Exercise can be difficult. But oftentimes, the hardest part isn’t the workout itself, but mustering up the motivation required to get started. What’s needed in situations like these are some mental tricks to get you moving. Here are five psychological tips for generating the motivation for exercise.

1. Take just one step. Exercise has a sort of internal momentum. Once you get started it becomes so much easier to keep going. The first step is by far the most important. Trick yourself into a full workout by striking a bargain. Say to yourself: “just exercise for five minutes. If you really want to quit then, you can.” Usually, your resistance will have dissipated by the time those five minutes are up.

2. Consider the benefits. It’s hard to get excited about an activity that isn’t necessarily enjoyable in the moment. That’s why it helps to dwell on the benefits of exercise instead. Focus on how great for your health working out is. Remember that exercise will make you look better, too. Consider the fact that since exercise triggers the release of endorphins, it will also make you feel better.

3. Make plans with others. Most things are more difficult to do on your own. Regularly working out with other people adds a valuable element of accountability. If you don’t exercise, you won’t just be disappointing yourself. Even if your workout partners don’t say anything, you’ll know that they know you are slacking off.

4. Promise yourself a reward. For better or worse, an incentive can be a powerful source of motivation. If you don’t find exercise intrinsically rewarding, you may need something waiting at the end of your workout to get you amped up. It could be watching a TV show, eating a tasty treat (but try not to overindulge), or anything else you enjoy.

5. Follow a routine. Habits are a crucial aspect of generating and maintaining motivation. Once a routine becomes ingrained, following it becomes almost automatic. You will no longer need a huge amount of willpower to overcome that internal inertia. It’s smart to always work out in the same place, at the same time. Soon, exercise will seem natural; getting started will be easy.

Before modern times, most people naturally exercised as parts of their daily lives. But with the advent of office jobs and cars, exercise has become something you have to work for. That makes fostering the necessary motivation all important. Knowing a few good tricks to mustering up the motivation for exercise helps a ton.