Most Motivational Threads or Posts

[Aviaaaf]

Thanks

[TroyGuy]

Hey everyone, bodybuilding.com just posted my article on Body Transformation “Bigger with Age”. A lot of people have been providing feedback as it being very inspirational and informative so I thought I’d share it with you. Here is the link…please "like" it on ******** and comment at the bottom of the article:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/body...-with-age.html

Steve (TroyGuy)

[DarrenConroy]

Hey everyone, bodybuilding.com just posted my article on Body Transformation “Bigger with Age”. A lot of people have been providing feedback as it being very inspirational and informative so I thought I’d share it with you. Here is the link…please "like" it on ******** and comment at the bottom of the article:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/body...-with-age.html

Steve (TroyGuy)

Great share big man! Hope all is well!!

[DarrenConroy]

The Golden Age is always motivating!!

[julian17marth]

All very insporational, makes you wanna get up and blast some weights!!

[SammySprinkler]

in. such good motivation

[art29]

very interesting)

[golfstar22]

Good pic.

[calvinphilips]

These are pretty good and motivational quotes. Hope to view some more similar quotes.

[LeeBroome]

Some awesome transformations.

That's where I get most of my motivation, although sometimes it is nice to read what others think about what motivates them to be better, great thread!

[whtcoupe]

thanks

[GeorgeConte]

I have gathered a post here with my favorite diet and fitness motivational quotes.

The ones i love are:

"A man is not finished when he is defeated, he is finished when he quits."
"Train like an athlete, eat like a nutritionist, sleep like a baby, win like a champion."

Also people say that my personal story about how I lost 121 pounds of fat, or half of my bodyreally inspires them!

[markzeus]

Why would you take what Arnold says with a grain of salt? He basically made weight lifting and bodybuilding sky rocket to popularity in a time when team sports dominated every aspect of American culture. Ive read his "Encyclepedia" and use it constantly as a reference.

He is also mine Motivational hero.Arnold's early years in bodybuilding, competed in several Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting contests.He never advice grain of salt.

[bodyforgolf]

Here is a post from another forum, a golf forum. The subject is over weather a 8 handicap(medium skilled player) can make a cut at the masters(a huge event).
-----------------------
You guys amaze me.

Of yourse you could do it.

So many people take their mind and use it against them - defeat themselves before they can even break down the problem to achieve the goal.

Yes, you can.

Yes, you can.

Yes, I can.

I, can.

You can do anything in life you choose to pursue. Not believing in yourself destroys you from the start.

Why is the 8 and 8? What areas are weak? What areas are strong? 2 years is a long a** time for prep.

[giggitygoo202]

Great thread!!

[Alexjsq]

How bad do you want it, by Eric Thomas, very very motivational !

[Desmoore]

I'm so glad this is year. Bookmarked.

[Awrson]

nice

[alexbegood]

this picture is such a perefct view in old times

[Fortitudo]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=154206951
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=155033223

[Mrkillafornia]

Its not so much about the genetics as it is about the effort.

[dylmill]

The Squat Rack

20 minutes into leg training, I have done everything in my power to prepare the quads, hamstrings, calves and all the smaller leg muscles for this moment. It’s time for squats. A few sets are done, to ensure perfect form and let the muscles adjust to the higher weights. The first working set begins, and the weight I place on my back is proportionate to how much I choose to push myself. The first set gets knocked out, the blood is flowing in my legs, and I feel confident. Next set, the weight is increased. My thoughts allow me to view 300 lbs the same way an obeist cake enthusiast sees that german chocolate fudge cake in the bakery window. Irresistible. I step under the bar, push my traps into the iron, stand and take a step back. Down I go, up, down, up, down, up. I blast through the second set, form still intact. I’m thinking about what lifts I am going to do after squats, but then I catch myself, “don’t worry about the next set, don’t worry about the next exercise. Just squat.” I look at the loaded bar, and in this moment, I begin to feel tired. But I still want to squat.

It’s mental. My body is ready, my body longs to prove itself. My mind simply fears change. I still want to put myself under the bar, allowing it to pull me to the ground, and then fight back and stand up. I do this every week.

Now the work begins. Third set, I’ve made it this far, let’s do this. Boom, in the face of adversity, I triumph. I succeeded when my mind had second thoughts.

Standing up normally would not merit anything near a glimpse of attention, but at this point it requires most of my focus just to stand up normally, legs are wobbling and the blood is just flooding them. Quads feel tight, hamstrings are begging me to keep them extended. But I’ve been here before. In fact, I’m here every Sunday, and this instance has become one of my closest friends. I actually look forward to this moment. Why? Is it because I enjoy the adrenaline rush I get when sending my body to fight a resistance twice its own weight? Maybe. Well, that’s just a bonus, actually. “Oh, it’s been a few minutes, time to squat again. Okay focus, get pumped! Make sure the safety bars are in place, I might not be able to get back up.” Mistake. I’ve seen that thought in the past, and I know it only implies the possibility of not getting back up. Of failure. Not this time. “Bars are up, but they are irrelevant, I WILL get back up.”

Set 4, the first few reps are easy, form is still on point. 6 reps in, and I’m breathing heavily. Sometimes even taking two breaths between reps. Now I’m at the 10th rep. Form wants to break down, but I know my low back has no place in this lift. Standing, breathing hard, I tense my entire trunk, take a huge breath, and slowly lower myself to the ground. The bar is almost touching the safety racks. I begin to stand, but soon my upper body leans forward, and more pressure is set upon my low back. Damn it. I push through, and rack the weight. At this point, I’m thinking about that delicious post-workout feast I’ve been seeing in my mind’s eye all day long. I imagine what it’s going to taste like, and how much I’m going to enjoy it. Snap out of it. Earn that meal. Earn every single calorie you consume. Work for it. Make it count. I look at the bar, “it’s just you and me, baby. And I did NOT come here to lose.”

“Well then, what did I come here for? I came here, because I KNEW that in three minutes, I will be facing hundreds of pound of adversity. I will be in an all out war with the barbell, and even more so with my mind. My mind does not like this. My mind wants to skip directly to the post workout, even though it knows I still have leg presses, straight leg deadlifts, calf raises, lunges and sprints to do before eating. My mind is uncomfortable, it does not want to be here. It knows what I will be doing in less than 2 minutes time, and it desperately wants out. I bring my mind back to the matter at hand. “It’s me, and my body against my mind. My body wants this, my body CHOOSES to step under this weight, and fight it. “Why? Because it knows that at any given moment, it’s either progressing or regressing. If it’s not getting stronger, it’s getting weaker. It knows this, and my mind also know this but my mind is afraid. It doesn’t like work, or change or effort. Either I convince my mind to help me out and move this weight, or I tell it to shut up. There is no option that involves the mind getting what it wants, so it better start wanting something else.

T minus one minute. “Breathe, focus on your breath.” I’m breathing pretty hard, it’s difficult to focus on taking deep, slow breaths when your body needs the oxygen faster than that. I put in my headphones, to a voice calmly saying “it’s not talent, it’s not innate ability. It simply comes down to how hungry you are. How hungry are you to improve? How big is your appetite for success? What are you willing to do to reach your dreams?” A surge of power runs through my body, I explosively stand up and willingly place myself under the bar. My mind knows it has no choice in this matter, I’ve decided to squat this weight and that decision is final. Armed with passion and an iron will, I lower myself to the ground, and stand back up. 5 times. Now, I employ my greatest tool, my mind, to help me. I choose thoughts that motivate me, that keep me going. “Who am I? I am a champion!” Down, up. Come on Dylan, let’s go. “You’re already in pain, get a reward from it!.” I’m going for 8 reps. Thanks to my mind, I complete ten. I rerack the bar, drop to the floor and catch my breath.

My headphones are still in, but I do not hear them. I thank myself for pushing further, for making my muscles grow. I am now stronger than I was yesterday. But something doesn’t yet feel right. I don’t feel like a champion yet. I don’t feel closure. I have not felt the feeling that tells me I am done. The one that tells me “this is living. This is pure ecstasy, bliss, life. Fulfillment. Where is that feeling? I am only reveling in my thoughts of victory and success, my mind telling me I have achieved something. My mind. Damn it! I’ve been tricked! My mind is congratulating me, praising me, when I know that it’s sole motivation is to keep me from changing it, from reaching beyond itself. My mind does not want to think outside itself! It is afraid of that.

Then it clicks. A serene, yet powerful wave falls over me and encompasses the radius around me. The whole area with the squat rack, me and the platform is glowing, nothing else exists. I know what this means. I feel it now. I’ve paid my dues, I’ve come this far. Far enough to have a stronger body than yesterday. Far enough to have more will power and confidence than when I stepped into the gym. More than far enough by the average person’s standards to call it quits for a week. But I feel something now. The plates are still on the bar, waiting, calling. Game on.

With a supreme, yet not arrogant sense of confidence, I calmly step under the bar, knowing I have already won the war. My mind is no match anymore, it has fallen silent. It’s just my body and the bar, no mental barriers, no thoughts telling me to put the weight down. Just squatting down and standing up until my body can not. I begin. This all of a sudden became easy. The weight is still really heavy, and my legs are beaten and struggling. But in a calm and empowering way. I stand up 5 times. Mind is empty, blank. Nothing to say, it raised its white flag long ago. By now, my legs are shaking, I feel my heart pounding against my chest. Standing, I take 3 heavy, deep breaths before sucking my stomach in, and dipping my tailbone to the ground. With a steady and fluid motion, I stand up, my entire awareness simply witnessing what my body is going through. No judgment. No encouragement, no resistance. Just awareness. Taking 4-6 breaths between squats, my quads are on fire and my hamstrings have given out. My glutes are fighting hard to keep my back side steady.

Why do I subject myself to this? Something most people would find masochistic, useless and egotistical? Honestly, I do not know. I could not give you a reason as to why I look forward to getting under a heavy bar and sitting down then standing up until my legs give out. I don’t know. I can most definitely tell you the vast and absolutely life altering results doing so has brought me, but I can not tell you why I do this in the first place. I just do, and I look forward to it. Conquering the fear of change that resides in the mind, transcending plateaus and barriers. Strengthening the mind, forging the body, making everything in my life that much easier. After a set like this, there is not one thing that remains unachievable to me. Not one.

My biggest barrier at this point is my throbbing heart. My muscles are demanding significantly more oxygen than my lungs are capable of bringing them. The carbon dioxide in my blood and lungs is rapidly increasing, while the oxygen levels are lowering. Lactic acid is building up in my blood, at a rate faster than it can be removed. I am breathing heavily, standing straight with a great steel weight on my back. I am struggling simply to keep breathing so I don’t pass out. One massive inhale, contraction of every core muscle I have the energy to contract, and down I go. This is heavy. Very heavy. My legs are beyond exhausted, my body is in major stress, my heart is beating at its maximal rate, working furiously to absorb every cubic millimeter of oxygen it can.

What causes me to stand up? Physically, it seems unlikely that I would be able to. Mentally, well the mind has been out of the picture for a while now. There must be something else, something that has the capability of pushing the accumulation of atoms, of cells, of organs and tissues that are my physical body. Something else that ignites the body into working beyond itself. Something that makes it possible for limits to be exceeded, for barriers to be removed.

I stand up. With the very last ounce of strength and effort in my body, I place the bar back on the rack, and collapse to the floor. For 5 minutes, I lay there. Completely wiped, drained, almost immobile. Exhilarated. In these moments, I feel something deep, something real. I feel what it means to be truly ALIVE. I feel deeply and totally fulfilled. One second of this feeling makes all the years of effort I have ever put into anything in my life worth it a thousand times over. This is the feeling of love. There is nothing egotistical about it, the mind is out of the picture. There is nothing selfish about it, it is a feeling of unity, of oneness. A feeling of power and success, not over others, not over anything or anyone. Simply awe, bliss, marvel, completeness. How I want to feel on my deathbed. Although I can claim victory over my body, my mind and the challenge I set up for myself, it feels nothing like that. I feel whole. There are no words capable of describing this feeling, or any feeling actually. But when you experience this feeling, you will know. This is the feeling of LIFE. And I brought it to myself.

[michaelboughdad]

thanks you for replies

[max001]

That is really great post and surely motivational also. Thanks for posting.

[rickysmith1022]

When everything seems to go against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

[ChamTBR]

Motivational Qoute section

[J_L_R]

What is it that you want in life?
What is it that you wish to achieve? To avoid? To preserve?
There is nothing you cannot accomplish.
Your potential is limitless.
There is no limit to what you can do, or have, or be.
Nothing great in life happens to you until you make a commitment to achieve a clear, specific goal.
It’s not complicated. Get serious. Be decisive.
I can, I will, I shall, I am, I choose, I do, I earn, I have.
You can accomplish anything you want if you are willing to pay the price; if you are willing to do whatever it takes

“You gotta try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it.” Jimmy Dean

“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work—and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t. Lucille Ball

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Gary Player

I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often. Brian Tracy

Identify what you are trying to achieve. Be clear about your mission – the business you are in – and keep it in front of you as you proceed.

Be Decisive and Consistent. Give clear directives. Unclear expectations lead to confusion and under-performance. Inconsistency—when you hold different people to different standards, or not sharing information with everyone—drains morale.

Evolve Every Day. Get out of your comfort zone. Establish a clear goal. Then remind your team of that shared mission when tempers flare or motivation flags. Focusing on the same goal helps overcome obstacles. Engage everyone in reviewing and discussing the team’s progress and possible tweaks for enhancement.

Forge Strength in Adversity. Mistakes happen, even when you’re working with the best of the best. You will discover the people you really want on your team when things get tough and you will be stronger when you come through it. Always analyze what happened to determine how to avoid a repeat. Craft a plan to prevent future mistakes.

Lean on Your Team. If you want to do something great, you can’t always do it all alone. Delegate effectively and be fanatical about giving credit where credit is due. Open your mind. Do not narrow your focus in defending your position. Consider everyone on your team as your equal and actively listen to their point of view. Disagreements may arise but it’s good to consider options.

Blaze a Trail. Lead with grace. Don’t ask your teammates to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself and make that visible. Build rapport. Reduce ego. Encourage brainstorming. Empower others. Ask “What if we…” or “Would it be helpful if…” State “I need your help…”

Breed Confidence. It’s your connection and chemistry with the team that breeds confidence. At some point in your life you probably worked where you had fun doing your job. It pays to remember those days. Set an emotional tone by exhibiting a positive outlook. Acknowledging small victories and voicing appreciation for hard work helps create a positive and winning work environment.

“Get Off The Scale!
You are beautiful. Your beauty, just like your capacity for life, happiness, and success, is immeasurable. Day after day, countless people across the globe get on a scale in search of validation of beauty and social acceptance.

Get off the scale! I have yet to see a scale that can tell you how enchanting your eyes are. I have yet to see a scale that can show you how wonderful your hair looks when the sun shines its glorious rays on it. I have yet to see a scale that can thank you for your compassion, sense of humor, and contagious smile. Get off the scale because I have yet to see one that can admire you for your perseverance when challenged in life.

It’s true, the scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love. Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned. Take note of the number, then get off the scale and live your life. You are beautiful!” Steve Maraboli

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t. Bill Nye

[SteveR1990]

A++ Thread..Would read again (no sarcasm)...Repped

same

[1quick1]

Just about anything The Rock posts on FB. That dude is a machine. I highly recommend following him if you don't already.

[getripped95]

All that anger, all that fear, all that negative energy, take it to the gym and spend it there.

These things make great fuel. Let these things nourish you and not the other way around.