January is the time of year a lot of people buy gym memberships.

February is the time of year a lot of those memberships start gathering dust.

Keeping that New Year’s resolution to be more fit and healthy can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

Tim Walsh is living proof.

“You remember John Candy? I looked a lot like him,” says Walsh, referring to the rather rotund Canadian comedian who died of a heart attack at age 43.

Now the well-muscled ex-body builder is the Personal Training Manager Movati Athletic in Nepean.

He empathizes with those who try, and fail, to keep their New Year’s resolution. He did the same thing for years. “It was the same resolution, and this was going to be the year that I did it, and I failed,” he says. “Then one year it took hold, and that's how my career actually got started."

Walsh says there are a few keys that can make the difference between success and failure.

First and foremost, he says, is to not go it alone. Find a partner, or hire a trainer, who will help keep you accountable. “If my training partner is waiting for me at the gym, I'm not going to say to myself oh the weather's too bad. If my buddy's there waiting there's a much better chance I'll show up then we'll both take a step in the right direction," he says.

Secondly, don’t make the very common mistake of trying to do too much too soon, leading to dejection, discomfort, possible injury, and a much greater likelihood that you’ll quit.

Which leads to key number three: have a plan. Know where you need to start, and what you need to do to progress safely and sustainably. Walsh says going to the gym without an end goal and a roadmap to get there makes as much sense as getting in a car without knowing where you’re going. “A personal trainer can do that for you,” he says. “Or if you have a friend who seems to be keeping in really good shape, steal some of the good ideas from them and chase them to the gym every once in a while and absorb some of those good behaviours.”

Ultimately, Walsh says how you start a new exercise program has a great deal to do with how, or even if, you finish it. “Go ahead and invest a little time and a little money in yourself. If you learn to do it right then you never have to do it again, and you can stay on that path.”