Work, everyday life, busyness and many other good reasons why I haven't been exercising as much lately. Sound familiar? These five tips will get you up to speed quickly and get your spring training season going now.

1. Create a routine

After a long break from training, a typical mistake is to start with a hundred in a glass. Often, the harder you start, the faster you finish. It's much more important to start by carving out a few repetitive workouts a week and start building a routine that you can stick to. In the beginning, it doesn't even matter what you do in the gym, as long as you keep going.

If you start too hard, it's much easier to come up with reasons why you're not in the mood to exercise today. Once exercise becomes a regular part of your week, you can start to increase your intensity. You can work harder and push yourself harder when you can be sure that exercise is a permanent part of your weekly routine.

2. Make the most of post-change motivation

Everyday routines disappear or are reset whenever life changes or exceptions occur, such as a cold or a holiday. After a change, we always have the opportunity to create new routines that become part of our daily lives. So make sure you stick to better habits and routines as soon as you can to maintain and promote your own well-being.

3. Test something new

The surest way to get more exercise into your week is to start a hobby that repeats at the same time every week, with someone else taking the lead. All you have to do is show up and enjoy a good workout. At its simplest, a new hobby can mean regularly attending your favourite group exercise class. Joint training sessions with a personal trainer or small group coaching are also great options. If you need help getting started or updating your programme, ask the personal trainer at your centre.

4. Take a friend with you

The social motivation factor is one of the strongest motivators. Interview your friends and find the type of person who has a similar goal in mind. Make a pact to train together and look out for each other. A buddy is bound to pull you up when your motivation threatens to run out - and vice versa.

5. Remember the upward bias

Once you've got the training season off to a good start, remember to stick to the golden principles of progress. As well as regularity, training should be uphill and the stimulus should be changed every 6-8 weeks. So make sure you update your training programme to be a bit more demanding after a certain period of time.