Favorite Quotes & Excerpts?

[Kinetic]

I love quotes, and I find quotes very motivational, and certain excerpts educational. One well written paragraph can solve a problem that's plagued one for a lifetime.

What are you favorites? Can be quotes or excerpts from TB or other books.

This one from TB2 really crystallized something that had been growing in my own mind after years of training:

When it’s time to work – then work like a crazy cyborg commando on meth. When you have a well-deserved easy week coming up – take it. Think long term. This should be making perfect sense to you. This isn’t an 8 week training camp or spec ops selection. This is you training for life, for the next 30 or 40 years. An easy conditioning week allows you to recharge your physical and mental batteries. You’ll be itching to get back out there and hit those hills or swing your kettlebells. Don’t be the guy that gets all excited, and goes full bore/all-in for the first few weeks, and then burns himself out like an amateur.

This was like a slap in the face because it was simple truth. Everyone I know that tries the 100%-all-the-time in your face approach gets hit with injury or burn-out. Everyone. I don't know of a single Crossfitter in my "real life" that's stuck with CF (alone) for any appreciable length of time without serious injury or burn-out. There's a difference going super-hard in the context of a short term program with a set beginning and end (like fight camp, selection) and training like that for life.

[DocOctagon]

Excellent topic.. I love me some good quotes. This was one I'd never come across until TB2 via K.B.

It's Musashi, and I think it's the perfect representation of the state of the fitness industry (and others). Amazing that this was an issue even back in Musashi's day. Some things never change I guess.

“Teaching people a large number of sword techniques is turning the way into a business of selling goods, making beginners believe that there is something profound in their training by impressing them with a variety of techniques. This attitude toward strategy must be avoided, because thinking that there is a variety of ways of cutting a man down is evidence of a disturbed mind. In the world, different ways of cutting a man down do not exist.”

[Saracen]

Excellent topic.. I love me some good quotes. This was one I'd never come across until TB2 via K.B.

It's Musashi, and I think it's the perfect representation of the state of the fitness industry (and others). Amazing that this was an issue even back in Musashi's day. Some things never change I guess.

“Teaching people a large number of sword techniques is turning the way into a business of selling goods, making beginners believe that there is something profound in their training by impressing them with a variety of techniques. This attitude toward strategy must be avoided, because thinking that there is a variety of ways of cutting a man down is evidence of a disturbed mind. In the world, different ways of cutting a man down do not exist.”

Bang. On.

This is all over the place. Multiple "planes of movement", "mobility", this grip vs that grip, POSE running, "functional movement". Then on the other side you have guys like Wendler, Enamait and KB preaching simplicity and basics without super special secret techniques.

[BlackPyjamas]

"Facta Non Verba"

Has to be at the top of my list. It's not quoted, but it comes through very strongly in the TB materials.

[Shivayan]

A good source of quotes is "On Sparta," by Plutarch.

[DocOctagon]

A good source of quotes is "On Sparta," by Plutarch.

Thank you for the reference! Lately I've been looking all over the place for "Spartan Laconic" phrases...I'm assuming this might contain some?

[Shivayan]

A good source of quotes is "On Sparta," by Plutarch.

Thank you for the reference! Lately I've been looking all over the place for "Spartan Laconic" phrases...I'm assuming this might contain some?

Plenty.

[Barkadion]

I found this one on Ross site.

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey” – Kenji Miyazawa


Who is Miyazawa Kenji?
http://www.kenji-world.net/english/who/who.html

[Canterbury]

I found this one on Ross site.

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey” – Kenji Miyazawa


Who is Miyazawa Kenji?
http://www.kenji-world.net/english/who/who.html

That is a good one.

[Blackmetalbunny]

I don't think one has to look too far to get quotes applicable to daily life and training. Some of the best which I find myself coming back to:

"The goal is to keep the goal, the goal! Focus on it, don’t get caught up in a bunch of other things." - Dan John
In today's ADHD lifestyle, this one simple quote has really been a strong reminder of why it's important to focus on the important things, and to forget about everything else.

"If every day of your life you are told by authority figures that the Earth is flat, you will be scared of falling off the edge whether you want to be or not." - Mark Rippetoe

"There are no shortcuts. The fact that a shortcut is important to you means that you are a pussy." - Mark Rippetoe

There are probably a bunch of other quotes, but in the realms of training, I've found these 3 quotes to be very helpful.