Making New Year's resolutions is easy. Keeping them going, particularly into the first few weeks of February, is the hard part.

We decided to ask fitness professionals what they advise on how to maintain exercise resolutions when the going gets tough.

A former common expression in the fitness industry was "no pain, no gain". That catchphrase has since fallen into disfavour as it's essential to distinguish between beneficial challenges and something that's potentially damaging.

Stephanie Varasteh, a Dailey Method senior instructor and teacher trainer assistant and a Lagree West trainer, is well attuned to body awareness as the Dailey Method combines Pilates, yoga, and ballet barre training.

While she acknowledges there is an adjustment period for the body when you start new exercises, she differentiates between that and detrimental pain.

"It's important to do something that feels good in your body so you're giving your body the benefits of that workout and not putting your body through pain that's going to be debilitating but you want to put your body into that nice hard workout that's going to improve other things in life," she says by phone.

In others words, it's alright to experience a "deep muscle burn in a good way" but if a new workout hurts your lower back or you experience joint pain, then it's important to heed those warning signals.

But Varasteh also encourages people to think about the impact of exercise in ways that go far beyond the body.

"It's important to find something that you connect with that you love and is [not only] going to nourish your body but also your life and enhance it," she says. "Fitness and doing something good for your body is one thing but it helps on so many other levels in finding more energy in your life, and you can do more things that you love, and it may improve your mood as well."

Searching for the right fit does take effort, Varasteh concedes.

"It does take some patience finding a studio or even a type of fitness method that works for you."

She suggests taking advantage of client specials such as an unlimited monthly pass to experiment with what feels right before committing long-term.

She adds that choosing something sustainable over the long-term is better than something intense over the short-term that you can't continue on with.

When her clients do want to drop out, she says she tries to dissuade them from giving up by figuring out ways to improve things or to work around challenges.

"It is going to be hard," she says, not to discourage people but to acknowledge the reality of sticking with a fitness plan. "A lot of it is patience, being curious, and feeling motivated to continue on."

More tips and advice from fitness professionals on how to maintain fitness motivation will be posted here at the Georgia Straight website throughout the month so stay tuned.