Talk to any fitness expert and they’ll tell you motivation is the key to achieving your fitness goals. Whether you’re trying to shed a few pounds or training for a summer triathlon, your level of motivation often determines long-term success or failure.

If your New Year’s resolution to get in shape has started to fade, here are some quick tips to re-energize your workout routine, helping you stay motivated throughout the year.

Recommit to ten minutes.

If you set a lofty exercise goal and miss one session, it’s easy to get discouraged. JJ Virgin, a certified nutrition specialist and exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), suggests thinking about exercise in ten-minute blocks instead. “There’s less of a chance of blowing off ten minutes,” she says. “Go for a ten-minute walk outside or on a treadmill. Use free weights in front of the TV. Do ten minutes of a favorite exercise video, and work from there.”

Bring in a professional.

Virgin suggests hiring a personal trainer once a month. The benefits are twofold. First, your fitness expert can perform a body composition test and track your results, which is especially important since weight loss doesn’t always show up on a scale. They can also design exercise programs so you can mix things up and help boost metabolism. “A trainer will make sure you’re exercising correctly, and provide accountability,” adds Virgin.

Count your steps.

Walking is low-impact, and can be done anywhere. Incorporate more walking into your day by purchasing a pedometer and trying to beat your own step count, says Virgin. “You’ll start parking a little further away and taking the stairs,” she says. Buy a pedometer at a specialty fitness dealer or sporting goods store.

Make exercise social.

Chances are, when you make a lunch date with a friend, you follow through. Change lunch dates to gym dates, and you’ve got a great reason to move, says Virgin. Go for a walk at the mall or at the park. Go for a hike or bike ride. Says Virgin: “Put it on your calendar and exercise becomes a regular part of your life.”

Get interactive.

You don’t have to join a gym to stay in shape. Fitness equipment manufacturers are coming out with treadmills and elliptical trainers that incorporate all kinds of technology to make working out at home more fun and interactive. Today you can find TVs, speakers, and other performance tracking tools integrated directly into equipment consoles. One example of this is a new Elite Series elliptical trainer from Horizon Fitness. The E6 AFG elliptical uses a technology called eTRAK to journal workout history automatically, so progress can be tracked. It allows users to compare current workout stats to their average or to many other types of workout data.

“Research has shown that people who journal their fitness routines and workouts are likely to achieve greater success than those who do not,” said Jamie Gruttadauria of Rochester Fitness Equipment in Penfield. “New technologies like eTRAK give our customers a motivational, easy-to-use tool to monitor and track their progress. In the end, we want to help people achieve their fitness goals.”