9 ways I trick myself into going to the gym

I've been going to the gym regularly for years.

It's kind of funny, actually: When I lived in a Manhattan building with a gym in the basement, I never, ever went. It was a matter of principle - no one told me I had to pay a gym fee on top of my exorbitant rent! So I steered clear of the treadmills.

I sure showed them.

But when a gym rep came to my previous job and handed me a tee-shirt I'd never end up wearing along with a hefty corporate discount to a gym chain, I bit. And now, more than three years later, I can't bear to leave it. I love the teachers! I know the schedule! The locations are so convenient!

You know what I've learned? It doesn't matter whether your gym is in your building or down the block or 30 minutes away. Most of the work of going to the gym happens before you even walk in the door.

Below, I'm confessing some of the motivation tricks that get me off the couch and onto the spin bike. I can't guarantee they'll work for you - I can't even guarantee they'll continue to work for me - but this is what works right now.