300 Inspirational Powerlifting Quotes (2023)

1. Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' Mary Anne Radmacher

2. “To feel strong, to walk amongst humans with a tremendous feeling of confidence and superiority is not at all wrong. The sense of superiority in bodily strength is borne out by the long history of mankind paying homage in folklore, song and poetry to strong men.” – Fred Hatfield

3. There's no secret formula. I lift heavy, work hard, and aim to be the best. - Ronnie Coleman

4. Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. - Michael Jordan

5. “The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character. ”

6. Most people give up right before the big break comes—don't let that person be you. - Michael Boyle

7. I don't do this to be healthy, I do this to get big muscles. - Markus Ruhl

8. “Big is not strong, strong is strong.”

9. A champion is someone who gets up when he can't. - Jack Dempsey

10. “You need to be in a gym where people are about at your level, but where you’ve got guys who know more and can lift more than you.”

11. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for. ”

12. I'm the strongest bodybuilding who ever lived, I think. - Franco Columbu

13. “In training, you listen to your body. In competition, you tell your body to shut up. ”

14. “There are two types of people in this world, predators and prey.”

15. For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

16. They can crack jokes. They can sit back and analyze and criticize and make all the fun they want. But I'm living my life, I'm doing it. What are you doing? - Jay Cutler

17. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred Devito

18. When you've got something to prove, there's nothing greater than a challenge. – Terry Bradshaw

19. “The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to others.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

20. Make each day your masterpiece. – John Wooden

21. “In a perfect world, 99% of the music being made wouldn’t make you question humanity and 100% of the training programs would get you big and strong. That ain’t the case, though.

22. The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. – Muhammad Ali

23. Courage is looking fear right in the eye and saying, 'Get the hell out of my way, I've got things to do.' – Unknown

24. The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer. – John Madden

25. You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. – Marcus Aurelius

26. “The only way you can beat me is if I die.” – Ed Coan

27. I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve - not only to please the coach and the fans - but also to feel satisfied with myself. - Cristiano Ronaldo

28. The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit. - Morihei Ueshiba

29. Why have you not broken from the pack? You're playing it safe. Safe aint gonna get you sh!t in this world – Stone Cold Steve Austin

30. Complaining that your leg curl numbers have gone down since you started deadlifting is like complaining that masturbation has become boring since you started having sex with supermodels. - Jim Wendler

31. Trust me, if you do an honest 20 rep program, at some point Jesus will talk to you. On the last day of the program, he asked if he could work in. - Mark Rippetoe

32. Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it. - George Halas

33. “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. ”

34. The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination. – Tommy Lasorda

35. “To feel strong, to walk amongst humans with a tremendous feeling of confidence and superiority is not at all wrong. The sense of superiority in bodily strength is borne out by the long history of mankind paying homage in folkore, song and poetry to strong men.”

36. “Louie’s training methodology is backed up by his athlete’s results. Currently his gym holds 5 of the top 10 powerlifting totals of all time, the greatest squat and bench co-efficiently of all time and the strongest male and female powerlifter of all time.

37. “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”

38. In training, you listen to your body. In competition, you tell your body to shut up. - Rich Froning

39. Arguing about strength training theory is stupid, the reason I came up with 5/3/1 was that I wanted a program that eliminated stupid thoughts from my head and just let me go into the weight room and get shit done. I've been training for 20 years, and this is what I've learned. - Jim Wendler

40. I don't care what you USED to bench. – Serge Ceralde

41. Why so-called compound movements? Before I actually knew anything about proper training (and this is not to imply that I know even a fraction of what there is to know now), I realized that there was something, an indefinable something, that wasn't 'right' about a number of bodybuilders who trained in the gym where I also trained. (This is not to be misconstrued as a criticism of all bodybuilders. Many have a great deal of athletic ability and fine, athletic-appearing physiques.) One such man was an advanced trainee (in the sense that he had been training a number of years and had won a number of local physique titles). However, he was missing a certain athletic quality, a harmonious look. My brother put the finger on it when he observed, 'He looks like a bunch of bodyparts pasted together. He's all there, big and all, but the total picture looks awkward-no grace, no glow, no...' The point had been made. - Dr. Ken Leistner

42. “The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.”

43. If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous. - Bret Contreras

44. “The key to success is consistency. You have to be willing to work hard every day and never give up.” – Becca Swanson

45. Winners do what they fear. - Franco Columbu

46. “Run with the lame, develop a limp.”

47. “It is in the personal world that man must search for answers to the riddles of his life. Here he will find valor, here he will find faith, here he will find endurance.” Bruce Lee #adventure

48. Being negative and lazy is a disease that leads to pain, hardships, depression, poor health and failure. Be proactive and give a damn to achieve success! - Phil Heath

49. It doesn't matter what program you're on, it doesn't matter what drug, what supplement, what bench shirt, nothing, none of that matters. What matters is what's inside of you, it's your pride, it's your heart. If you don't have any of that for this sport, you're never going to be the best. Cause I can tell you there's a common trait amongst the great lifters that I've ever met, is they all have an undying desire to be the best, or the best they can be. – Brandon Lilly

50. “There’s no secret formula. I lift heavy, work hard, and aim to be the best. ”

51. I believe you should train with the program you believe in. I'm out of the 'justify my program' business; follow the path that will lead you to glorious times, to quote Ramesses. - Jim Wendler

52. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. – Walt Disney

53. Think about someone you hate, think about someone that pisses you off, think about something that drives you, think about something that motivates you. My brother passing away a couple years ago, changed my life in a lot of different ways, in some ways it's very hard to explain. But for some of you out there, you may know what I'm talking about – some of you who've lost somebody. I can draw upon that any time I want and I feel like I can lift the freaking world when I think about that situation. – Mark Bell

54. I've missed more than 9,000 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

55. “That’s what this gym is…a journey into hell.”

56. “You can’t be great unless you take risks and push yourself beyond your comfort zone.” – Dan Green

57. I don't feel sorry for those who lack the discipline to eat more. - JM Blakely

58. 15 minutes a day! Give me just this and I'll prove I can make you a new man. - Charles Atlas

59. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. ”

60. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. ”

61. “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.”

62. Rest doesn't come on any specific week or day. When you feel it, it comes. You need to keep your baseline strength level high and never take too much time off. You have to be strong to be trainable. You want to be at 90 percent strength or higher at all times. You don't want to be at 80 percent strength and then have to work yourself to death to get back to the place where you can start to really train and get stronger again. - Louie Simmons

63. Don't be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed. - LeBron James

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65. “If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied. ”

66. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. - Joseph Addison

67. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

68. “You can do anything you put your mind to if you work hard enough.” – Ronnie Coleman

69. If you're training hard and heavy with the goal of lifting something awesome, something is always going to hurt. Whether it's your wrists, elbows, knees, hamstring, or even something ridiculous like a serratus muscle, one bodypart or another is always going to be giving you some bullshit. The elite athletes train in spite of or around those injuries. Sometimes they get worse, sometimes they get better, and sometimes they just get supplanted by another recalcitrant body part. Any way you cut it, something's always going to be bothering you. Suck it the **** up and keep going. - Jamie Lewis

70. “Just remember, somewhere, a little Chinese girl is warming up with your max.” – Jim Conroy

71. I was never a natural athlete, but I paid my dues in sweat and concentration, and took the time necessary to learn karate and became a world champion. - Chuck Norris

72. Everyone has the ability to accomplish unique feats, everyone. You choose this. Become someone great in one other life. Forget about failing to many. Who cares? Doesn't matter when you start or finish, just start, no deviations, no excuses. - Tom Platz

73. “You have to make a choice: You can either be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It all depends on how you view your life.” – Lou Ferrigno

74. You are right to be wary. There is much bullshit. Be wary of me too, because I may be wrong. Make up your own mind after you evaluate all the evidence and the logic. - Mark Rippetoe

75. You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. – Herb Brooks

76. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Unknown

77. You must understand that the workout does not actually produce muscular growth. The workout is merely a trigger that sets the body's growth mechanism into motion. It is the body itself, of course, that produces growth; but it does so only during a sufficient rest period. - Mike Mentzer

78. I never think about losing. - Lou Ferrigno

79. “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

80. I will either find a way or make one. - Hannibal

81. “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. ”

82. Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase. – Joseph Pilates

83. As soon as a milestone is passed, it's significance fades, and the focus is shifted to some other marker further down the road. No matter what you do or how satisfying it is in that beautiful moment in time, immediately you want more. You have to, if you want to find out how good you can be. - Glenn Pendlay

84. It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. What you need is what I had – belief in yourself! - Branch Warren

85. Your body, despite the science that says 'X number of reps is better for this, Y for that' will get stronger if it is overloaded. Dr. Ken Leistner

86. When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful. – Eric Thomas

87. I've made many good friends in bodybuilding, though there are few I'd trust to oil my back. - Lee Labrada

88. If you aren't going all the way, why go at all? – Joe Namath

89. “I don't diet and exercise. I eat and train.”

90. It's a rare individual who lets themselves be steered by what they feel is their own passion. - Dave Tate

91. There's more to life than training, but training is what puts more in your life. - Brooks Kubik

92. “There is no perfect time. No perfect opportunity. No perfect situation. No perfect moment. You either make it happen, or you don’t. You don’t wait for it to fall in your lap. You take it.”

93. “I wouldn’t tell somebody that they weren’t a powerlifter because they only bench pressed, or they only bench pressed and deadlifted, but, what the hell is wrong with squatting? What are you, afraid? I thought powerlifters were supposed to be big, tough guys. Strap your cock on, leave your pussy at home, put a bar on your back and bend your knees!” – Kirk Karwoski

94. Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it. - Mike Tyson

95. “The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens. ”

96. Far too many bodybuilders spend too much time exercising the smaller muscle groups such as the biceps at the expense of the larger muscle groups such as the thighs, and then they wonder why it is that they never make gains in overall size and strength. - Reg Park

97. “Being strong doesn’t start in the gym. It starts in your head. ”

98. It is harder to be a lifter than a bodybuilder...lifting is purely masculine whereas bodybuilding entails feminine traits. Bodybuilding reminds me of a woman getting ready to go somewhere. Can you tell me that greasing your body up and posing in front of a mirror is masculine? A bodybuilder puts strength secondary to his physique, whereas the lifter puts strength foremost because it is more masculine to do so. - Doug Hepburn

99. Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart. - Gene Tunney

100. Clear your mind of can't. - Samuel Johnson

101. “Paris 2024 will finally separate us, because I promise to win gold and bring a new world record.”

102. Working chest, delts, tris, and biceps works approximately 10% of your overall lean body mass. Working hard on deadlifts (bent legged, trap Bar, or sumo) or squatting (not necessarily at the same time) works more like 70% of your musculature at once and sends a strong message to your body to get better at growing now! - Wesley Silveira

103. Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

104. “If you start lifting weights, you will expect to put weight on, as muscle is heavier than fat. But you have to look more at your body shape, you will get heavier, but you might get smaller and heavier at the same time, which is fine. And it doesen’t really matter what you weigh as long as you are happy with your shape and size.”

105. If you're a crazy person, you have to go crazy in the gym. If you're not a crazy person, I want you calm. When you're training, music is very important for matching who you are as a person to what you're trying to achieve. - Louie Simmons

106. 7 months straight. No stopping, no maintenance weeks, no cheat meals. Why? Because if someone beat me, I didn't want to look back at any cheat meals and ask what if". I did what it took every single day, and THAT is why I looked the way I did. You either want it or you don't. Just so you know, there wasn't a day that went by in the last 8-10 weeks of that prep where I didn't want just ONE extra yogurt, or 5 less intervals of cardio. But, I was not going to be outworked! I was NOT going to be denied! And you know what? It was all worth it. - Tommy Jeffers

107. Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible. – Frank L. Gaines

108. If a man tells you he doesn't lift because he doesn't want to get too bulky, then his testicles have been removed. - Paul Carter

109. Don't have $100 shoes and a 10 cent squat. - Louie Simmons

110. “The pain of discipline is nothing like the pain of disappointment. ”

111. You need to be in a gym where people are about at your level, but where you've got guys who know more and can lift more than you. If your goal is to become better, though, you have to know when it's time to move on to a better gym with stronger people training there. - Louie Simmons

112. “Passion trumps everything” – Dave Tate

113. “The strongest person in the world isn’t necessarily the one who can lift the most; it’s the one who can endure the most.” – David Goggins

114. “When you feel like quitting, think about why you started. ”

115. There are no shortcuts. The fact that a shortcut is important to you means that you are a pussy. - Mark Rippetoe

116. “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general. ” - Mark Rippetoe

117. “Please don’t tease me. If Omar breaks my record, I will simply win the record back.”

118. “Most powerlifters share some common defects. We, as a whole for whatever reason, LOVE to punish, beat and torture ourselves beyond the limits of mind and body. It is our spirit that prevails. This defect of intelligence and sensibility pushes us on to the next level, makes us better and stronger. We all have lifted sick and badly hurt. When this subject comes up with normal people and other meatheads, we all have that prideful smile when we talk about lifting with a 100 degree temperature or a torn groin. Thank God that therapy doesn’t work on us.” – Kirk Karwoski

119. Remember this: your body is your slave; it works for you. – Jack LaLanne

120. Bleed success. Eat. Sleep. Mate. Defend. - Jim Wendler

121. Accumulating injuries are the price we pay for the thrill of not having sat around on our asses. - Mark Rippetoe

122. “From my first Paralympics at Sydney 2000 I have been waiting for god and my body to tell me when to stop, but that hasn’t come yet. So I'll keep going.”

123. “I love training more than anything else I do. You’ve got to if you want to be a bodybuilder. I love every exercise, you name it. Any exercise you give me, I take it as a challenge and I can make it my favorite. That’s how you become a pro bodybuilder. You learn to love every rep of every exercise and treat it like its special. ” - Dennis James

124. “Coaches should try asking the athletes for his or her input. Their responses may be surprising.”

125. Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential. – Liane Cardes

126. I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline. – Jack LaLanne

127. Intensity builds immensity. – Kevin Levrone

128. “If you run with the lame you will develop a limp.”

129. Most powerlifters share some common defects, as a whole for whatever reason, LOVE to punish, beat and torture ourselves beyond the limits of mind and body. It is our spirit that prevails. This defect of intelligence and sensibility pushes us onto the next level, makes us better and stronger. We all have lifted sick and badly hurt. When this subject comes up with normal people and other meatheads, we all have the prideful smile when we talk about lifting with a 100 degree temperature or a torn groin. Thank God that therapy doesn't work on us. - Kirk Karwoski

130. I'm no expert on training books, but I can tell you how to get a built-in Bullshit Detector. Are you ready for this pearl of wisdom? Sit down and take out your pen or even better, write this in your own blood and semen: Train like a motherf***er for 10 years, no breaks, no bullshit, nothing but you and the bar, the rack and some chalk! Once you do this, you'll be able to read most things about training and realize if they're full of $hit or not. - Jim Wendler

131. Sometimes you don't realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness. – Susan Gale

132. Weight lifting is about lifting the impossible, overcoming the unachievable. If you don't lift things that are hard, and only do the things you can do, it's only going to get boring. Unless you want to lift beyond your limits to get stronger, to achieve new goals, and to be satisfied, you got to lift past these challenges, and still lift the things you think are impossible to really understand how your true strength will show. Lift how I lift, see how I lift, watch how I lift, learn how I lift, and your true strength will come forth and be revealed. – Chasers Holmes

133. Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein

134. If you're capable of sending a legible text message between sets, you probably aren't working hard enough. - Dave Tate

135. “I’ve been called every name. I’ve been called too skinny. I’ve been called too fat. I’ve been called too muscular. I think once you get to a place where there are so many more important things, like how you’re training and what your training goals are, you stop caring. I’m at a point where I don’t even care how I look. I think I look fine and I look happy, but that’s not my main focus anymore, which is so freeing. I can go to the gym and only focus on this one thing—getting better and getting stronger.”

136. “Train hard and don’t give up until you see results.” – Bill Kazmaier

137. “Working chest, delts, tris, and biceps work is approximately 10% of your overall lean body mass. Working hard on deadlifts (bent legged, trap Bar, or sumo) or squatting (not necessarily at the same time) works more like 70% of your musculature at once and sends a strong message to your body to get better at growing now.”

138. Last time I checked, lifting theory has a PR of zero. - Steve Shaw

139. If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win. – Carl Lewis

140. “We have the World Championships in Georgia, beginning 27 November. Remember this day and remember this conversation. There, I will be back on top.”

141. Most talented players don't always succeed. Some don't even make the team. It's more what's inside. - Brett Favre

142. Forget failure. Forget mistakes. Forget everything, except what you're going to do now. And do it. - Lou Ferrigno

143. If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat. - Herschel Walker

144. “There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself. ”

145. “Weak things break.”

146. “By viewing the body as a machine, I have used my technical background as an engineer to maximize the efficiency of the human diet. Through the lens of my training in chemical engineering, I have concluded that the human organic machine achieves maximal productivity on a predominantly plant-based diet. As a result of this conclusion, I have been able to develop exceptional strength and muscle mass not despite, but because I consume a plant-based diet.”

147. “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. ”

148. “Discipline is the bridge between your bodybuilding goals and bodybuilding success. ”

149. “The only way to become the best is to push yourself beyond your limits.” – Unknown

150. Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records. - William A. Ward

151. Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It's something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success. - Vince Lombardi

152. I think it's more important to be fit so that you can be healthy and enjoy activities than it is to have a good body. - Rachel Blanchard

153. “Don’t be afraid to fail or look like a fool. These are necessary milestones on your way to the top.”

154. “And what I’m telling you now is not for you to go out and try the same ways I try, or not to even try my technique. Just put it to your personality, put it to yourself, and you develop your workout. Cause those books and things, those are other people’s gimmicks and hypes. Build your own gimmick and hype, and that’ll make you a better powerlifter. Not just doin’ it like James does it, cause if you try to fly off the building like superman you’ll be out there in the middle of the street.” – James Henderson

155. 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

156. “Don’t have $100 shoes and a 10 cents squat.”

157. “If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous. ”

158. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

159. Rule of thumb: Eat for what you're going to be doing and not for what you have done. Don't take in more than you're willing to burn off. – Lee Haney

160. “Think about someone you hate, think about someone that pisses you off, think about something that drives you, think about something that motivates you. My brother passing away a couple years ago, changed my life in a lot of different ways, in some ways it’s very hard to explain. But for some of you out there, you may know what I’m talking about – some of you who’ve lost somebody. I can draw upon that any time I want and I feel like I can lift the freaking world when I think about that situation.“ – Mark Bell

161. “Most powerlifters share some common defects, as a whole for whatever reason, love to punish, beat, and torture ourselves beyond the limits of mind and body. It is our spirit that prevails. This defect of intelligence and sensibility pushes us onto the next level. Makes us better and stronger. We all have lifted sick and badly hurt. When this subject comes up with normal people and other meatheads, we all have the prideful smile when we talk about lifting with a 100 degree temperature or a torn groin. Thank God that therapy doesn’t work on us.”

162. True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united. - Wilhelm von Humboldt

163. “You can’t be great at anything unless you are willing to put in the work.” – Chad Aichs

164. Regarding the mantra 'There is no overtraining.' Just because you can handle large amounts of volume doesn't mean it's needed. That's the crux of the issue. Just because the body can tolerate something doesn't mean it's a necessity for progress. This is simply poor logic. - Steve Shaw

165. No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. – Socrates

166. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred Hatfield

167. No matter how sick you are, no matter what current strains and pains you have, when it's in your blood your only concern is to find a way to enter the gym and crush iron. - Steve Shaw

168. Just remember, somewhere, a little Chinese girl is warming up with your max. – Jim Conroy

169. That's the classic nature of people, though. We'll skip the basics and get pissed when the sexy stuff doesn't work. - Martin Rooney

170. “Just when your body has all the answers, you have to change the questions.”

171. “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying. ”

172. “Don’t fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn’t matter. Start doing and believing in the stuff that works, and do it today and forever. You want science and studies? Fuck you, I’ve got scars and blood and vomit.“ – Jim Wendler

173. 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

174. The road to nowhere is paved with excuses. - Mark Bell

175. The problem with many hypertrophy-based programs is that they leave out the strength component. You might get bigger as a result of the program, but if you don't get any stronger you're still a chump in my book. That's right, I don't care how big you are, if you aren't strong you're a sham. Having big muscles and no strength is the training equivalent of wearing a strap-on. All show and no go. End of story. - Jim Wendler

176. There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that produces the level of central nervous system activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density enhancement, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning than the correctly performed full squat. - Mark Rippetoe

177. There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you're OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between. - Pat Riley

178. My old routine was McDonald's on the way to the gym, coffee during my workout, Burger King and Copenhagen post-workout. - Dave Tate

179. It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters. - Evander Holyfield

180. Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do. - John Wooden

181. Sacking up is 90%. - Steve Shaw

182. You guys that worry about eating clean are actually merely bodybuilders looking for justification for your obsession with abs. You cannot get big and strong on 3000 kcal/day. And you cannot eat 7000/day and eat perfectly clean. - Mark Rippetoe

183. “Unless you want to lift beyond your limits to get stronger, to achieve new goals, and to be satisfied, you have to lift past these challenges and still lift the things you think are impossible to really understand how your true strength will show. Lift how I lift, see how I lift, watch how I lift, learn how I lift, and your true strength will come forth and be revealed.”

184. “Don’t have $100.00 shoes and a 10 cent Squat.” – Louie Simmons

185. “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” – Thomas Jefferson

186. If you don't learn from your mistakes, then they become regrets. - John Cena

187. “It doesn’t matter how much weight you lift, it’s how you lift it that counts. That’s what powerlifting is all about – pushing your limits with perfect form.” – Steve Goggins

188. “It’s not about how much weight you can lift; it’s about how much weight you can lift with proper form.” – Mark Rippetoe

189. If you insist on wearing gloves, make sure they match your purse. - Mark Rippetoe

190. “You must be willing to do what others won’t do in order to accomplish what others can’t do.” – Mark Henry

191. I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate. - George Burns

192. When they get a 50-inch waist and a gorilla butt, it's ugly looking - and I think bodybuilding has become ugly looking. - Joe Gold

193. Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is. – Dorian Yates

194. Personally, I need a high level of physical fitness in order to feel at ease. - Jurgen Klinsmann

195. “You shall gain, but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit. ”

196. “I have thought about training sessions weeks in advance. For instance, if a big squat workout is scheduled for the middle of next month, I am aware of it as the days pass by. One-week prior I’ll make sure not to walk too much or engage in any unnecessary activity. I used to plan my classes in college with minimum walking distance between them.” – Tom Platz

197. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. ”

198. If your family was captured and you were told you needed to put 100 pounds onto your max squat within two months or your family would be executed, would you squat once per week? Something tells me that you'd start squatting every day. - John Broz

199. I always get suspicious whenever someone suggests that it's the fruit in their diet that's making them fat. I've seen a lot of crazy things in my time, but I've yet to encounter anyone whose admitted to polishing off a bag of apples while watching Dancing with the Stars. - Shelby Starnes

200. You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself. - Larry Brown

201. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. ” - Ayn Rand

202. If you always put limit 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

203. “Your mind needs to be stronger than the workout” 💪

204. To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them. – Picabo Street

205. “Success doesn’t come easy, but when you put in the effort and believe in yourself, anything is possible.” – Ed Coan

206. If a man achieves victory over this body, who in the world can exercise power over him? He who rules himself rules over the whole world. - Vinoba Bhave

207. Don't ever believe you have nothing to lose. There's always something to be lost when you change something or try something new. Nothing is ever free. Not even experience. - Paul Carter

208. 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

209. NOT training everyday leads to more injuries! If you train everyday then your entire body is fatigued. Muscles, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, etc. When you train every other day, then the muscles and avascular tissues don't recover at the same pace. What happens is the muscles become fresh and recover but all the connective tissue is NOT. When the additional stress put on these weakened tissues (that never really got a chance to recover) by fresh muscles equals injury. Lifting everyday keeps everything in a state that is equal and consistent within the system. A balance or harmony within. The fatigued muscles can't contract enough to harm the other tissues. The weak link moves from body part to body part, and in a sense is not letting the other parts max so that's when they are resting! - John Broz

210. Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz

211. An hour of basketball feels like 15 minutes. An hour on a treadmill feels like a weekend in traffic school. – David Walters

212. Biceps are like ornaments on a Christmas tree. - Ed Coan

213. Victory isn't defined by wins and losses, it's defined by effort. - Kai Greene

214. There are no magic workout programs. The magic is inside of you. - Steve Shaw

215. “I want her to look at me. I want her to stare me in the eye. I want her to see that I have no fear. I want her to know she stands no chance. I want her to be scared. I want her to know she is going to lose.”

216. I don't eat for taste, I eat for function. - Jay Cutler

217. Passion trumps everything. – Dave Tate

218. “If you want something you’ve never had, then you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” – Unknown

219. “Pain is temporary; glory lasts forever.” – Unknown

220. “Me doing what I’m doing is letting other people of color and other black women know: ‘Hey you can lift weights, too.’ Not only can you lift weights. You can try CrossFit, go backpacking, hike mountains, the list goes on. You don’t have to be a certain color to do any of these things. You can do whatever you want.”

221. “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. ”

222. “Get strong or die trying” – Unknown

223. You were given this life, because you are strong enough to live it. – Robin Sharma

224. I also agree with you about the whole paralysis by analysis thing. Yes, you have to be smart in your training, and yes, you have to think it through and plan it -- but you also have to chalk your hands, grab the bar and lift it. That's where so many people go wrong. - Brooks Kubik

225. “The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back. The Iron never lies to you. ”

226. “The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.

227. “It does not take a fucking happy individual to do this shit, to lift these kinds of weight is not a happy thing, it’s not something you do if you are content and happy and everything is going fantastic and your life is wonderful, that’s not what it is. You do not try an pick up 800 pounds and fucking look like you’re going to fucking kill somebody before you do it, because everything is fucking great.

228. “Did you ever notice that those who criticize the strong or the elite are usually weaker or less successful than those they pass judgement on, and those who are strong or elite in their respective sports rarely condemn those who are not as strong or as successful as they are.”

229. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. - Mahatma Gandhi

230. “Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody wanna lift no heavy ass weight. ” – Ronnie Coleman

231. “The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character. ” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

232. “Success isn’t given; it’s earned. On the track, in the gym, with blood, sweat and the occasional tear.” – Unknown

233. Not only are squats not bad for the knees, every legitimate research study on this subject has shown that squats improve knee stability and therefore help reduce the risk of injuries. - Charles Poliquin

234. When I go out there onstage, I want to be more than just a blocky guy who waddles onto the posing platform. I want the girls to feel something. - Tom Platz

235. “The only limits in life are those you set for yourself.” – Mark Bell

236. “People used to say that if women worked out, they would become masculine-looking or wouldn’t be able to get pregnant. We just laughed because we knew they were wrong.”

237. “Normal people will accomplish normal things.”

238. To achieve success, whatever the job we have, we must pay a price. - Vince Lombardi

239. It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. - Vince Lombardi

240. Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear. – George Addair

241. Always remember this...there is only ONE recipe for strength. A secret recipe that was handed down from Sandow to John Grimek to Paul Anderson to Vasily Alexeev to Bill Kazmaier to me. Now I'm giving YOU that magical recipe…hard work plus proper nutrition plus time equals strong. - Steve Pulcinella

242. 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

243. “You’re going to have to let it hurt. Let it suck. The harder you work, the better you will look. Your appearance isn’t parallel to how heavy you lift, it’s parallel to how hard you work. ”

244. “No matter how much it hurts, keep going. Pain is temporary but quitting lasts forever.” – Kai Greene

245. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

246. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

247. “It’s about medals, not numbers. I will lift whatever it takes to win the gold medal. If I had to lift 250kg today that would have been no problem. I have done it at home in Jordan.”

248. Bodybuilding saved my life because I overcame the nerd stage. I got picked on. I was fascinated with power, and then I decided to take that direction because I knew that would make me feel good about myself. - Lou Ferrigno

249. If you ain't pissed off for greatness, that just means you're okay with being mediocre. - Ray Lewis

250. The longer I train, the less and less shit I do. The less shit I do, the stronger I get. The more I emphasize recovery, the stronger I get. - Paul Carter

251. The deadlift also serves as a way to train the mind to do things that are hard. - Mark Rippetoe

252. Sell yourself short on nutrition and you're selling yourself short on maximizing your physique development. - Ernie Taylor

253. “Intensity is just another word for pain. You should feel that intensity every time you pick up a weight. If I don’t feel the sensation of this intensity down to my bones, then I know that have to increase my focus and my weight. It gives me great satisfaction. ” – Claude Groulx

254. You've got to block out all distractions when you train. Your focus has to be 100% into the rep. You've got to get into a zone. You know you're in the zone when guys in the gym look you in the eye and then quickly turn away 'cause they see the fire. You've got to be all business. – Mike Matarazzo

255. Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible. - Frank Zane

256. “Strong is the new skinny” – powerlifting is my new hobby 💪 I love it.

257. “A lifter must raise his mental and emotional limits, or he won’t raise his weights.”

258. I'm an extremist, and I hope to be remembered that way: non-compliant and an artist. I do not want to be remembered as a nice guy. I want to be the slayer of Bambi. - David Dearth

259. I will sacrifice whatever is necessary to be the best. - J. J. Watt

260. “It doesn’t matter what program you’re on, it doesn’t matter what drug, what supplement, what bench shirt, nothing, none of that matters. What matters is what’s inside of you, it’s your pride, it’s your heart. If you don’t have any of that for this sport, you’re never going to be the best. Cause I can tell you there’s a common trait amongst the great lifters that I’ve ever met, is they all have an undying desire to be the best, or the best they can be.“ – Brandon Lilly

261. The best activities for your health are pumping and humping. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

262. On the Internet, everyone squats. In real life, the squat rack is always empty. You figure out what this means. - Steve Shaw

263. To feel strong, to walk amongst humans with a tremendous feeling of confidence and superiority is not at all wrong. The sense of superiority in bodily strength is borne out by the long history of mankind paying homage in folklore, song and poetry to strong men. - Fred Hatfield

264. Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time. - Vince Lombardi

265. Think about it this way: If you break a max by 5 pounds a month, that's 60 pounds a year. If you keep doing that, you're going to be a bad dude. - Louie Simmons

266. The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit. – Ken Doherty

267. You have to push past your perceived limits, push past that point you thought was as far as you can go. - Drew Brees

268. Don't be scared to lift heavy! You won't get huge and bulky, you'll get amazing. - Jessie Hilgenberg

269. I'm not sold on one diet philosophy. I'm sold on whatever will work for you. - Dave Tate

270. If you have discipline, drive, determination, nothing is impossible. - Dana Linn Bailey

271. So if you want to follow a diet plan, get on the Zone diet or Paleo diet and triple the protein requirements. Simple as that. Do so with protein powders and whole foods. Eat a ton of protein. Squat heavy. Push heavy objects. Have sex. Love life. - Jim Wendler

272. There is no reason to be alive if you can't do the deadlift! - Jon Pall Sigmarsson

273. “Most people give up right before the big break comes — don’t let that person be you. ”

274. “If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.” – Louis Simmons

275. To anyone that ever tells you that you can't do something – tell them to go f**k themselves. – Guy Cisternino

276. That's a good weight for a small woman. – Dorian Yates

277. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious don't live at all. – Ashley L

278. Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Chinese Proverb

279. If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied. - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

280. Make sure your worst enemy doesn't live between your own two ears. – Laird Hamilton

281. “You have to push past your perceived limits, push past that point you thought was as far as you can go. ”

282. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. - Wayne Gretzky

283. Half-reps may build your ego but they also build half a physique. - Craig Cecil

284. “If you’re training hard and heavy with the goal of lifting something awesome, something is always going to hurt. Whether it’s your wrists, elbows, knees, hamstring, or even something ridiculous like a serratus muscle, one body part or another is always going to be giving you some bullshit. The elite athletes train in spite of or around those injuries. ”

285. Remember - If you want to beat the man, you've gotta out-eat the man! - JM Blakely

286. The pain of discipline is nothing like the pain of disappointment. – Justin Langer

287. I would like to be the first man in the gym business to throw out my scale. If you don't like what you see in the mirror, what difference does it make what the scale says? - Vince Gironda

288. A weak man is not as happy as that same man would be if he were strong. This reality is offensive to some people who would like the intellectual or spiritual to take precedence. It is instructive to see what happens to these very people as their squat strength goes up. - Mark Rippetoe

289. When I get closer to a show and have to back off from training and cardio, I use sex as an aid to help me burn calories. Look at it this way: The risk of getting injured is zero to none. - J. J. Marsh

290. Most of the problems with the bodies and minds of the folks occupying the current culture involve an unwillingness to do anything hard, or anything that they'd rather not do. I applaud your resolve, and I welcome you to the community of people who have decided that EASY will no longer suffice. - Mark Rippetoe

291. “Some people like to live without too much risk. They’re satisfied leading a safe existence. This attitude of caution infiltrates into their goals. Every successful athlete – or businessperson – enjoys taking calculated risks. You have to. Especially in the gym when you’re squatting 500 for reps and you can’t get one more but grunt out ten. Your nose starts bleeding, you fall into the rack? and that’s set one.” – Tom Platz

292. “If you ever lack the motivation to train then think what happens to your mind & body when you don’t. ”

293. Keep your blood clean, your body lean, and your mind sharp. – Henry Rollins

294. You're going to have to let it hurt. Let it suck. The harder you work, the better you will look. Your appearance isn't parallel to how heavy you lift, it's parallel to how hard you work. - Joe Manganiello

295. Physical strength is the most important thing in life. This is true whether we want it to be or not. - Mark Rippetoe

296. “Bodybuilding isn’t 90 minutes in the gym. It’s a lifestyle. ”

297. “There are two types of pains, one that hurts you and the other that changes you. ”

298. Stimulate don't annihilate. - Lee Haney

299. It wasn't until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can't be as bad as that workout. – Henry Rollins

300. You shall gain, but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit. - Pavel Tsatsouline

301. You can work technique all you want at 30 and 40 percent of your one-rep max using multiple sets and low reps, but technique is still going to be influenced by what's on the bar. You may look good at 50 percent but 80 percent may look like shit. - Dave Tate

302. There are two types of Pain in this world: Pain that hurts you, and Pain that changes you. – Unknown

303. “Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.” – Henry Rollins

304. “Not being willing to try is the beginning of the end.”

305. Anyone under 200 pounds is a woman - Matt Rhodes

306. “To be a champion, you must act like a champion. ”

307. “If you’re training hard and heavy with the goal of lifting something awesome, something is always going to hurt. Whether it’s your wrists, elbows, knees, hamstring, or even something ridiculous like a serratus muscle, one body part or another is always going to be giving you some bullshit. The elite athletes train in spite of or around those injuries.”

308. “To win, you’ll have to put yourself through hell.”

309. Most champions are built by punch the clock workouts rather than extraordinary efforts. - Dan John

310. Did you ever notice those who criticize the strong or the elite are usually weaker or less successful than those they pass judgment on. And those who are strong or elite in their respective sports rarely condemn those who are not as strong or as successful as they are. - Louie Simmons

311. At the end of the day it's not a weight contest, it's a visual contest. And it doesn't matter what you say you weigh, if you don't look that big then you don't look that big. - Dorian Yates

312. I always leave the heavy ones for meets. They don't mean shit in the gym and I'll end up overtraining. That's what I used to do when I was younger, but I could get away with it then. Overtraining is really common in powerlifting, just like bodybuilding. - Ed Coan