undertraining, he warns. An illness means you should take a break and let your body fight the bug. If you're so tired you're drowsy, you could hurt yourself. And if you're injured - especially if you're experiencing joint pain - let your body heal.


As for the rest of the excuses, listen up:

"Looks like rain.": Men's Health cover model Gregg Avedon lives in Florida in the US and spent much of 2004 lifting storm shutters and storing away patio furniture - then taking cover when the cyclone season arrived. But he still looks great. Avedon says your home gym - those dumbbells and your chin-up bar - makes staying in a viable option. You can also spice up your indoor cardio by skipping or running up and down stairs. Or tie both ends of a resistance band to a doorway, place a towel across your chest, face away from the door with the band (cushioned by the towel) across your chest and run on the spot.

"I'm bored with my work-out.": "Throw it in reverse," suggests Gunnar Peterson, a sports scientist and author of G-Force. If you always do lat pull­downs with an overhand grip, switch to underhand. Do reverse-grip curls and reverse-grip triceps push-downs. Do front squats and dumbbell lateral raises with your palms up. Count backwards as well. "It's like a blast-off," suggests Peterson: "five, four, three, two, one, done!"

"I have no time.": Combine things you do anyway with training. Set up meetings during which you walk or jog, play tennis with your wife or take a spin class to find dates, suggests Charles Stuart Platkin, author of The Automatic Diet.

"I pack my gym bag and then The O.C. comes on.": Tape it. Then tell yourself you're going to do just half of your regular routine. "It won't seem so insurmountable and you'll end up doing the whole work-out," explains Dr Edward Abramson, a clinical psychologist in Lafayette, California in the US.

"I need my sleep.": Father of two Pat Croce manages to stick with his work-outs while hosting his syndicated US TV show, Pat Croce: Moving In and making several public appearances. "Like me, you have to schedule fitness," he reveals. On the first of each month, Croce reviews his schedule with his secretary and wife and breaks it down into weeks. Every Sunday, he goes over the upcoming week, making sure there are gyms near where he's staying.

"I don't want to spend $50 a month on a gym.": Don't. Try to negotiate fees, trial months or group discounts. Think you don't have the cash? Save hundreds a year by switching from your morning latte from the cafe down the road to grabbing a box of metabolism-boosting green tea when you next go grocery shopping.


"I never see results.": Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Measure your waist, your heart rate and your weight. Write them down. Then measure again after a week or two, says Croce. Celebrate even the smallest sign of progress. Muscles appear as fat melts.

"Four weeks and no change in waistline, heart rate or weight!": Whether you see results or not, you're strengthening your joints and connective tissues, which means you're laying down a foundation for future muscle growth, advises Peterson. Your diet, stress, sleep patterns and other factors besides your work-out may be holding you back - so don't give up.

"I have no energy.": Eat. You need the fuel. "An active guy needs up to 4000 kilojoules more than an inactive guy," according to registered dietitian Gay Riley.

"I want my body to have enough time to recover.": After 72 hours of rest, you're just sliding backwards. "But are you actually giving yourself a chance to recover?" asks Peterson. It's not all about time. Mix L-glutamine into your post-work-out shake and eat a diet full of omega-3 fatty acids; they can assist with cellular reconstruction and the removal of metabolic wastes to help you recover faster, Peterson advises.

"I always get hurt.": This happens when you ratchet up your work-out. Focus on losing a half-kilo at a time or boosting your weights in 2.5kg amounts, says C.J. Murphy, owner of Total Performance Sports in Massachusetts in the US. If you're used to doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, don't try a two-hour road run. Instead, make small increases in the difficulty of your work-out, focus on form and work with a spotter so you still have a safety net, Murphy recommends.

"My elbows/shins/pinkie toes hurt.": "Pain is a sure sign something is wrong with your exercise choices," warns Murphy. Don't isolate body parts so much - your muscles should function as a team. If your shoulder hurts for a week after you do lateral raises, don't do them. Find a variation that doesn't cause pain, he advises.

"I don't want to look stupid trying to use those space-age machines.": The machines are a good way to broaden your fitness spectrum," says Peterson. Read the instructions, ask a trainer for assistance and give it a shot. Nobody's looking: "They're so into themselves that they're not even thinking about you," he adds.

"I'm bored again.": Organise your work-out differently for one to two weeks, recommends Peterson. Let's say you're usually a push-pull guy - you do chin-ups and leg curls one work-out, bench presses and squats another. Try working antagonistic - or opposing - muscle groups, such as your back and chest. You can also change to an upper/lower split routine in which you alternate upper-body work-outs with lower-body ones. Or try a total-body work-out a few times a week.

"My mate can't make it tonight.": It's easy to blame others. "If you're serious about training, think of it like a job," advises Murphy. "If your training partner was an employee who continually performed poorly, what would you do? You'd fire him!"

"I should really stay with my wife tonight and help with the baby. Plus, The O.C. is on.": Or you could help all three of you. More and more gyms have child-care centres so you and your wife can get away and spend time together - something new parents need, says clinical psychologist Edward Abramson. Or go over the calendar with your wife: for every day she's out, you can work-out.

"Everyone's going out for drinks.": Join them once a week and you won't appear stand-offish, Abramson advises. But eat first. By having your drinks with a meal, you won't drink, snack and eat dinner later.

"I hate working out alone.": Go to the gym at the same time and on the same days. You'll find others who are on your schedule, says Abramson.