When it comes to exercise, one thing I am not is self-motivated. You’ll never see me heading to the gym on my own or sprinting out the door for a run. And even though I have several sets of hand weights at home, they’re covered with a thick layer of dust.

And yet, I exercise almost every day. That’s because I recognized my weakness and built a support system that will help me get out and get moving, even when I don’t feel like it. Here’s how I did it, and how you can too:

1. Hire a trainer.

I’ve been training with Karen for over two years now, and she’s a miracle worker. In two half-hour sessions per week she takes me through a full resistance workout — and she makes it fun. I love being able to chat with Karen while I work out, and having a set day and time makes it less likely that I’ll bail (especially since I paid for the session!).

The best way to find a good personal trainer is to ask at your local gym. Personal trainers should be certified through a reputable certifying body such as ACE (American Council on Exercise) , ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), or NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association). Trainers can be expensive, so if you can’t afford a full hour-long session, ask if they offer half-hour sessions, or give discounts if you purchase several sessions at once.

2. Take a class.

My trainer offers a fitness yoga class, which I take every week. Again, having a set date and time when I’m expected to be there (and the fact that I already paid for the class) inspires me to get out the door. It’s also motivating to know that I’ll be spending an hour with a group of fun people while getting fit.

You can find classes in aerobics, yoga, spinning, kickboxing and more at the YMCA, through your local gym, and in private studios. Health Club Directory lists fitness centers nationwide, though they don’t have them all. Also, try Googling for “exercise class” and your city, or checking your Yellow Pages or newspaper classifieds.

3. Get a buddy.

Three days per week, I get up earlier than I would like and hit the gym with my friend Shawna. We work out on the treadmill and elliptical trainer, then do free weights and the weight machines. (And sometimes we go to Starbucks afterward!) Knowing that a friend is expecting me to accompany her to the gym keeps me from hitting the Snooze button and logging in another hour of Zs.

If you don’t have a friend who would like to go to the gym or out for a power walk with you, look for people interested in getting fit with others on www.meetup.com or www.craigslist.com.

4. Get a VIRTUAL buddy.

This isn’t fitness-related for me, but it really helps up my motivation for work — and it could help YOU up your motivation for working out: Every week I have a “boot camp” session with a writer friend of mine. Each hour, I call her and we tell each other what we accomplished in the last hour, and what we plan to do in the next hour. Knowing that we’ll have to answer to one other motivates us to get done what we said we’d get done.

This can work for exercise as well. For example, you can schedule three days per week where you’ll call a friend and tell each other about the workouts you did that day. You can also set goals; for example, you both may want to lose five pounds in a month, and every week you can update each other on your progress.

5. Twittercize.

If you aren’t familiar with Twitter, it’s a micro-blogging platform where people keep in touch with their “followers” by posting tweets of 140 characters or less. If you follow someone, that person’s tweets will show up on your Twitter home page, or you can use free programs like Tweetdeck to organize the tweets of the people you’re following into convenient groups.

So why am I waxing eloquent about Twitter? Because my buddy Ron Doyle has developed something called Twittercize. If you follow him at twitter.com/twittercize, you’ll see that he tweets one-minute exercise that you can do right then and there. At any given time, you might end up doing 30 calf raises, one minute of “Twitter Feet,” or 10 “Sky Frogs.” When these tweets flash across your screen, you’ll be inspired to get fit one minute at a time!

Stay healthy,

Linda