"Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body."
"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."
"Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet and mental approach."
“Not many people understand what a pump is. It must be experienced to be understood. It is the greatest feeling that I get. I search for this pump because it means that that my muscles will grow when I get it. I get a pump when the blood is running into my muscles. They become really tight with blood. Like the skin is going to explode any minute. It’s like someone putting air in my muscles. It blows up. It feels fantastic.”
"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."
"The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character."
"Bodybuilding should be fun because you get a feeling of satisfaction which is very hard to explain. A bodybuilder knows when he pumps up his muscles it means growth. The muscles grow. So therefore he knows when he pumps up well, that is progress. And that satisfies him because he feels the progress in his body. Therefore the pump feels good. It’s actually the best feeling a body builder can have. It’s a difficult thing to explain. Like sometimes we joke around and we get a good pump and we say you have to admit that a good pump is better than coming. Somebody off the street wouldn’t understand that, but sometimes a pump is the best feeling you can have."
"The best activities for your health are pumping and humping."
"A beginner does eight repetitions of a certain exercise with his maximum weight on the barbell. As soon as it hurts, he thinks about stopping. I work beyond this point, which means I tell my mind that as soon as it starts aching it is growing. Growing is something unusual for the body when you are over eighteen. The body isn’t used to ten, eleven, or twelve reps with a maximum weight. Then I do ten or fifteen sets of this in a row. No human body was ever prepared for this and suddenly it is making itself grow to handle this new challenge, growing through this pain area. Experiencing this pain in my muscles and aching and going on is my challenge. The last three or four reps is what makes the muscles grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone 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. I have no fear of fainting. I do squats until I fall over and pass out. So what? It’s not going to kill me. I wake up five minutes later and I’m OK. A lot of other athletes are afraid of this. So they don’t pass out. They don’t go on."
"I just use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd Street."
“There are no shortcuts—everything is reps, reps, reps.”
"I'm addicted to exercising and I have to do something every day."
"I do the same exercises I did 50 years ago and they still work. I eat the same food I ate 50 years ago and it still works."
"What I’m doing is the thing I want to do. I don’t care what other people think. If the rest of disagrees and says I shouldn’t waste my time, I still will be a bodybuilder. I love it. I love the feeling in my muscles, I love the competition, and I love the things it gives me. I have never really had to work in my whole life. I’ve never had an eight to six job. I’ve always made good money. I’ve traveled all over the world competing and giving exhibitions. I‘ve made a profession out of a pastime, which perhaps only five percent of the population can do. The other ninety-five percent are frustrated office workers, working for someone else. I’m totally independent. So, I…..feel…if I would live again or if I would be born again, I would do exactly the same thing."
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