28 of the Most Inspirational Training Quotes

Tuesday night “you” set the alarm for an early morning gym session. But Wednesday morning “you” woke up and immediately hit the snooze button. We’ve all been there — sometimes you just need a little extra motivation to work out. Instead of being tempted by a few more minutes of sleep (or skipping your workout all together), add a sticky note to your alarm clock with one of these inspirational training quotes to help you get going and training hard.

So many of these quotes about training talk about how greatness isn’t just about skill, but instead, practice. Training your body is about consistency, and each day that you hit the gym and train is one more step toward your goals. Use these quotes as a reminder that this is a process, and committing to yourself is the first step in achieving greatness.

1. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, it is that we are powerful beyond measure.” —Marianne Williamson

2. “Right now, your competition is training.” —Unknown

3. “Be stronger than your excuses.” —Unknown

4. “What we face may look insurmountable. But I learned something from all those years of training and competing. I learned something from all those sets and reps when I didn’t think I could lift another ounce of weight. What I learned is that we are always stronger than we know.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger

5. “The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.” —Jesse Owens

6. “Don’t decrease the goal. Increase the effort.” —Tom Coleman

7. “The moment when you want to quit is the moment when you need to keep pushing.” —Unknown

8. “Don’t complain. Just work harder.” —Randy Pausch

9. “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” —Muhammad Ali

10. “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come.” —Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

11. “Don’t stop until you’re proud.” —Unknown

12. “I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel.” —Mia Hamm

13. “You don’t get the ass you want by sitting on it.” —Unknown

14. “Hustle for the muscle.” —Unknown

15. “One word: ‘fight.’ Anyone can do it when it feels good. When you’re hurting, that’s when it makes a difference, so you have to keep fighting.” —Erin Cafaro

16. “If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” —Ryan Blair

17. “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

18. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” —Bruce Lee

19. “Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase.” —Joseph Pilates

20. “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.” —Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis

21. “Surpassing my achievements feels incredible; I want to replicate that again and again.” —Katherine Reutter-Adamek

22. “The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” —Bobby Knight, in Knight: My Story

23. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but squats will make me badass.” —Unknown

24. “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” —Oprah Winfrey

25. “I’ve never lost a game. I just ran out of time.” —Michael Jordan

26. “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” —Jim Rohn

27. “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” —Yogi Berra

28. “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.” —Yogi Berra