Over the past few years ‘The Secret’ has received enormous amounts of publicity. Not that long ago there was a public presentation near here with hundreds of people attending.

So what is The Secret?

It’s a self help DVD based on the concept of attraction. It proposes that your thoughts and feelings will attract what you want into your life.

Now I agree that the law of attraction is real and can help you to get what you want in life, but just thinking about something doesn’t get it for you.

As a fitness expert, I see and hear this with people who want to be fit. Comments like “If I was that fit, I’d exercise that much” or “If I had a body like her, I’d go to the gym too.”

When it comes to fitness, too many people think or dream about being fit(ter) but that’s all they do.

Here’s the real secret about fitness. If you want to be fit, you have to do the work. Yes, that means exercise. And yes, that means you have to commit some time to exercise regularly and the fitter you want to be the more effort you have to put in.

Those people you see out walking, running or cycling didn’t wake up one day fit and able to do what they do. They had to work to get that fit and they have to keep doing what they do to stay fit.

Fortunately, once you are fit, it is easier to stay fit than it was to get fit, so it doesn’t seem like work, but you still have to keep at it or you’ll lose your fitness.