Sometimes its important to be honest with yourself.

Do youreallywant to pursue that fitness goal, or are you feeling pressured into it?

But sometimes, honesty is overrated.

I lie to myself in the gym all the time, and maybe you should, too.

To be clear, there is a time and a place for lying.

Honesty is good when it comes to making long-term plans.

And your silly little brain may want to talk itself out of having to do any work whatsoever.

So here are some lies that can help you approach a tough workout without dreading it or chickening out.

Its not that much work

I like it when my squats are programmed in sets of three.

Or, better yet, singles.

Just let memax out!

But supposedly doing lighter weight for volume is good for me, even though it is boring as hell.

Two reps, five times.

You see, five is less than 10, so its half as much work.

Runners, I know you do something like this, too.

Youre on a five-mile run, and your watch tells you youve just finished the second mile.

A normal person would say youre almost halfway, but what do they know?

In fact, two miles ismorethan halfway to three.

So in reality you aremorethan halfway done, right?

Yes, this is how numbers work.

It was cheesy, but it worked.

Just because youre suffering doesnt mean you have toadmityoure suffering.

Because you are also doing just fine.

you might do this on your own, of course.

Maybe youre lifting, and your least favorite exercise is up next.

Just pretend its your favorite.

Findsomethingto like about it.

Or lets say Im running, and I get to a hill.

Hills suck, of course.

I live in a hilly place, so I cant escape them.

But Icanlie to myself.

I have a lot of practice with hills, after all!

They suck for everybody, but I secretly enjoy them.

(I secretly secretly hate them, but shhhh.)

It sounds impossible, but then you do it.

In the process, it strengthens your mind as much as your legs.

I also, on two occasions now, have done anFTP test.

Its a test that is only accurate if you go for a truly maximum effort.

Its 20 minutes of hell.

Minute three is not the time to think about minute 20.

You cannot put the mental stress of the next 17 minutes on yourself all at once.

Each minute belongs to itself.

Its the same with the squats.

You cant ask yourself, Can I really do 17 more?

The only question worth asking is, Can I do one more?

My friends will want to see this video

If all else fails, appeal to peer pressure.

You are a human being, a social animal.

You knowhow to use social media to inspire rather than discourage yourself.

Or maybe youll send a video to your best friend who doesnt lift but who supports you anyway.

Theyneedto see the video youll post after this, right?

So do that workout, take that video, and post it with some kind of clever caption.

Theyre waiting for it.