Richard Simmons

“Yeah, but I do call them back and follow up. Most people talk at overweight people, I talk with them.”

“I start phone calls at 4 A.M. to cheer people up. The housebound, people in the hospital. People who, after decades, still can't get over what happened 10 or 15 years ago.”

“No tricks, gimmicks, special pills, special potions, special equipment. All it takes is desire and will.”

“My father offered me a dollar for every pound I would lose as a kid. It didn't work. And it doesn't really work in the long run. Who are you competing against? It's you. You need to be doing...”

“Right now many schools have no recess. Most schools have no PE.”

“Every morning when I get up, I ask God what he wants me to do, ask him to lead me to the right people to help them.”

“How do you get motivated? By knowing your worth. Americans do not know how worthy they are. You deserve to be healthy, but a lot of times, people have, as childs been told - as a children be...”

“Comedy, not screaming at someone, can make someone lift their legs higher. There is a way to do a push-up and a sit-up, and it doesn't have to be so complicated. Everyone is putting a diffic...”

“I get an abundance of e-mail every day, some say 'dear Richard, can you call my husband, he weighs 400 pounds...' or 'my 14-year-old is 200 pounds...' or 'I just got divorced, no one wants m...”

“The real pride, the real present, is your health and your longevity. My whole career, I have never done anything where competition was involved with weight loss.”

“Even though my work is whimsical. I have a very serious job. I cry more than I laugh.”

“For my workout, I'm up at 4 A.M. I say my prayers, count my blessings, and I work out right away. I just get it done.”

“Most workouts are way too aggressive. Thousands of lunges wear out the body.”

“I'm a real paradox. Because I'm a very serious person, and I take my work very seriously. But I wrap it up in a court jester and a clown and make people laugh and make them feel good about t...”