Sports Quotes

As the issue of youth fitness - from obesity to proper exercise regimens - takes on more resonance in schools and communities across the country, CrossFit Kids and other preschool fitness programs are raising questions about when and how children should start playing organized sports or hitting the gym.

I was playing basketball at Lifetime Fitness every day for two hours. Like, I played an hour of basketball before I played David Ferrer in the semi-final.

I see a fitness coach three times a week and I do a lot of boxing, a bit of running when my knees let me, circuit training, fit ball, anything that will keep my heart going and stop me getting even fatter.

I've done golf and fitness shoots, but in those I'm still fairly covered up.

When I see these kids 6 years old with a private coach, and at 7, they have a fitness coach, I'm like, 'Aw, come on.' At 12, it's for sure they will lose all the interest in tennis because they do not interact with other kids.

Fitness has always been one of my strengths. I can do all the long-distance runs. When I was at school and we entered the competitions, I used to do the 100m, 200m, and the 1500m as well, so it's never just been a pace thing.

Beside the brand-ambassador elements of the modern racing driver, the evolution of the athlete has mandated that as drivers, we are very committed to fitness.

Doing nothing would stress me out. So I am still pretty much active practicing judo with my friends, who are former judo athletes, to maintain our fitness as well as the friendships among us. In my spare time, I usually go jogging around the Gelora Bung Karno stadium or head to the gym.

Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical fitness and mental prowess.

I'm an athlete, so I can get up one day and run and it wouldn't bother me. I don't get the time because I work for long hours every day. Being constantly on the move itself helps me stay fit. I don't go to a gym. I use the stairs, not the lift. I'm not into fitness, but I feel I should start, as it's healthy.

I knew that, to be the best right-back in the world, I had to improve my fitness so I could run up and down constantly for 90 minutes.

For most athletes, there's a focus on your own fitness, but I have to rely on my horse, too. I've been very lucky so far, and it hasn't presented a problem, but you can never count on a competition going as planned until you're there and actually doing it.

Running is a good example of the link between fitness and psychology. I have found an easy way to enjoy running by focusing on 5k runs - they are long enough to get your heart going but not so long that you get bored.

Dance never really goes away; it just reforms and reinvents, and it's become more athletic with new connection to fitness and sport. Dance used to have this exclusivity, but not any more.

I'm doing four hours of gymnastics training a day, six days a week and then an extra two to three hours in a fitness center as well.

I remember, before the 2003 World Cup, I worked extremely hard on my fitness. A great deal of training and dietary discipline. I believe I lost 19 kg. And 19 is the number of runs I scored in the entire tournament.

I would say 90 percent of the stuff we do is technical anyway. If you look at a two-hour training day, 12 minutes are probably spent running or gaining fitness.

The spirit of the Olympic movement is great for young people because it teaches them about the training and discipline required to compete. Even if they don't make the teams, they can rededicate their lives to the art of sport, discipline, and physical fitness.

Fitness has always been one of the top priorities in my life because that's the way I grew up, with soccer being the sport of choice.

I didn't have any specific gym training, my parents weren't athletes and I wasn't born into the fitness industry.

I have run two Olympic 'A' standard times over the past 12 months and with the time I ran at the African Championships last week I know my speed and fitness are constantly improving so that I will peak in time for the Olympics.

Being in hockey shape is totally different than any other kind of fitness. You can run and bike and work out all summer and then go on the ice for one shift and you're dead.

At Milan, Kaka used to work even when we had two or three days off. And our fitness coach, Daniele Tognaccini, made him run.

I know April, May and June are a few unbearable months, and working out in a gym and sweating in such dirty hot, sticky, humid weather puts me off. The best way is to swim. I feel so fresh and rejuvenated after swimming, and I believe it's one of the best mode to fitness during summers.

I say, 'Use it or lose it.' I have my own fitness regime, which is centred around stretching, free-weights and fast walking. I also have a trainer half of the year, as I spend my summers in the south of France where I swim a lot.

What batsmen like me do for fitness is often a bit different to what bowlers like Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad do but everyone in the squad has a big focus on core strength. It is really important for batting, bowling and fielding. You need a strong core and spine so your movement isn't restricted out there.

All my male friends are into fitness and though I go gymming and swimming, I find yoga and spinning at the gym very boring.

In the British Special Air Service, combat fitness is all about running.

The typical response from people when I tell them I'm diabetic is, 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.' You know, I'm not. I'm a better athlete because of diabetes rather than despite it. I'm more aware of my training, my fitness and more aware of nutrition. I'm more proactive about my health.

Now I say that if you run more than 15 miles a week, it's for something other than aerobic fitness. Once you pass 15 miles, you do not see much further improvement.