Top 25 Fitness Motivational Quotes

Top 25 Fitness Motivational Quotes

Chris Freytag, Fitness Expert for Prevention Magazine and ACE Board MemberBy Chris Freytag, Fitness Expert for Prevention Magazine & ACE Board Member

I am addicted to motivational words and phrases. I have them on my laptop screen saver and on my iPhone. I wear a necklace that says “Live Life Well”. I have bracelets with coins saying “Believe, Sweat, and Inspire”. I get energy from words. I glance at them, read them, repeat them and they channel my thoughts in a positive way. It’s a great way to keep you motivated with your fitness program. It can be as simple as putting the word or phrase on a post-it note on your computer or bathroom mirror – somewhere you will see it every day.

Here are 25 of my favorite motivational quotes from some famous and not-so-famous folks. I hope you find inspiration in them like I have!


1. Strive for progress, not perfection.
-Unknown

2. You want me to do something… tell me I can’t do it.
-Maya Angelou

3. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
-Wayne Gretzky

4. If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying.
-Unknown

5. You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted.
-Ruth E. Renkl

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

7. Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.
-Norman R. Augustine

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

9. Energy and persistence conquer all things.
-Benjamin Franklin

10. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
-Aesop

12. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein

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

14. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
-Jim Ryan

15. 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

16. Fear is what stops you… courages is what keeps you going.
-Unknown

17. The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.
-Unknown

18. The difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline.
-Steve Smith

19. Just do it.™ -Nike

20. In seeking happiness for others, you find it for yourself.
-Anonymous 

21. The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
-Mark Twain 

22. It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.
-Anonymous 

23. Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.
-Oprah Winfrey 

24. It’s never too late to become what you might have been.
-George Eliot 

25. Clear your mind of can’t.
-Samuel Johnson