You know her. That annoying friend or co-worker with boundless energy, who's got three kids and a demanding job and still has time for early morning yoga classes and evening runs (and of course she's got the body to show for it, too). What's her workout secret?

It's actually not that complicated. She just knows how to motivate herself to exercise -- and uses a few of these expert tips to make working out less of a chore and more of an activity to actually look forward to.

Click here for 13 genius workout motivation tips.

If the idea of "looking forward to exercise" sounds alien to you, check out what our expert personal trainers and sports psychologists share here. Getting in shape doesn't have to be boring, a time suck, or even painful -- it's all a matter of being in the right frame of mind and keeping yourself motivated.

To help you get off the couch and onto the treadmill, here are 13 excuses that just aren't going to fly anymore. We'll tell you how the super-fit overcome these obstacles, and how you can too. With the right motivation, exercise really can be -- wait for it -- fun. Don't believe us? Read on. We guarantee you'll be packing your gym bag before you know it.

If your basic problem is that you just don't want to/don't see the need to exercise, you need a major wakeup call. We all need to work out regularly if we want to live longer, better-quality lives, says LA Fitness Trainer Danielle Spangler. She says she has friends and clients who just refuse to exercise, and so she has to give them a little tough love. "As a last resort I'll tell people about the health risks [of not exercising] and ask them whether they want to be independent, or dependent on others when they're older. It's an eye opener."

While this may sound harsh, Dr. Michael Gervais, Ph.D, a sports psychologist who works with US Olympians, says a shock to your system can be just what you need to get motivated. "The only reason people change is because they've touched pain," he says. This pain can be anything from seeing an older family member struggle with his health, to getting fed up with being out of breath after a flight of stairs. "Embrace that, remember it, and figure out what you want to do differently."

If you haven't had your "moment of pain" yet, here are a few stats from the Get America Fit Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that may serve as your wakeup call:

• Obesity is the No. 2 cause of preventable death in the United States.
• Being overweight or obese increases your risk for breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, colon cancer, hypertension, and strokes.
• People who are severely obese (with a Body Mass Index of 45 or more) live about 20 years less than people who are not overweight.

Getting thin isn't the only (or even the best) reason to exercise. Whether you need to lose weight or not, our experts say you should approach your workout with a clear goal in mind. This could be anything from looking better in your skinny jeans to finishing a 5K.

Gervais says before you even start a workout program, you need to ask yourself a few questions: 1. What is my goal? 2. What do I need to do to get there? 3. How do I want to experience this journey? And of course, there are a few things to keep in mind with each of these questions:

For the first one, Gervais says your goal should be about approaching success instead of avoiding failure. It's really all in how you phrase it. So instead of making your goal "I don't want to be the fatty in Pilates class anymore," a better goal would be "I want to be able to make it through a Pilates class and still have energy for a quick run after." A positive goal gives your mind a clearer path to follow and gives you a higher likelihood of success.

When it comes to the "hows" of achieving your goal, celebrity trainer Aaron Williamson says there are plenty of resources available to help you map out a journey. "You can always go to a website to get a program customized for you," he says. "There are tracking mechanisms built in � each day you'll be able to see your overall performance and it will let you know if you're staying on track or not."

And as for how you'll experience your workout journey, Gervais says it's important to realize that it won't be all sunshine and rainbows. "Change is met with resistance internally," he says, so you need to be honest and allow yourself to experience some frustration and anger.

Yes, mindlessly running on a treadmill while watching the news on your gym's TV can be a total snooze fest. But dancing in a Zumba class, rock climbing, and paddle boarding are the exact opposite of dull -- and they still count as exercise.

The trick is to continually search for workouts that are fun so you actually enjoy exercising. Aside from trying new classes at the gym, Williamson says, "I browse YouTube a lot to see what new stuff folks are trying out; it's interesting to see what some people do with little to no equipment."

But even if you do stick with your regular routine, Barry Jay, co-founder of Barry's Bootcamp, says you can create a fun environment to motivate yourself to get through even the most mundane routine. "Lighting, amazing music of all genres, and humor can help you push through a workout," he says.

Another way to keep exercise from getting old is to add in the element of competition, says Dr. Amir Vokshoor, MD, a neurosurgeon who studies the brain in relation to athletes at the DISC Sports and Spine Center in Marina del Rey, Calif. He explains that after awhile, anything we do repeatedly (like lifting weights or 30 minutes on the elliptical) becomes easier, and that's when our brain starts to resent the exercise. "When an exercise isn't fun anymore, the brain needs surprises, risk, and danger," says Vokshoor. "Competitive sports can give you that risk and danger."

If the thought of joining your company's softball team sounds like less fun than an all-day root canal, that's OK. Marie-Josee Shaar, a personal trainer and author of "Smarts and Stamina," says your workout should play to your strengths.

"Research shows that we are much more motivated, resourceful, and resilient in an area of strength than in an area of weakness," Shaar says. Like taking charge? Lead a morning group run in your neighborhood. Does kindness drive you? Train for a cause, or buddy up with someone else who also needs motivation, Shaar says.

How do you know when you've found the right workout? "The right exercise should be relaxing, get you in a hyper-aware state from endorphins, get your mind wandering, make you feel good, vital, and youthful, and leave you sore, but a good sore," says Vokshoor.