Once you've aced being a beginner and spent some time in the trenches as an intermediate, next thing you know, you are a full time exercise type person. But how do you get through year after year when the motivation to lose weight may have long been accomplished?

It may be time to change from viewing it as exercise and look at how you can improve your overall fitness.

If your main goal is no longer weight loss, revamp them. Maybe you want to do a marathon, hike a mountain, swim a personal best. That's how you keep your motivation mojo going.

You have now entered a stage of fitness that is beyond the 3x a week at the gym, which may also mean you are shelling out more money to invest in better equipment or hiring a personal trainer or attending classes to prepare your body for it's next big event.

You will also tax your body more than before. That simple 1 mile run every few days will have to drastically increase if you want to run a marathon. You'll also have to incorporate various forms of cardio to keep your body conditioned all the while balancing what you are doing so you don't overstress your body.

Lastly, nutrition, more than likely weight will no longer be an issue for you, but for peak performance, you will have to eat to suit your goals. Whether it's protein rich because you want to win a weight lifting competition or carb rich because you are running a 26 mile marathon, eat clean, fuel your body and above all, have fun!