“The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen.” This saying has echoed in fitness circles globally, reminding us of the importance of staying active. But let’s face it, sometimes the allure of hot akara balls seems more appealing than doing actual balls-to-the-wall workouts.
However, every woman knows that working out requires patience, consistency, and a touch of creativity. To help you get moving, here are 50 motivational workout quotes, tailored to give you that extra push, sprinkled with the unique humor women know and love.
1. “Your fitness journey is like Nigerian Jollof, it gets better over time.”
2. “Every workout counts, just like every grain of rice in your pot of porridge.”
3. “Don’t stop when it hurts, stop when you’re done – just like pounding yam!”
4. “Sweat is just your fat crying because it knows it’s leaving you for good.”
5. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great, just like making your first pot of Egusi soup.”
6. “Fitness is like a marriage. Don’t cheat on it and expect it to work.”
7. “The only ‘bad’ in workout should be the baddest fitness queen in you.”
8. “Working out is like Lagos traffic, you have to keep moving, or you’ll get left behind.”
9. “The only lift you should be scared of is the one your ‘aso-ebi’ gives your bosom, not the weight lift!”
10. “You’re one workout away from a good mood – or one ‘Pepper Dem’ episode away from a great mood.”
11. “Don’t wish for a good body. Work for it, like you would for a designer ‘ankara’ dress.”
12. “A mile a day keeps the ‘orobo’ away!”
13. “Don’t decrease the goal, increase the ‘ginger’.”
14. “Your workout is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate.”
15. “Fitness is not about being better than someone else. It’s about being better than the you who just ate three wraps of ‘moi-moi’.”
16. “Slow progress is better than no progress. A little ‘shaku shaku’ is better than no dance at all.”
17. “Every champion was once a beginner who refused to give up, just like ‘Mama Put’.”
18. “If you still look cute at the end of your workout, you didn’t train hard enough.”
19. “Train like you’re in a ‘Nollywood’ action movie.”
20. “Be the girl at the gym that motivates everyone else to push a little harder.”
21. “If you wait for the perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done. Rain or shine, the ‘gele’ must be tied.”
22. “Be stronger than your excuses. ‘I can’t’ should only apply when they offer you the 5th meat at the party.”
23. “Sweat today, smile tomorrow. Struggle with the ‘gele’ today, slay tomorrow.”
24. “The ‘Owanbe’ doesn’t start when the music is good; it starts when your waist is ready!”
25. “Train insane or remain the same. Dance ‘Zanku’ or remain on your seat.”
26. “Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you, not even your favourite wrapper!”
27. “The hardest lift of all is lifting your backside off the couch.”
28. “Your desire to change must be greater than your desire for ‘Suya’.”
29. “Fitness is like ‘aso ebi’, one size doesn’t fit all.”
30. “Stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Except for wishing to eat the whole birthday cake – that’s a no!”
31. “Fall in love with taking care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live, and it’s more expensive than Banana Island!”
32. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. If it doesn’t taste bitter, it’s not ‘bitter leaf’ soup.”
33. “Someone busier than you is working out right now. Or maybe they’re just running after a ‘danfo’ bus.”
34. “Hustle for that muscle, just like you hustle for ‘boli’ in traffic.”
35. “Excuses don’t get results. Except when you’re excusing yourself from unnecessary ‘owanbe’.”
36. “The pain you feel today is the strength you’ll feel tomorrow, just like the heat of the pepper you eat today is the joy of the stew you’ll eat tomorrow.”
37. “You can’t enjoy wealth if you’re not in good health. You can’t enjoy ‘Iyan’ if you can’t chew the ‘ponmo’.”
38. “The body achieves what the mind believes, and the mouth what the hand feeds!”
39. “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits. Except when it comes to ‘isiewu’, you should totally limit that!”
40. “You only fail when you stop trying, just like ‘Amala’ – it might take a few tries to like it.”
41. “You are much stronger than you think, like that ‘gele’ holding up despite the dance moves.”
42. “Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the best version of you.”
43. “Fitness is not about being better than someone else, it’s about being better than the person who refuses to climb the staircase.”
44. “Wake up, beauty. It’s time to beast!”
45. “It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs, just like how ‘Ewedu’ soup transforms ‘Amala’.”
46. “Strive for progress, not perfection. We can’t all be Omotola, but we can all be healthy.”
47. “I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.”
48. “Set your goals high and don’t stop till you get there, just like reaching for the last piece of ‘moin moin’ at the party.”
49. “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success, just like consistently adding palm oil gains perfect ‘Egusi’ soup.”
50. “Make your body the sexiest outfit you own, sexier than your ‘ankara’ or ‘lace’.”
Let these quotes inspire you, make you chuckle, and most importantly, move you (literally) towards your fitness goals.
Remember, you are a strong, resilient Nigerian woman, and there’s no challenge you can’t surmount, not even the squat challenge! So, grab your workout gear (or ‘iro and buba’, if that’s your style) and let’s get moving!
