Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - What motivational phrases do you use?

I have a few motivational phrases that I use to help me in "The Journey"

When I have an urge to overeat: Do you want to ruin a month's worth of hard work?

When I am debating whether to exercise: Showing up is a success.

Late it has been, "you have got to be joking!" Okay, not real motivating, but usually helps the situation for me.

First you have to want to do it, then you have to do it!

Eat less, shift down, go farther faster.

Get off your fat ass and go ride your bike.

I don't want to go ride, I have to go ride.

Get off your fat ass and go ride your bike.

The school where I taught was going to spend a bunch
of money on motivational posters and I objected to it.
I thought we could make some for next to nothing, and
we did. I did some for the reading classes.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/3569/children2nl.jpg

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3241/bears2vu.jpg

htfu

When I was hiking, a fellow hiker told me, "A slow pace beats no pace." This was great on long climbs, and would keep me moving instead of resting.

I tried it on big hills on the bike, but found it too complicated. Now when I am down to the slog I do the Finding Nemo seagulls: "Mine. Mine. Mine."

Seriously?! Does the forum now have a filter that prevents CAPS lock?!?!?!

Whose super-sensitivity button are we messaging now?

Like Sayre, I'm also fond of HTFU. And when I'm tempted to be bad, "is this consistent with my long-term goals?" Not very catchy, I'll admit, but it often does the trick for me.

CraigB: How about "is this consistent with my HTFU goals?"

Seriously?! Does the forum now have a filter that prevents CAPS lock?!?!?!

Whose super-sensitivity button are we messaging now?

The forum, filled with overweight people, is suffering a circulation problem. Hence the cap lock prevention. When the circulation problems are resolved then we can use cap locks again. :-)

I tend to overthink things, especially about riding. So Bautieri's phrase "just ride bikes" is something I sometimes repeat.

Some others:

"Weighing 400 pounds was a living death. Now I live every day." - "The Historian" on Bike Forums. :-)

"I have always been of the opinion that, of the two evils - under-estimation and over-estimation of one's own strength- the former is much the more harmful." - Grandmaster Mikhail Tal, World Champion

Presume not that I am the thing I was;
For God doth know, so shall the world perceive,
That I have turn'd away my former self...." - Henry IV part II, by William Shakespeare.

"WWSD - What Would Sayre Do?" - a few people I know on Bike Forums.

"Because you are a disgusting fatbody." That is what I think of.

NOTE: Some adult language in the clip attached:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NP8y63Ms4o

"Pain is only temporary."

i like htfu...i might have to write that on my hand...

Quit whining and man up. Tell myself that everytime before I work out, and I end up pushing myself harder...

I don't remember where I saw it; it seems like it was from somebody famous and quirky and maybe I saw it posted here. Anyway, I said it to myself a lot last year because of the bike I was riding: "Push those pedals, you little brat!"

ETA: Hmmm, maybe it was "you little punk." I used "brat" though.

I look back to when I was in better shape as motivation. From July '06-June'10 I worked telecommunications construction, since I've been unemployed and have gained about 30lbs. When i started said job i was a sleek and sexy 290lbs at 6"4 tall, when i got laid off i was 220lbs of work anyone else straight into the ****ing ground.

When I'm out riding and I choose to push up a daunting hill or top my longest ride, I think back to how i used to feel after a hard days work and the benefits that stacked up after 4 years.

Unless you've got a debilitating bodily condition, a lot of the ability to go the extra mile is mostly mental imo. Obviously there are physical limitations, but I know for me that when I've got a "Bring that ****" attitude, I'm able to push harder and work longer.

And fwiw, sometimes i find that a lot of the disparaging things i've heard over the years run through my head when it's time to push myself.
Use all that negative to make a positive. Once you really start seeing results, it's a lot easier to want to keep on improving.

Hope this helps. If not, go **** yourself. =)

edit: also fwiw, i ride single speed on a not so light 27 lb bike.

As Nike says , Just do it..
OK, so I go out on do it.. If the climb is hard enough and the switchbacks look terrible , usually my less vulgar chosen phrase while riding is sob.

From snowdog650's video I've gotten another one "You owe me a ... " (substitute some food I ate)

I heard this on MyFitnessPal and have since adopted the saying. "Pain is weakness leaving the body."

10 minutes till my first attempt at a continous 10 mile ride. I believe alot of weakness will be leaving my body :)

even though I live in the flatlands, I like, "Hills hurt, couches kill."

Moving forward, we'll go after the low-hanging fruit at the end of the day.

Moving forward, we'll go after the low-hanging fruit at the end of the day.

Reminds me of a chess quip. Off the top of my head it's "Why hurry? The fruit will ripen on its own."

I've never found motivational phrases to be particularly useful. I usually just try and keep in mind just why it is I'm out there on the bike. That's motivation enough for me. :)

http://www.deddyanwari.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/motivation.jpg

;)

"Because you are a disgusting fatbody." That is what I think of.

NOTE: Some adult language in the clip attached:


Yup - a disgusting fatbody I am. And that happens (people stealing food from chow hall.....), it doesn't end well for them or platoon.

That sure is a pretty poster. I feel motivated to pick up a rock and throw it at the squirrel watching me type.

I take select quotes from the song, I'm On A Boat, simply replacing 'boat' with 'bike' :D

"On the uphill grade, crest coming within sight, you can't stop me mother****** 'cause I'm on a bike!"

"This ain't a stationary, this is real as it gets, I'm on a bike mother******, don't you ever forget!"

I'm often annoyed with riders that say "hills hurt" or "wind sucks". My come back is always, "but they build character"........which they do!:thumb:

That sure is a pretty poster. I feel motivated to pick up a rock and throw it at the squirrel watching me type.

Do you ever bike out to Wolf Creek? ( I asked Google what kind of pretty water is near Mattoon, Il. )

SeattleF: Yes I have a few times. This was taken near their boat ramp.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m596/hessejef/LakeShelbyville1.jpg

I heard this on MyFitnessPal and have since adopted the saying. "Pain is weakness leaving the body."

10 minutes till my first attempt at a continous 10 mile ride. I believe alot of weakness will be leaving my body :)

I use that phrase too.
After a while, it becomes a mantra when I'm out on the road, either running or riding.

I take select quotes from the song, I'm On A Boat, simply replacing 'boat' with 'bike' :D

"On the uphill grade, crest coming within sight, you can't stop me mother****** 'cause I'm on a bike!"

"This ain't a stationary, this is real as it gets, I'm on a bike mother******, don't you ever forget!"

Never heard that one before but I like it! :)

I take select quotes from the song, I'm On A Boat, simply replacing 'boat' with 'bike' :D

"On the uphill grade, crest coming within sight, you can't stop me mother****** 'cause I'm on a bike!"

"This ain't a stationary, this is real as it gets, I'm on a bike mother******, don't you ever forget!"

Just watched the music video. :lol:

"Gonna ride this bike to the moon somehow!" :thumb:

"Don't give up what you want most for what you want at the moment."

"Don't give up what you want most for what you want at the moment."
I like this a lot.

not so much a phrase as a thought that I say to myself frequently.

"I want to live long enough to see my grandkids graduate college"

that and another from back in my school days

"I'm a runaway breadtruck, you cant stop me!"

good thread!!

I tend to be a bit hard on myself..I learn best by the "positive application of cracking across the thick head" method... I will edit these for language:

when my legs are killing me: "Keep kicking you p****!!!"

and when I see a pastry from Dunkin Donuts the size of my head and reach my hand out: "Think about it! That's going straight to your a**!!"

I don't use any. I don't ride when I don't feel inclined to do so. I get bored if my bike is my only source of exercise, so I'll go do something else.

I have a few motivational phrases that I use to help me in "The Journey"

When I have an urge to overeat: Do you want to ruin a month's worth of hard work?

When I am debating whether to exercise: Showing up is a success.

I am not a particularly religious person and this is not a "phrase" per se, but I find the following to be very inspirational (especially when the grade gets steep and the climb gets hard):


But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

The other phrase I like is:

Pain is temporary, quitting is forever. (I think this is from Lance Armstrong)

When I am struggling up a hill or trying to make it back home because my legs are like noodles I just think to myself of those people in my life that have struggled with far worse things than I can't even comprehend how it feels. Then I say to myself "Just keep going you fat a** p****!!!!"

When I am overthinking something or getting anxious or nervous about a ride I use the nike phrase "Just Do It". Most everything is a mind over matter thing unless you truely are physically unable.

When I top a hill, I have said, out loud "WHO ROCKS? THE PIG ROCKS!"

this is from the Elephant & Piggie children books by Mo Willems.

I also sometimes say this one, but most people dont understand it:

“I’m twice the man I want to be, so I need to work so hard half of me quits”

I also sometimes say this one, but most people dont understand it:

“I’m twice the man I want to be, so I need to work so hard half of me quits”

When people ask how much weight I've lost I say "I'm half the man I used to be."

I take select quotes from the song, I'm On A Boat, simply replacing 'boat' with 'bike' :D

"On the uphill grade, crest coming within sight, you can't stop me mother****** 'cause I'm on a bike!"

"This ain't a stationary, this is real as it gets, I'm on a bike mother******, don't you ever forget!"

Great, now that's gonna be going through my head!


"Don't give up what you want most for what you want at the moment."


Awesome, actually that is the story of my life's mistakes in one sentence, lol.

I use HTFU and a tri phrase, D-BAP!

Don't Be A P**sy!

I'm often annoyed with riders that say "hills hurt" or "wind sucks". My come back is always, "but they build character"........which they do!:thumb:

This is true, but they still suck and hurt!

"Just keep turning the pedals."

"Keep the engine on."

"Saki says ride inside yourself." This last one, I have no idea what it even means, but I say it to myself anyhow.

I'm not a fan of motivational phrases, I have low cheese tolerance. But I do like saying "WHEEEEEEE!" out loud when I go down the big hill! I think that should count.

hard to believe something so simple (and old) still works...

but "just do it" has helped me a lot thru the years.

There's a lot of ways to take 'er easy...I usually think about them when the going starts to get tough...
but I hear myself saying 'just do it'...and I man up and do it.

CraigB: How about "is this consistent with my HTFU goals?"

I'm using this one.

For me, I think "remember the cigarettes." I quit smoking in 1986 and it was the hardest thing I ever did, I knew I never but ever could smoke again and I never did.