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Anime and Manga
Cell: How did you acquire this new strength? Enlighten me!
Vegeta: I do a lot of push-ups and sit-ups... and I drink plenty of juice.
Vegeta: I do a lot of push-ups and sit-ups... and I drink plenty of juice.
— Dragon Ball Z (Funimation dub)
Klaus: What kind of a boy is this Hayate Ayasaki?
Maria: Um... let's see... He caught up to a car going 80km/h on a bicycle... and was run over like some trash in the street, but the boy was still fine.
[Beat]
Klaus: Maria... what kind of Gundam is he?
Maria: No... he's actually human.
Maria: Um... let's see... He caught up to a car going 80km/h on a bicycle... and was run over like some trash in the street, but the boy was still fine.
[Beat]
Klaus: Maria... what kind of Gundam is he?
Maria: No... he's actually human.
"When you feel someone's gaze on your exposed skin, your muscles contract out of nervousness, and you look slimmer. Having been completely naked since I was born... my muscular strength is now far beyond a normal person's."
— Number 7, Oddman 11
First, what's important is to make sure you stick to this intense training regiment. Listen, Genos: you have to keep doing it, no matter how difficult it gets. It took me a full three years to get this strong...
ONE HUNDRED PUSH-UPS, ONE HUNDRED SIT-UPS, AND ONE HUNDRED SQUATS! AND A TEN KILOMETER RUN! DO IT EVERY SINGLE DAY!
And of course, make sure you eat three meals daily. Just a banana in the morning is fine. But never, EVER use the air conditioner in the summer, or heat in the winter, so you can strengthen the mind!
ONE HUNDRED PUSH-UPS, ONE HUNDRED SIT-UPS, AND ONE HUNDRED SQUATS! AND A TEN KILOMETER RUN! DO IT EVERY SINGLE DAY!
And of course, make sure you eat three meals daily. Just a banana in the morning is fine. But never, EVER use the air conditioner in the summer, or heat in the winter, so you can strengthen the mind!
— Saitama, One-Punch Man
Fine: How? How can a normal man like you stand to the power of Complete Relic?
Genjuro: I eat, watch movies and sleep! A true man knows nothing else!
Genjuro: I eat, watch movies and sleep! A true man knows nothing else!
Comic Books
Robo: Bruce, c'mon. [on the ground] Wait. What just happened?
Bruce Lee: I kicked you.
Robo: That was like... being hit by a truck. And I've been hit by trucks.
Bruce Lee: I kicked you.
Robo: That was like... being hit by a truck. And I've been hit by trucks.
"So ze secret to ze ultimate super soldier is... proper diet und exercise?"
— Baron von Blitzschlag, Avengers: The Initiative
Eastern Animation
Narration: Do not worry, dear viewer! This terrible pirate cannot do Jim any harm, because Jim does his exercises every day!
— Treasure Island (1988)
— Treasure Island (1988)
Films — Live Action
Mobster: Those comic books messed with your mind, kid. You can't do this Batman shit in real life. Nobody got that drive. Nobody got those moves. Nobody did all those mother-fuckin' pushups...
Hit Girl: Except me.
Hit Girl: Except me.
— Kick-Ass
Literature
Surgeon: Storms! Highprince, you're all scars under here! How many times have you been wounded in the shoulder?
Dalinar: Can't remember.
Surgeon: How can you still use your arm?
Dalinar: Training and practice.
Surgeon: That's not how it works!
Dalinar: Can't remember.
Surgeon: How can you still use your arm?
Dalinar: Training and practice.
Surgeon: That's not how it works!
Music
The Charles Atlas course with Dynamic Tension
Can turn you into... A BEAST OF A MAN.
Can turn you into... A BEAST OF A MAN.
— The Who
Professional Wrestling
"I am half-man, half-amazing!"
— Montel Vontavious Porter, WWE Friday Night Smackdown!
Video Games
"You take 50% less damage from all melee attacks. Because of training."
— Martial Arts (Basic) skill description, PAYDAY 2
"What do I care for your suffering? Pain, even agony, is no more than information before the senses, data fed to the computer of the mind. The lesson is simple: you have received the information, now act on it. Take control of the input and you shall become master of the output."
— Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
"I am Bruno of the Elite Four! Through rigorous training, people and Pokémon can become stronger! I've weight trained with my Pokémon! And that will never change! <player>! We will grind you down with our superior power! Hoo hah!"
—Bruno, Pokémon Red and Blue
Webcomics
[on Dracula's moon base]
Dr. McNinja: [Bruce Lee] was the first person who showed me how much mystery there is to unlock in our own anatomy. His mastery over the human body was such an inspiration to me!
Dracula: Yes, well, his final act of that mastery was jumping to the moon.
Dr. McNinja: Whaaa?
Dracula: That one was easy to catch.
[later...]
Dr. McNinja: Did you know that with a lifetime of ninja training, and an extreme knowledge of human anatomy, a person can have an incredible control over his or her body? All that stands in the way is technique. I talked to Bruce. [jumps from the moon to Earth]
Alt Text: WHAT ONE MAN CAN DO, ANOTHER CAN DO.
Dr. McNinja: [Bruce Lee] was the first person who showed me how much mystery there is to unlock in our own anatomy. His mastery over the human body was such an inspiration to me!
Dracula: Yes, well, his final act of that mastery was jumping to the moon.
Dr. McNinja: Whaaa?
Dracula: That one was easy to catch.
[later...]
Dr. McNinja: Did you know that with a lifetime of ninja training, and an extreme knowledge of human anatomy, a person can have an incredible control over his or her body? All that stands in the way is technique. I talked to Bruce. [jumps from the moon to Earth]
Alt Text: WHAT ONE MAN CAN DO, ANOTHER CAN DO.
Young Bruce Wayne: If only I was a scientist billionaire crime-fighting detective, I could have stopped this!
Narrator: That night, Bruce prays to Jesus to grant him awesome powers.
Bruce: Jesus, please make my muscles develop unrealistically fast and make science really easy to learn.
Narrator: Jesus comes through!
Narrator: That night, Bruce prays to Jesus to grant him awesome powers.
Bruce: Jesus, please make my muscles develop unrealistically fast and make science really easy to learn.
Narrator: Jesus comes through!
— Jay Pinkerton and Peter Lynn, Batman Origin Comics
Maxima: We have a teammate named Mathias. Goes by Math, thinks Mathias sounds too biblical.
Sydney: Does he have super-Abacus powers?
Maxima: He's a martial artist. A really really really good one.
[several panels later...]
Sydney: He's that good, huh?
Maxima: Good enough that trying to differentiate between his abilities and someone with actual super powers is a futile exercise.
Sydney: Does he have super-Abacus powers?
Maxima: He's a martial artist. A really really really good one.
[several panels later...]
Sydney: He's that good, huh?
Maxima: Good enough that trying to differentiate between his abilities and someone with actual super powers is a futile exercise.
— Grrl Power (please note that while this is happening, we're also getting scenes of Math fighting with one of the strongest members of the team... and winning, effortlessly)
"From the age of thirteen I practiced every day with the straight sword. I followed a strict vegetarian regimen, and harsh training of barefoot sprints (five) between cities, squats and breathing exercises (two bells), and sword drills and resistance training (three bells). By the age of sixteen, my body was a steel edifice. I was so often mistaken for a man I began to wear my hair long with no pins and unbind my breasts. I could break stone with my hands with no effort, I could sprint between the Yellow City and the Lunar dominions in a day or less and barely strain my breath. My mastery of the sword complete, I enlisted in the Middle Army's third legion, where I was widely respected as a swordswoman of incredible power. When it came time to face my first real opponent, the Colossus of Pardos, in my youthful pride and immense skill, I brought all my training and mastery to bear. Scarcely half a day passed before my sword was shattered into thirty pieces, my right leg was almost torn from its socket, and my honed body was broken pathetically in a hundred and forty places. I defeated him by gouging his brains out through his breathing valves. My thumbs, in this case, proved far more useful. At that moment, with my thumbs in his brains, I had a revelation. I had trained far too broadly. Existence and the act of combat are absolutely no different, and the essence of both, the purity of both, is a singular action, which is Cutting Down Your Opponent. You must resolve to train this action. You must become this action. Truly, there is very little else that will serve you as well in this entire cursed world."
— Meti's Sword Manual, Kill Six Billion Demons
"Okay, here I go. The deciding factor for success for this hard training plan is if you can see it through to the end. This is the important part, Genos. You have to keep yourself going no matter how tough it gets. I have become this strong in only three years. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and 10km running. Every single day! It goes without saying that you have to eat three meals a day, but in the mornings, a banana should be enough. Another rule is to never use your air conditioner, be it summer or winter, to mentally strengthen yourself. At first, it'll be tough as hell, and you'll start thinking that taking a day off isn't a big deal. But I didn't. In order to become a strong hero I didn't stop even when my whole body was in pain and I was spitting blood. Even when my legs felt heavy and refused to move, I kept doing squats. Even when my arms made strange cracking sounds, I continued doing pushups. After about one and a half years of training, I noticed two things about myself: I had lost all my hair, and I had become strong. In short, train so hard you think you'll die or lose your mind. That is the only way there is to become strong. You guys messing around with evolution and the new human race and all that crap will never make it this far. The true power of us human beings is that we can change ourselves on our own."
— Saitama, One-Punch Man
Roy: I'm a fighter. I don't have any magic.
Belkar: You're as strong as a giant and recently survived being impaled by a triceratops.
Roy: Okay, that, but...
Belkar: You're as strong as a giant and recently survived being impaled by a triceratops.
Roy: Okay, that, but...
Web Original
One of the best things about DBZ is that, in regards to almost all the basic powers in the show, if the characters are asked how they can do what they just did, they can honestly say "I work out."
Lune Zoldark: Thanks, guys! It took a lot of practice to get this down right.
Nu Stein: That kind of skill....is she a newtype?
Lune: Nah. I trained in Jupiter's gravity field. By the way, what's a Newtype? Are they similar to a Psychodriver?
Nu Stein: That kind of skill....is she a newtype?
Lune: Nah. I trained in Jupiter's gravity field. By the way, what's a Newtype? Are they similar to a Psychodriver?
Web Videos
"The real deathblow comes from Zell's kung fu. Because swords and meteors are one thing, but a good Chuck Norris roundhouse to the jaw will finish anything — even the devil!"
— The Spoony Experiment's review of Final Fantasy VIII
Beast Boy: I thought you said you didn't have superpowers.
Robin: I Lied. [kicks Mammoth several meters back]
Robin: I Lied. [kicks Mammoth several meters back]
Real Life
Учение трудно, легко в бою! (Uchenie trudno, legko v boyu! — roughly "Train hard, fight easy!")
— Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov
"Though we cannot make it possible to fly to the heavens like Superman or to make your body transparent like The Invisible Man, we can make things that are impossible for ordinary people possible, if you practice diligently."
— Mas Oyama, This Is Karate
