True Fitness Breaside
The best workout motivational quotes are the ones that inspire your training from start to finish, even on those days when you feel yourself dragging. We’ve collected 60 of the best, spanning over 2000 years, from Aristotle to Ali to Arnold. Presidents, authors, fitness gurus, athletes, fictional characters—they’re all here. Get psyched. Get inspired. Get informed. Get motivated.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain, author
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” — Muhammad Ali, boxer
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle, philosopher
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” — Thomas Jefferson, President
“The hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made, so if you push through, you can push through anything.” — Dana Vollmer, swimmer
“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it” — George Halas, football coach
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will” — Mahatma Gandhi, civil rights leader
“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody want to lift no heavy-ass weights.” — Ronnie Coleman, bodybuilder
“The body achieves what the mind believes.” — Napoleon Hill, author
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” — Jim Rohn, motivator
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan, basketball player
“Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart” — Gene Tunney, boxer
“Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but, because of lack of commitment.” — Vince Lombardi, football coach
“If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.” — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor
“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, just pretend that you do, and at some point, you will.” — Venus Williams, tennis player
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger, bodybuilder
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” — Vince Lombardi, football coach
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” — Babe Ruth, baseball player
“Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.” — Sylvester Stallone, actor
“Confidence comes from discipline and training.” — Robert Kiyosaki, author
“I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.” — Muhammad Ali, boxer
“Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits.” — Jerry Dunn, basketball coach
“You must expect things of yourself before you can do them.” — Michael Jordan, basketball player
“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone who is not a champion.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger, bodybuilder
“If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.” — Mark Spitz, swimmer
“A champion is someone who gets up when they can’t.” — Jack Dempsey, boxer
“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them.” — Bruce Lee, martial artist
“If I can see it and believe it, then I can achieve it.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger, bodybuilder
“Overpower. Overtake. Overcome.” — Serena Williams, tennis player
“The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen.” — Unknown
“When I feel tired, I just think about how great I will feel once I finally reach my goal.” — Michael Phelps, swimmer
“Maybe, just maybe, you can open your mind to the possibility that paradise is found in how you choose to look and act in this world. Paradise, like our goals, may not really be a destination but an endless horizon we secretly don’t want to reach, a never-ending reason to keep working and growing with the intention not to accomplish goals but to become someone who can accomplish any goal.” — Chris Bumstead, bodybuilder
“You can either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” — Jim Rohn, author
“If you are not pissed off for greatness, that just means you’re okay with being mediocre.” — Ray Lewis, football player
“Keep working even when no one is watching.” — Alex Morgan, soccer player
“Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it.” — Mike Tyson, boxer
“Your health account, your bank account, they’re the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out. Exercise is king and nutrition is queen. Together you have a kingdom.” — Jack LaLanne, fitness icon
“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.” — Arnold Palmer, golfer
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill, Prime Minister
“Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body will.” — Unknown
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle, philosopher
“You shall gain, but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit.” — Pavel Tsatsouline, fitness instructor
“You have to push past your perceived limits, push past that point you thought was as far as you can go.” — Drew Brees, football player
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place, and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward, how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth.” — Rocky Balboa, fictional boxer
“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” — Samuel Johnson, author
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” — Jerry Rice, football player
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb, author
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau, author
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” — Vidal Sassoon, entrepreneur
“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” — Tony Robbins, motivator
“What’s a key to success? One of the things is the willingness to put in the hard work when you’re alone. Everyone works hard when eyes are on them: boss watching, teachers, trainers, co-workers, etc. Pushing yourself past your limits and working extremely hard when no one is watching is what makes all the difference in the world and sets you up for success. Best thing about being alone is that no one can judge you—but you.” — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor
“You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits.” — Michael Phelps, swimmer
“The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.” — Mia Hamm, soccer player
“All growth starts at the end of your comfort zone.” — Tony Robbins, motivator
“The most successful people reach the top not because they are free of limitations, but because they act in spite of their limitations.” — Michael K. Williams, actor
“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali, boxer
“Making excuses burns zero calories per hour.” — Unknown
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, author
“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” — Samuel Johnson, author
“Be Humble. Be Hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.” — Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, actor
