51 Best Workout Quotes to Help You Get to Goal

Working out can be hard—but it's so worth it! These positive, inspirational quotes will give you the boost you need to power through and complete the best workout you can.

Working out is quite the interesting facet of life. It can often feel like an absolute chore, but one that almost always feels worthwhile and satisfying once it’s finished. And, of course, there are plenty of people who love working out and structure their entire day around it! Whatever your relationship with physical fitness and exercise, you can get a morale and motivation boost from these positive workout quotes. They’ll push you to run that extra distance, finish that extra rep, and live a healthy, fit lifestyle! These Monday motivation quotes will also help inspire you, and you can look to these sports quotes and strength quotes if you need even more words of wisdom to power through your workout.

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1. “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, actor, and politician

2. “Of course it’s hard. It’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. Hard is what makes it great.” —Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) in A League of Their Own

3. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10000 times.” —Bruce Lee, martial arts instructor and actor

4. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” —Arthur Ashe, pro tennis player. These “be yourself” quotes will help you embrace who you are.

5. “The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.” —Mia Hamm, pro soccer player

6. ¨Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but, because of lack of commitment.¨ —Vince Lombardi, football coach

7. “Success isn’t always about ‘greatness.’ It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come.” —Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor and retired professional wrestler

8. ¨Exercise is labor without weariness.¨ —Samuel Johnson, writer

9. “Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer. If you like working out outdoors, you’ll love these nature quotes!

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10. “It’s going to be a journey. It’s not a sprint to get in shape.” —Kerri Walsh Jennings, Olympic beach volleyball athlete

11. “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” —Jesse Owens, Olympic track and field athlete

12. “Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you’ve got a kingdom.” —Jack LaLanne, fitness and nutrition expert and motivational speaker

13. “Definition of a really good workout: when you hate doing it, but you love finishing it.” —Unknown

14. ¨Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.¨ —Michael Jordan, pro basketball player and businessman

15. “Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” —Unknown

16. “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” —Jerry Rook, basketball player. These leadership quotes will help catapult you to greatness.

17. “Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.” —Gene Tunney, pro boxer

18. “All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” —Michael John Bobak, artist

19. “I will beat her. I will train harder. I will eat cleaner. I know her strengths. I’ve lost to her before but not this time. She is going down. I have the advantage because I know her well. She is the old me.” —Unknown

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20. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan. Here are more great success quotes from notable people.

21. “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.” —Joseph Pilates, physical trainer and credited inventor of Pilates

22. “The difference between try and triumph is a little ‘umph.'” —Marvin Phillips, pro basketball player

23. ¨Look in the mirror. That’s your competition.¨ —John Assaraf, neuroscience researcher, mindset mentor, and author

24. “By choosing healthy over skinny, you are choosing self-love over self-judgment.” —Steve Maraboli, speaker, author, and behaviorist. Here are more self-love quotes everyone should read.

25. “Good things come to those who sweat.” —Unknown

26. “When I feel tired, I just think about how great I will feel once I finally reach my goal.” —Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer

27. ¨Put all excuses aside and remember this: You are capable.¨ —Zig Ziglar, personal development trainer and speaker

28. “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” —Plato, ancient philosopher

29. “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live in.” —Jim Rohn, entrepreneur and motivational speaker

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30. “There’s a lot of people in this world who spend so much time watching their health that they haven’t the time to enjoy it.” —Josh Billings, writer and humorist

31. “What seems impossible today will one day become your warm-up.” —Unknown

32. “Confidence comes from discipline and training.” —Robert Kiyosaki, author and businessman. These other confidence quotes will make you feel like you can do anything.

33. ¨If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.¨ —Hippocrates, ancient physician

34. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” —Earl Nightingale, author and radio personality

35. “Love yourself enough to live a happy lifestyle.” —Kelley Ranaudo, motivational blogger

36. “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

37. ¨The groundwork for all happiness is good health.¨ —Leigh Hunt, essayist and poet

38. “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.” —Jerry Dunn, basketball coach. In addition to these workout quotes, these uplifting quotes will help inspire you.

39. “I find that if I don’t have enough physical activity in life, I don’t do as well with anything else in my life. It’s stress relief; it’s good health.” —Betsy Hodges, former Minneapolis mayor

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40. “Keep working even when no one is watching.” —Alex Morgan, pro soccer player

41. “Proper nutrition is the difference between feeling exhausted and getting the most out of a workout.” —Summer Sanders, sports commentator and Olympic swimmer

42. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” —Vidal Sassoon, hairstylist and businessman

43. “You don’t have to be extreme, just consistent.” —Monique Lietz, writer. Read these quotes about change to feel more optimistic about the future.

44. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” —Sean Patrick Flanery, actor and author

45. ¨The human body is the best picture of the human soul.¨ —Ludwig Wittgenstein, 20th century philosopher

46. “I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.” —José N. Harris, author

47. “The reason I exercise is for the quality of life I enjoy.” —Kenneth H. Cooper, doctor and former Air Force Colonel

48. ¨Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.¨ Othello, William Shakespeare

49. “Don’t be afraid of being a beginner.” —Unknown

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50. ¨Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.¨—Joseph Addison, essayist and politician

51. “Your health is what you make of it. Everything you do and think either adds to the vitality, energy, and spirit you possess or takes away from it.”  —Ann Wigmore, health practitioner and author.

Working out takes patience—and these patience quotes will help inspire you to build that quality.

Meghan Jones
Meghan Jones is a word nerd who has been writing for RD.com since 2017. You can find her byline on pieces about grammar, fun facts, the meanings of various head-scratching words and phrases, and more. Meghan graduated from Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2017; her creative nonfiction piece “Anticipation” was published in the Spring 2017 issue of Angles literary magazine.