Workout Pick-Me-Ups! 13 Motivational Fitness Quotes from Top Trainers

1. “Don’t be the first to quit!”

Donald Hunter, a fitness instructor in Rochester, NY, shouts this out at the crest of a cardio blast. “It’s a personal challenge to get people over that mental hurdle,” he says. “The mind often runs out of steam before the body’s done, and if you push past that hurdle you can become stronger.”

2. “You know what that extra 10 pounds feels like!”

Liz Cort, founder of TeamFitMom.com, makes her clients wear a 10-lb. vest for their entire training session. When they shed that extra baggage, she says, “it keeps them motivated to work hard and eat clean!”

3. “2 Legit 2 Quit!”

“Let’s go! I’m talking here and now…!” “Gonna Make You Sweat!” “Don’t Stop!” “Sky’s the Limit!”

Trainers will often belt out popular song lyrics to inspire the class. When fatigue hits, “follow the music and let it take you where you want to be,” says Lynn Anderson, MD, creator of the Aero*boga(TM) workout method.

4. “We’re in this together!”

Jessica Smith, co-author of the Thin in 10 Weight Loss Plan, reminds her students that she’s pushing through the burn right along with them. “Stay with me,” she urges them. “Think about how good we’re going to feel when we’re done!”

5. “Surrender to your breathing!”

Inhale, exhale, repeat is key to hanging in when yoga gets tough, says Tamal Dodge, star of the new Element: Yoga for Energy & Relaxation. “The breath will carry you through the intense physicality.” She also reminds her yogis: “When you want to give up…that’s when your yoga really begins!”

6. “Make this plank your b*tch!”

In other words, show the moves who’s boss. Pilates pro Lara Hudson, star of The 10 Minute Solution: Tighten & Tone Pilates, says a little attitude can go a long way. “Come on, you’ve faced greater hardships than this little old plank,” she tells the class.

7. “Oh yeah! I can!”

Buns of Steel’s Tamilee Webb starts this call-and-response cheer to stoke her students during a rigorous workout.

Dr. Anderson asks for this cheer halfway into her classes. “I remind them that a good yell burns extra calories,” she says. “It keeps them engaged and pumps up the energy.”

8. “If it doesn't feel hard, it isn't.”

You can hear Amy Dixon screaming this tough love out on her Motion Traxx Treadmill Coach audio workout “I tell my students I’m not asking for much,” she says. “I’m just asking for everything.”

9. “Nobody ever regrets working out.”

“This line makes my students smile, and work a little harder,” says Dr. Anderson. “I remind them they did the hardest part, getting to class, and now they have a choice: make it a chore or have some fun.

10. “Results begin at the end of your comfort zone.”

This mental picture from Cort gives her clients the stamina to bust out of their plateau -- and into the calorie-burn zone. As Hunter says, “The body must have challenge to change.”

11. “Don't work harder, work deeper.”

Zip your core. Scoop your belly. Engage your abs. “Working deeper” is Hudson’s way of summoning the core strength that’s essential to Pilates practice.

12. “This is your time to see what you’re made of.”

Hunter busts out this line near the end of class. “I try to radiate energy like a rebounding board,” he says. “I give it to my students and expect to get it back.”

13. “You are stronger than you think!”

Smith’s line is the classic I think I can, to get her clients over the hump.