Gymnastic Quotes

The most essential thing in dance discipline is devotion, the steadfast and willing devotion to the labor that makes the classwork not a gymnastic hour and a half, or at the lowest level, a daily drudgery, but a devotion that allows the classroom discipline to become moments of dancing too.

As long as you've done your best, making mistakes doesn't matter.

You and I are human; we will mess up. What counts is learning from your mistakes and getting back up when life has knocked you down.

It is difficulties that show what men are.

For the future, in case of any difficulty, remember that God, like a gymnastic trainer, has pitted you against a rough antagonist. For what end? That you may be an Olympic conqueror; and this cannot be without toil.

Live in rooms full of light. Avoid heavy food. Be moderate in the drinking of wine. Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics. Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water. Change surroundings and take long journeys. Strictly avoid frightening ideas. Indulge in cheerful conversation and amusements. Listen to music.

Set daily, monthly and long term goals and dreams.

Don't ever be afraid to dream too big. Nothing is impossible. If you believe in yourself, you can achieve it.

If you want to take it up a step and aim to become a competitive gymnast, you have to be mentally strong and prepared to take on the workload of going to the gym every day, rain or shine.

A life without purpose is a languid, drifting thing;

Every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves: This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught!

As a gymnast, you always wear spandex.

Being a teenager wearing spandex? It was tough accepting how my body looked, especially if there was any weight gain.

For me going down in history being the first black American to win the gold, I think more colored people are going to start coming to the gymnastics world and say 'okay, anything is possible. If Gabby did it, then I can do it too.'

So let me get this straight. You find yourself in the kitchen. You see an éclair in the receptacle... and you think to yourself: "What the hell, I'll just eat some trash."

Chess is intellectual gymnastics.

There is probably nothing finer than to climb free and unencumbered by equipment, reveling in the gymnastic upward movement, like Preuss or a Dulfer before you, relying only upon yourself, keeping a sharp eye on things, feeling the rock beneath your feet and fingertips.

Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them;

but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight.

Everyone works hard when they want to, when they get quick results, when it's convenient to put forth effort. The best work hard when they don't want to, when it's inconvenient to give it that little extra effort... and that extra effort might be just what they need to place them on top.

My approach to gymnastics in Beijing was heavily based on the amount of difficulty I could do.

It's not about winning or losing a competition, it's about beating the doubt from within yourself and knowing at the end of each day you are one step closer to your goals.

Tango is about feeling and sensitivity, otherwise you are just doing gymnastics.

You can do all the steps but it has to have the feeling and sensitivity of authentic tango.

you don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.

The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.

One time a French reporter asked me how I could do a cross so easily.

I said, "You just lower your body down until your arms are straight out to the sides, then you stop."

Strength and conditioning are the keys to good performance and longevity in gymnastics.

My new shorty got a gymnastic back, '87 emerald green on a classic Jag.

She had the cleft palate, I ordered chef's salad; She had the club foot, with that little arm, I couldn't help but laugh...she ordered Chicken Parm.

Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect.

It's important to push yourself further than you think you can go each and every day - as that is what separates the good from the great.

Focus on your potential instead of your limitations.

I was lucky enough, when I was younger, to have the chance to do as much as possible, and I found what I wanted to do. I did swimming, gymnastics, kickboxing and the one that took off more than the others was acting.

Figure skating is an unlikely Olympic event but its good television.

It's sort of a combination of gymnastics and ballet. A little sexy too which doesn't hurt.

I come from a very sporty background because my mom is a gymnastics teacher.

So growing up I was never sitting watching TV in the afternoons. I always played ball outside in the backyard.

If you are afraid of failure, you don't deserve success.

I was a very focused kid. I always had this crazy lifestyle... billions of jobs, two hours of gymnastics every day, handball, anything with a ball, really. I must have had ADHD or something. I was very energetic, and very small. I didn't start growing until the last year of high school.

From what my friends tell me, apparently some guys can be pretty intimidated by me when they find out what I do. I find it funny because I try to be modest and I don't like to talk about gymnastics unless I am asked about it. But my roommates always take on my bragging rights and tell my life story to the guys we meet, which leaves me blushing.

Everyone gets scared, and everyone falls. The key is to get right back up and try again.

Yeah, I do all the stuff I can. Let’s be frank, if you are in an action film, you are not in it for the characters, you are in it for the action – the stunts. If they take that away from you, it’s a sad story. Ha ha! I have damaged everything: knees, elbows, ribs. But I’m an old gymnast. I know how to survive.

In the history of each sport, the heroes who win the Olympic gold medal are the ones we remember. Nobody remembers the World Champion 25 years ago, but everyone remembers who the Olympic Champions were, even 100 years ago.