When it comes to doing exercise or physical activity, everyone needs (at some point in time) extra motivation to finish the last repetition, complete the last mile or to simply make it through the workout. The members in any typical gym often resort to distractions like watching TV and listening to their iPod or mp3 player as they workout. But when things get tough … it just isn’t enough. For many years (long before the first fitness club opened its doors) inspirational quotes have helped many people get “fired up” to get fit!
Top 20 Inspirational Quotes for Fitness
Many of the most memorable quotes that inspire great workouts come from role models who have accomplished great things in their lives and careers. Below is a list of inspirational quotes from some of the greatest role models and thinkers of their time.
“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.” ~ Jackie Joyner Kersee (Olympic Gold Medalist, Track & Field)
“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” ~ Muhammad Ali (Golden Gloves champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Boxing)
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” ~ Billie Jean King (former World #1 Champion, Tennis)
“Choose the positive. You have choice, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.” ~ Bruce Lee (Martial Arts Icon, Actor)
“Do your best, one shot at a time, and then move on.” ~ Nancy Lopez (LPGA Golfer)
“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do” ~ John Wooden (UCLA Basketball Coach)
“I can accept failure, but I can’t accept not trying.” ~ Michael Jordan (former NBA Basketball Player)
“I decided I can’t pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it.” ~ Serena Williams (Professional Tennis Player)
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 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 (former NBA Basketball Player)
“If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion.” ~ Mia Hamm (retired Professional Soccer Player)
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” ~ Gail Devers (retired Olympic Champion, Track & Field)
“No-one gets an iron-clad guarantee of success. Certainly, factors like opportunity, luck and timing are important. But the backbone of success is usually found in old-fashioned, basic concepts like hard work, determination, good planning and perseverance.” ~ Mia Hamm (retired Professional Soccer Player)
“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” ~ Bruce Lee (Martial Arts Icon, Actor)
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” ~ Lance Armstrong (former Professional Road Racing Cyclist)
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” ~ Wayne Gretzky (retired Professional Hockey Player)
“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something. You can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger (former Professional Bodybuilder)
“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” ~ Vince Lombardi(Head Coach, Green Bay Packers)
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” ~ Vince Lombardi (Head Coach, Green Bay Packers)
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” ~ Michael Jordan (former NBA Basketball Player)
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky (retired Professional Hockey Player)
Stay Focused …
The next time you are lacking motivation and the desire to get moving and getting the job done, ask yourself the following questions:
- What reason or goal motivates me to work harder?
- Who inspires me to work hard and achieve my goals?
- What location or environment motivates me to workout?
- Is there a time of the day that I get a better workout?
- What words inspire me to be the best I can be when I exercise?
We all need help to achieve our fitness goals. Recognizing areas of weakness and identifying ways to overcome them is the best way to reach the goals set out from the start. Inspiration (in its many forms) is the fuel that helps us reach our final destination.
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