Let's be honest. If you're not in fantastic shape, going to the gym is probably one of your least favorite activities. There are sweaty and smelly people, greasy equipment; and on top of that, you actually have to do exercise. If you're like me, you'd much rather spend your afternoon at home, on the couch, watching Netflix. Even if you don't have a daily gym routine, we all have to go eventually. Perhaps thinking about the stages of Leslie Knope will make it a little bit easier.

1. Waking up and realizing that today is a gym day.

If you're not a gym rat, going there is complete torture. It's worse when you get a good night's sleep, wake up in the morning, and the first thought that crosses your mind is the excruciating workout you're going to have later. It basically ruins your whole day.

2. Telling yourself that you don't REALLY need to go to the gym.

You look in the mirror and say to yourself, "Do I even need to go to the gym? I look great". Upon further investigation, you know that the entire box of mac and cheese you ate last night is going to bite you in the butt later. Time to get ready to go.

3. Driving to the gym.

As you drive yourself to the gym, you cry silently to yourself and accept that you're going to die. Unfortunately, physically getting yourself to the gym is only half the battle.

4. Having second thoughts.

You finally made it to the gym and you're sitting in your car. You ask yourself once again if you really need to do this. ABC Family is having a "Harry Potter" marathon in a couple minutes. You only have 2 episodes left until you're caught up on "Game of Thrones". There's already so much to do and going to the gym is really inconvenient, but you drag yourself out of the car and into the locker room.

5. Pumping yourself up.

You look in the mirror again, this time at the gym. You put your headphones on and play some music with a fast rhythm and a lot of bass to pump yourself up. You convince yourself that you're ready for your workout (even though you're probably not).

6. Getting halfway through your workout and trying to stay motivated.

You know that feeling: you did a couple of machines and maybe even felt brave enough to do part of an ab workout. You could give up right now and still say you did stuff. No, you have to keep going. Now is the time where you have to push yourself to keep going. You're already here, so you might as well finish.

7. Seeing people you know on the other side of the gym.

If you're like me, you hate seeing people you know at the gym. Do you say hello? Do you wave and do one of those awkward half-smiles (even though you're not actually happy to see them)? Do you pretend you don't see them and avoid all eye contact? Are they watching you workout? Are they judging you? Definitely. There are too many possibilities when you see someone you know. Sometimes it's just better to avoid them altogether.

8. Getting on the treadmill or elliptical.

Running might be the worst part about going to the gym. It seems okay at first, but then you start to breathe a little heavy. You don't want the people around you to think you're getting tired, so you become insanely self-conscious about your breathing. It feels like you've been on that machine FOREVER. So you decided to look at the monitor to see how long you've been going at it and it's only been FOUR MINUTES. Just great.

9. Finishing your last set on the squat rack.

"This is it," you tell yourself. "Do it for the butt." This is your last set. You stare at the squat rack longingly. By this time, there's sweat dripping down your face, your arms, your legs, your boobs, and pretty much everywhere else you could sweat. You're sore, tired, and just ready to go home. In theory, this last set is no more difficult than the ones you did before, but really it's the hardest one of the day. Just one more and you're finished!

10. Grabbing your bags out of the locker room and walking back through the gym to the front doors without bothering to shower first.

You drag yourself back into the locker room and grab your bags. You walk back through the gym and smell the sweat and body odor once again because, of course, the locker rooms are all the way in the back. Some days it's just not worth spending the extra time showering there. Plus, your own shower is way nicer.

11. Getting home and treating yourself for doing so well at the gym today.

You get home and commend yourself for the tremendous work you did today. You open the fridge, grab a pint of ice cream, and collapse in your comfy bed for the rest of the day.