Arnold Schwarzenegger on training and becoming a champion....

“The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and
the torture and pain. That’s why I call it the torture routine. Because
it’s like forced torture. Torturing my body. What helps me is to think of
this pain as pleasure. Pain make me grow. Growing is what I want.
Therefore, for me pain is pleasure. And so when I am experiencing pain I’m
in heaven. It’s great. People suggest this is masochistic. But they’re
wrong. I like pain for a particular reason. I don’t like needle’s stuck
in my arm. But I do like the pain that is necessary to be a champion.”

“A beginner does eight repetitions of a certain exercise with his maximum
weight on the barbell. As soon as it hurts, he thinks about stopping. I
work beyond this point, which means I tell my mind that as soon as it
starts aching it is growing. Growing is something unusual for the body when
you are over eighteen. The body isn’t used to ten, eleven, or twelve reps
with a maximum weight. Then I do ten or fifteen sets of this in a row. No
human body was ever prepared for this and suddenly it is making itself grow
to handle this new challenge, growing through this pain area. Experiencing
this pain in my muscles and aching and going on is my challenge. The last
three or four reps is what makes the muscles grow. This area of pain
divides a champion from someone who is not a champion. That’s what most
people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the
pain no matter what happens. I have no fear of fainting. I do squats until
I fall over and pass out. So what? It’s not going to kill me. I wake up
five minutes later and I’m OK. A lot of other athletes are afraid of this.
So they don’t pass out. They don’t go on.”