'First, Go Into Space... We Weigh NOTHING Up Here!'

For those who set fitness goals as part of their New Year's resolutions, NASA astronauts who have lived aboard the International Space Station have a few tips to face the challenge. Astronauts on the station are required to work out as much as two hours each day.

After a five-month stay on the station, astronaut Clay Anderson (above) returned to Earth in November and is in the midst of a strict exercise regimen to regain top physical shape. While the propsect of working out in weightlessness may sound easy, Anderson says it comes with unique challenges that can make it harder and less appealing than exercising on Earth.

"You have to attack it incrementally," Anderson said. "You have to stay with it. Every day you have to figure out a way to get yourself to do it. You have to set a goal that motivates you, whether it is new clothes, a class reunion this summer, losing 20 pounds -- or being in good shape when you land on Earth."

Astronauts often live and work aboard the station for six months or more at a time. The daily workout is key to minimizing bone density and muscle loss that can occur during long stays in space.

The exercise sessions can include workouts on a treadmill with straps that pull down the astronauts to simulate gravity, a stationary bicycle and an exercise device that uses tension to imitate weightlifting in zero gravity.

We dunno. That still sounds better than daily aerobics and NutriSystem... and we hear the food is tastier, too...

FMI: www.nasa.gov/station