
[[quoteright:320:[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elan_training_montage_8358.png]]]]

->''The hour's approaching, to give it your best\\
You've got to reach your prime.\\
That's when you need to put yourself to the test\\
And show us a passage of time\\
We're going to need a montage (montage!)\\
Ooh it takes a montage (montage!)''
-->-- "Montage", from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''[[note]] and later, ''TeamAmericaWorldPolice''[[/note]]

A variant of the HardWorkMontage in which a character builds themselves up over time in preparation for a battle. Usually accompanied by uplifting music. If it's supposed to be taken seriously, they'll use something original, or just appropriate. If they're going for a full-on parody, it'll be one of the most well-recognised montage songs, or something reminiscent. If "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnqZl_blT7E Gonna Fly Now]]" from ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' can't be used, then Joe Esposito's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-WHW-QNswE "You're the Best"]] or Music/{{Survivor}}'s immortal [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4 "Eye Of The Tiger"]] makes for a good substitute.

Closely related to the LockAndLoadMontage. See also WorkoutFanservice.



* In the Hotels.com ad, "Wait Training" ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=741sTZgGInM see here]]), the trope is PlayedForLaughs.
-->"I'm not very good at waiting."\\
"Then we must teach you... to wait."
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NXlv28HYOA Here's]] one for a Budweiser commercial, with a dog training a horse. No, really.
* Another one from the early 2000s was this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnfAha9HEzE Isuzu ad]] featuring the return of David Leisure's [[VeryFalseAdvertising Joe Isuzu]] character; in which he's shown training to Eye of the Tiger.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The original ''{{Anime/Gunbuster}}'' had one played so straight it comes across as a homage to ''{{Franchise/Rocky}}''. The "running along the water" scene is even duplicated - albeit with the protagonist ''inside a giant robot''.
* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'''s Teana and Subaru had one of these set to Subaru's ImageSong when they were training for their [[MeleeATrois two-on-one battle]] against Nanoha. It, ahh... didn't turn out too well.
* Episode 2 of ''KaleidoStar'' uses this when Sora preps herself to duplicate the "Golden Phoenix", a favorite trick of Layla Hamilton, one of her idols. She comes oh-so-close to pulling it off, perfecting the spin technique but missing the opposite trapeze bar by ''thatmuch''. Layla, who normally SuffersNewbiesPoorly, is impressed enough to allow Sora to stay with the Kaleido Stage crew.
* Chapter 239 of ''MahouSenseiNegima'' has one, complete with ExplodingCalendar.
** A previous chapter had one for Yue, bonus points as part of the training montage involved actual flying.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' played it surprisingly straight when Shinji and Asuka have to learn how to work together by playing some weird Japanese hybrid of Twister and DDR. Also includes {{exploding calendar}}.
** Notable because the episode was produced about four years before the original ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' was introduced. Watch it today and you're liable to think that the bit was inspired by DDR.
*** In fact, considering how monumentally popular Eva was in Japan, the reverse may be true...
* Subverted in ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', when Excel has to win a bowling competition and runs into Nabeshin in a restroom, who reveals he is a legendary bowling coach and offers to train her. The show then skips directly to the END of the training montage with the two of them watching the sunset on a beach Karate-Kid style and Nabeshin saying "I've taught you all I know." Excel then reveals that the reason we didn't see any training is because there wasn't any; all they did was go look at a sunset.
** Pedro, however, plays it straight (Film/{{Rocky}} parodies aside), when he is training to fight Gomez.
* ''BlueGender'' (an atrociously foreshortened compilation of the series) contains the world's bare minimum elements for a training montage: a total zero at the start-->someone correcting how he holds a gun-->some guy going "hey kid, you've got a knack for this!"-->and suddenly, Yuji being ready to go into battle.
* Used in ''Anime/AyanesHighKick'' when the eponymous hero is training for (what she believes to be) her first Pro-wrestling/Kickboxing mixed martial arts match. The montage includes her practicing punches and kicks near the road by car-light, getting in the stomach by her trainer with a medicine ball while doing sit-ups, doing pull-ups while wearing a weight-suit, and of course jogging up stairs. All set to an upbeat rock tune, as one would expect.
* ''LoveHina'' has one ticking down the days till the Tokyo U Entrance Exam. Naru is doing well--Keitaro, [[YouCanPanicNow on the other hand...]]
* ''[[Anime/TheIdolmaster THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - Several throughout the showing, the first one being along the ending sequence on the first episode.
* ''SamuraiChamploo''. In the BaseballEpisode, Manzou the Saw is narrating events, including scenes in which our heroes are learning the mysterious art of baseball in a single night. "At this point things get rather boring, so I'll skip the details."
* Haruka of ''Manga/{{Kotoura-san}}'' goes through one in episode 5, as the local CuteClumsyGirl was assigned to race in the inter-class relay... and that doesn't work. She still tripped on her feet.

* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' series, obviously, although it's a bit different in every movie:
** In the first, it's ''Gonna Fly Now''. It is such an iconic example that it [[GonnaFlyNowMontage used to be the]] TropeNamer.
** In the second, it's a remixed ''Gonna Fly Now'', only with kids added in to show how much everybody loves Rocky.
** Prior to that there is a training montage set to the "Going the Distance" music from the first movie.
** In the third, ''Eye of the Tiger'' comes into play.
** In [[RockyIV the fourth]], we have both a regular training music montage and ''Hearts on Fire''.
** In [[Film/RockyV the fifth]], the featured song is ''Go For It! (Heart and Fire)''.
** The final movie saw a rousing return of ''Gonna Fly Now''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' does this, with Bob lifting ''train cars'' at the rail yard. Intercut with a lot of Crap Getting Past The Radar.
* Film/TheKarateKid spoofs this, by showing the training without uplifting music and Daniel resenting the training, since he hasn't been told of its purpose - he thinks it's [[WaxOnWaxOff simple household chores]]. Later used straight.
* Any given John G. Avildsen film, really. Aside from ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' and ''Film/TheKarateKid'' you have ''Film/LeanOnMe''.
* Spoofed in Adam Carolla's ''Film/TheHammer''. Jerry shuts off his alarm at 6:00 AM to the opening strains of Survivor's ''Eye of the Tiger.'' And again at 6:09. And again at 6:18, and again and again until he finally gets up around 11:00 to actually start training.
* ''Film/TheBlindSide'': SJ training Michael for football. (This film also has a HardWorkMontage, with Miss Sue tutoring Michael in academics.)
* Bruce Wayne's training with the League of Shadows in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' is mostly shown via montage. The accompanying music is more brooding than uplifting, as befits the idea that it's a Batman movie and [[spoiler:they're planning to use him to destroy Gotham]].
** A short one appears in the Dark Knight Rises, with Bruce getting back in shape [[PrisonsAreGymnasiums while in the Pit]].
* In Disney's ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', the TrainingMontage depicts the entire platoon of trainees progressing from pathetic failures to a capable team, to the strains of the (intentionally) [[SweetPollyOliver ironically-entitled tune, "I'll Make A Man Out Of You".]]
* A TrainingMontage also appears in Disney's previous film, ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', with the titular/clumsy demigod doing hero-training while the coach sings "One Last Hope".
* Played relatively straight in ''Film/BringItOn'' with the cheerleader training montage after the Toros bought routine is disqualified.
* [[{{Troperiffic}} Inevitably used]] in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''. A great many of Po's training exercises became deliberately hilarious due to either his weight or the way in which Shifu used food to motivate him. Thankfully, and perhaps surprisingly due to Master Crane being in the film, there is no HomageShot of the Crane Stance from ''The Karate Kid.'' Even though it's to be expected, like so many other cliches and predictable elements in this movie, Po's training still works, managing to be uplifting and awesome, probably due to Creator/HansZimmer's[[note]][[ArentYouForgettingSomeone and John Powell's]][[/note]] excellent music. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Of course it gets trumped by the dumpling fight a few minutes later]]...
* A good example is [[http://youtube.com/watch?v=cufQD5Y31ZA this]] [[SoBadItsGood So Bad It's Hilarious]] training montage from ''TheManWhoSavesTheWorld''. Watch the clip and know that this is meant to be serious.
** Also note that ''that'' particular clip is actually spliced together from two different scenes in the film. And that song isn't the same one used in the original film--the original is even cheesier.
* In ''Film/MrMom'' an Homage Montage aimed no doubt at ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' has Jack Butler and his housewife neighbors losing weight and fixing up his house to this same tune.
* ''Film/WetHotAmericanSummer'': "Show me the fever, into the fire. Taking it higher and higher!]]"
* The film ''Film/BestOfTheBest'' has a training montage showing all the hard work of the U.S. National Karate Team, set to a song with the same title as the movie.
* The main character of ''{{Persepolis}}'' '''sings along''' to her "Eye of the Tiger" montage near the end of the film. Considering that she is an Iranian who almost exclusively speaks Persian and French, that she tackles the song in its native English, and she's not actually very good at singing in any case, the results are...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlIAmCfHzbg amusing]].
* ''Film/HighlanderIIITheSorcerer'' (AKA ''Final Dimension'') used this, as the main character trained on a mountain top to defeat his foe.
* ''Film/SpyGame'' used this to demonstrate Boy Scout's transformation to naive army grunt to spy.
* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'': [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrMLRQIT_k the music]].
* Parodied in ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'', where the villagers Robin Hood is training routinely fail at basic training, and at one point lose in jousting training to inanimate dummies.
* In ''Film/{{Shooter}}'' FBI Rookie Nick Memphis is trained by ex-marine sniper Bobby Lee Swagger over the course of few days on effective sharpshooting, military tactics and advanced camouflage.
* From ''{{WesternAnimation/Ratatouille}}'': "Let me make this easy to remember: keep your station clean, or [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome I WILL KILL YOU!]]"
** And there's a previous one where Remy and Linguini learn to cook in unison.
* ''Film/ItHappenedHere'' (1966). Used to show the protagonist falling under the sway of the fascist Immediate Action Organisation. At the beginning of the montage the IAO nurses flinch when firing a Webley revolver; by the end all of them are coldly blazing away at their targets.
* ''Chak De! India'': Kabir Khan finally convinces his team that he's the best coach ever: cue title song (literally named "GO INDIA!") and montage of the girls training.
* ''Film/KillBill'' volume 2. The Bride learns kung fu under Pai Mei, most notably how to punch through a wooden board from only an inch away, which helps her later when she's in a coffin buried alive.
* The Brucesploitation film ''Clones of Bruce Lee'' goes so far as to rip off "Gonna Fly Now" in it's training montage.
* ''Film/ChuckECheeseInTheGalaxy5000'' has this when Chuckie crashes into a Hermit's house (who may or may not be Pasqualli). This moment is probably the only decent musical number in the film.
* As {{WebVideo/Phelous}} points out, it happens in ''ASerbianFilm'' of all movies.
* There's one in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' when the mutants learn how to use their powers.
* ''Film/SpringSummerFallWinterAndSpring'' has one, which is strange since it's an acclaimed art film about a Buddhist monk rather than a sports film.
* ''Film/SoulSurfer'': "I don't need easy...I just need possible"
* In the 2011 film ''Film/{{Warrior}}'': The training montage for both brothers, overlaid with commentary and Beethoven (Brendan's leitmotif). %% This entry was added automatically by FELH2. In case the wording doesn't make sense, rewrite it as you like, remove this comment and tell this troper.
* ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'': Here the sport is public speaking, and there are two such montages here. However, the first such sequence may be an ''Anti''-training montage; Albert goes through a ton of humiliating exercises, juxtaposed with his latest speech in which he ''still'' sounds horrid. [[BatmanGambit That's exactly what Lionel wants]], since his point is that mechanics alone won't fix Albert.
* MarkWahlberg's character in ''Film/TheFighter'' is being montaged while preparing for his final boxing fight.
* ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'' shows Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell training for the Olympics, with Abrahams doing runs on a track in Cambridge and Liddell running through the highlands of Scotland.
* ''Film/TheMechanic'' (2011). Bishop and [=McKenna=] using a variety of automatic weapons and a Barrett fifty-calibre rifle on an improvised firing range are alternated with scenes of [=McKenna=]'s daily routine with his PreciousPuppy, which is meant to set up the interest of [=McKenna=]'s first target.
* Attempting to fit ''Literature/EndersGame'' into a [[Film/EndersGame 2-hour film]], many of the Battle Room battles and fleet simulations given more detail in the book are shown as brief montages. In the first case, the montage makes it a point to show Ender's army's standing rising from the lowest to number one. Why bother showing how brilliant Ender is when you can say it?

* ''TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Cold Days'' opens with one of these, with much LampshadeHanging. And since it's ''Mab'' who's doing the training, it's equal parts physical therapy and attempts to murder Harry.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}''. {{Lampshaded}} in the MusicalEpisode "Once More, With Feeling". The influence of a demon keeps making the residents of Sunnydale break out into song and dance. Buffy is doing weapons training with Giles.
-->'''Buffy:''' I'm worried our training's gonna turn into a montage from an '80s movie.
-->'''Giles:''' If we start to hear inspirational power chords, we'll just lie down until it goes away.
** Though ''Series/{{Angel}}'' played it perfectly straight when Angel gets ready to hunt down Darla and Drusilla.
** It's also played straight in the Buffy movie.
** Subverted in "When She Was Bad", where Buffy's [[PercussiveTherapy relentless pounding]] is used to show she's NotHerself.
* Spoofed in an episode of ''Series/LittleMosqueOnThePrairie''. Babar is walking down the street reading a book of Curling rules and regulations. He proceeds to walk past people playing various other sports and up a flight of stairs, then turns around and holds the book in the air. Oh yea, and an oddly played version of ''Gonna Fly Now'' is indeed playing.
* Parodied in the subplot to the ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' 3-parter "Breaking Up Is Easy To Do", where Kelly trains for a brawl with a rival actress over a movie role. It begins with her trying to drink raw eggs while they're still in their shells.
* ''Series/TheColbertReport'' featured a spooferific training montage in the first episode of the revamped web-animated cartoon ''Tek Jansen''. The background music was clearly a parody of "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito.
** The 4/11/12 episode has Stephen giving a Marine civilian job training... as a television pundit, with a training montage of practicing which camera to talk at, jumping for the microphone, [[TheWarOnStraw beating strawmen]], and wearing a suit, accompanied by a trumpet version of the theme.
* ''Series/TheDailyShow'' had their version. During their coverage of the 2010 World Cup, British correspondent John Oliver trained to Gonna Fly Now, drinking Heineken and running up the steps - in order to be a more obnoxious soccer fan.
* Previews for ''Series/TheTonightShow with Conan O'Brien'' showed Conan [[BeachEpisode running down the beach]] in [[FanDisservice a suit jacket and tie]] to the tune of ''Eye of The Tiger'' to indicate him loosening up for the move to [[HollywoodCalifornia LA]].
* ''ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' had a double montage of Dee and Charlie both training for their fights and taking copious amounts of steroids.
** And one when Charlie tries to teach Mac to play hockey.
* ''LazyTown '' had one of these. Sportacus was training Ziggy to be a hero like him. The music even vaguely sounded like the Rocky music.
* Done in an episode of ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' with ''hamboning'', of all things.
* Lampshaded and subverted in TheMightyBoosh episode 'Killaroo', where Howard's boxing training montage fails to yield any improvement at all.
* Used with ''the villain'' in Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy, as she TookALevelInBadass. [[HistoryOfPowerRangers Linkara's]] review points out, and solves, the surprising lack of an '80s power ballad in the background (he went with "You're the Best").
* Parodied in ''TheBigBangTheory'' when Sheldon and Raj intently study a whiteboard...complete with fast cuts and "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background. ''Twice.''
* Parodied on ''Series/EvenStevens'': Louis, having learned that 97-pound-weakling Tom is actually a black belt, asks Tom to "teach me your ways." A montage then depicts Louis failing at preposterously easy tasks (like punching through a celery stalk). He is dismayed to learn that [[TrainingFromHell it takes nine years to learn Tom's "ways"]].
* Parodied in ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' with hilarity. Will spends time training to fight the bully from the opening sequence.
* Also parodied in ''Bargearse'' (a GagDub of Australian cop show ''Bluey'') where the overweight cop tries jogging to "Gonna Fly Now", only to end up LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand when he has a heart attack.
-->"It was your fault for playing that Rocky theme!"
* Duncan and Richie have one in ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' "Eye for an Eye". A portion of the franchise's Queen "Princes of the Universe" theme played with it.
* Parodied in ''Series/TheMiddle'', when Sue and Brad are training for a square dance competition. There's even a square dance version of "Eye of the Tiger" playing during the scene.

* One appears in ''My Heart is Beating'' to represent the months the water polo team is practicing for the school championships.

* Parodied in ''AdventuresInOdyssey'''s "Fifteen Minutes", where Alex trains to perfect his mini-golf skills under the ex-champion, Bart Rathbone. Somehow, despite the appropriate music (and a spot where he waxes Bart's car for no discernible purpose), this causes him to do much worse the second time around.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals'', Larry attempts to get in shape on a series of exercise machines while a pastiche of "Gonna Fly Now" plays in the background.
* ''Mike Tyson's PunchOut!!'' features a memorable training sequence between circuits where Little Mac dons a pink tracksuit and runs behind Doc Louis riding a bike. This is expanded upon in the Wii version to create a full-on training montage.
* Little Mac does this again in the intro to his trailer for when he becomes playable in ''SuperSmashBros for WiiU[=/=]3DS''. It concludes with him knocking a Sandbag out of the window of the gym.
* ''NoMoreHeroes'' has a remix of "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background in the gym.
* In ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the series of clips demonstrating your Jedi training might count (though there isn't any music, just Master Zhar narrating).0
* ''VideoGame/DragonFable'': Drakonan, a [[WhateverMancy Pyromancer]] gets this, it consists of [[RuleOfFunny Bench pressing and runnning up a hill, neither of which really helps someone chuck fireballs at you]]
* ''WorldOfWarcraft: Mists of Pandaria'' features three of these during a quest chain where the PlayerCharacter learns martial arts from the Hidden Master. The first montage is played straight, then the second plays it for laughs: as the Hidden Master throws eggs at the player to test their concentration, the giant bird they stole one of the eggs from comes to attack him from behind.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* VinceMcMahon had a hilarious training montage in 1999 when he was preparing to enter the Royal Rumble, being coached by his son Shane and being made to chase a chicken and [[RawEggsMakeYouStronger drink raw eggs]], among other things.
** And another one in the summer of 2009, when he and D-Generation X teamed up to battle The Legacy. TripleH was holding a paddle up for Vince to punch when Carlito came into Vince's office and started complaining about something trivial. Hilariously, Triple H held the paddle in front of Carlito's face and then yanked it away at the last second, causing Carlito to get punched out!

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebVideo/DragonBallAbridged'' has a montage in the year before the fight with Vegeta and Nappa set and parodied to "[[Disney/{{Mulan}} I'll Make a Man Out of You]]".
* In ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', Strong Bad is asked to "creat a montage" in sbemail 117. He creates not one, but ''three'' montages, all involving a Wagon Fulla Pancakes:
** The Cheat and the Wagon Fulla Pancakes being down-on-their-luck travelling salesmen.
--> ''You can't do it''\\
''So give up now''\\
''What you gonna do when your dough runs out?''\\
''Ain't it a drag?''
** Strong Bad [[FallingInLoveMontage falling in love with the]] Wagon Fulla Pancakes.
--> ''Let's make this moment be a symbol of our lives''\\
''We'll pawn your Dad's computer and we'll sale to paradise''\\
''You're a girl''\\
''Or maybe a wagon''\\
''Filled up with pancakes...''
** And finally, the Wagon Fulla Pancakes [[TrainingMontage training for the championship.]]
--> ''Guts, guts and might''\\
''Liftin' weights and feelin' alright''\\
''It's a showdown, goin' downtown you're gonna mess around''\\
''Showdown, put your nose down, showdown!''
** The "Showdown" music (without Strong Bad's vocals) is reprised with Homestar's TrainingMontage for the animated version of "Strongest Man in the World".
* ''BowsersKingdom'' Episode 7 had one of these, but it was cut out because of lazy animators. Hal and Jeff have an OhCrap reaction when they find out and come to the conclusion that they didn't train at all.

* {{Subverted}}, parodied and {{invoked}} in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0391.html this]] ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]]'' strip.
* [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=39&issue=10 This strip]] of ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja''. Note the image's AltText.
* ''Webcomic/{{Collar 6}}'' used this for a time skip to the spanking contest.
* Invoked in ''AnsemRetort'', when Axel is about to begin training for a Murder-off.
-->'''Aerith:''' So you've got a week to train for this. Montage?\\
'''Axel:''' Montage.
** The next strip is a montage of Axel training, complete with The Eye of the Tiger in the background.
-->'''Riku:''' Oh thank God, that song lasted all week.\\
'''Namine:''' Yeah, sorry about that, I downloaded the 'Super Montage' edition.
* ''CastlevaniaRPG'' parodies it [[http://www.cvrpg.com/comics/comic.php?arch=comic&page=720 here]].
* Gently [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in [[http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20110107/ this]] [[CtrlAltDel Ctrl+Alt+Del]] strip.
* ''Webcomic/FiveColorControl'' uses it in a direct ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' in [[http://www.5colorcontrol.com/comic.php?comic=132 this strip]], where Gideon Jura trains in preparation for his upcoming appearance in the ''[[MagicTheGathering Magic 2012 Core Set]]''.
* Subverted in [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/080324 this]] Webcomic/SluggyFreelance strip
* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' had [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2212 one]] for [[MundaneMadeAwesome librarians]].
* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Webcomic/EarsForElves'' when Luero is describing what Guardianship training will be like for Tanna. One panel on [[http://www.earsforelves.com/archives/427 that page]] has a few doodles of a miniature Tanna training and learning archery, as well as serving and obeying her superiors -- specifically Luero himself, much to his great glee.
* The official ''WebComic/WonderMomo'' webcomic had the narration lampshade this [[http://www.shiftylook.com/comics/wondermomo/time-for-a-montage when the title character was being trained]] [[spoiler:by her [[ActionMom mother, the original Wonder Momo]]]].
--> Since this is a comic, you'll have to imagine inspiring music playing over this training montage, but trust us, it's awesome.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''StreetFighterTheLaterYears'' has one in episode 5, where the fighters are training their powers before the tournament.
* The ''WebVideo/{{Wiiviewer}}'' likes to do these with some of his favorite [[TheEighties 80s songs]].
* [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] attempted one in preparation for reading ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'' It didn't work.
* The last video of Franchise/{{Batman}} vs. IronMan in ''ImAMarvelAndImADC''.
* [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18544_how-the-karate-kid-ruined-modern-world.html This Cracked article]] is a big fat TakeThat at the trope.
* WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd was determined to finally beat ''NinjaGaiden'' after [[NintendoHard twenty years of trying]]. After seeking the help of a real ninja and going through a training montage, he ended up [[spoiler: getting close, but still failing.]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' in the episode "Spelling Applebee's", when Foxxy was training for a SpellingBee. After asking if they could use the "Rocky song", the reply she received was "only... if we can afford it." The scene then cut to Foxxy punching a punching bag to the beat of a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong barely-audible, poorly-rendered version]] of "Gonna Fly Now". The training sequence was then abandoned altogether as "it doesn't work without the real song."
* Parodied, steps and all, in ''HeyArnold'' in the episode "Old Iron Man", where Arnold's grandpa competes against an old rival in a senior athletic competition.
* Inverted in the [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Daffy Duck]] cartoon, "Holiday for Drumsticks". To "save" Tom, a turkey destined for Thanksgiving dinner, Daffy coaches him through an exercise regimen to help him lose weight -- while packing away all the food (and the pounds) the farmers have set out to fatten him up. The TrainingMontage is on a split screen, with Tom working himself rail-thin in one half, and Daffy stuffing his beak in the other, with the opposite effect on his physique. In the end, Daffy is the one thrown inside the oven. (As Garfield once said about getting in shape, "I AM in shape! Round is a shape!")
* Spoofed in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' episode, when the boys are training their characters up to defeat the Internet {{Troll}} who has been [[StopHavingFunGuys ruining the game for everyone]]; whilst the in-game shots shows their characters gradually improving, as they are are spending all their time eating junk food in front of computers the out-game shots of the montage show the boys gradually getting fatter, spottier and further out of shape over time.
** The song that plays in the background during this scene is "Live to Win" by Paul Stanley, one of the members of {{KISS}}. Funnily enough, the episode with the song was [[EarlyBirdCameo released before Paul's album]].
** Also brilliantly spoofed/lampshaded in "Asspen", and then in an identical fashion in the movie ''TeamAmerica'': textbook-perfect training montages are accompanied by the song 'Montage,' which helpfully notes that ''"In anything, if you want to go / From just a beginner to a pro / You need a montage."'' This is also something of a subversion because Stan still skis like a beginner after the montage.
** And then there is the episode "The Losing Edge" where Randy goes through a TrainingMontage training to beat the other fathers at Stan's baseball games set to the song ''You're The Best Around''. He even ''sings it'' in a high-pitched voice when he's fighting the father he's been training the hardest against. Sort of. ''"You're the best...Around! Yamma-damma-damma-damma-hey!"''
** Yet another WesternAnimation/SouthPark training montage: in "Up the Down Steroid", Cartman trains himself to fake mental retardation so he can get into the Special Olympics (he figures he can easily beat the others since they are mentally handicapped and he is not; he's wrong) to the tune of Paul Engemann's "Push It to the Limit" from Scarface.
* In ''GravityFalls'' episode "Dipper Vs Manliness", we have a twofer; a montage that mixes Dipper manliness training under the manotaurs with Mabel's attempts to make Grunkle Stan more charming and attractive. Actually lampshaded by Mabel; "This is going to take some really good training music" ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl5wTX1KwRI (Takes out a CD labeled 'Training Mix')]]''
-->''Never lose sight of the sights you see''\\
''You gotta believe your beliefs are real''\\
''Now you're drinking from a fire hydrant''\\
''Teach your uncle how to wear a cummerbund''\\
''Now you're gonna jump a crazy gorge''\\
''Keep on shaving that hairy uncle''\\
''Uh, I don't really know what's happening in this part''\\
''Your heart's on fire and the fire is in your heart!''\\

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' did this in an episode, showing Brian getting ready for college finals by training on top of a mountain (explicitly spoofing the ''Hearts On Fire'' sequence from Rocky IV). Which did nothing to help him study, as he and Stewie note a few seconds later.
** They did the joke again in ''Something, Something, Something, Dark Side'', their parody of ''TheEmpireStrikesBack'', with Luke Skywalker[=/=]Chris playing the part of Rocky whilst Yoda takes Paulie's role in the other training montage from ''Rocky IV'', complete with cutting to the footage of Ivan Drago training from the movie. At the end of the montage Luke[=/=]Chris points out that "it kinda seems like the Dark Side has a better gym than us."
* ''Chowder'' tears this one apart with a montage set to a song in which the last verse is just the word "Best" repeated over and over.
* Goofy has one in ''[[AGoofyMovie An Extremely Goofy Movie]]'' while trying to [[BacktoSchool boost his grades in college]]. While he studies his textbooks, Goofy is also literally exercising.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' - Brock's secret agent license is expired, and Hank helps him train for the test in an inspiring montage, complete with cheesy '80s song penned by Doc Hammer.
* ''HomeMovies'' - Brendon Small struggles to improve his grades, with the help of a pump-up song "Trust Yourself", by the real Brendon Small.
* When Rusty on ''{{Squidbillies}}'' was training to become a professional wrestler, he had one of these, complete with heroic background music.. only instead of training he was being ''injected with steroids'' and the scenes all had him standing in the same place, slightly more muscular each time.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail: Fievel Goes West'', Tiger, the CowardlyLion of the series, has a montage while training to be like a dog so he can help Wiley Burp and Fievel take on Cat R. Waul. The montage includes Tiger doing push-ups, walking through tires, beating up a Cat R. Waul dummy, and fetching a bone.
* Used several times in ''TheSimpsons''. In "Simpsons Bible Stories", Bart (King David) trains with a flock of sheep in preparation for his battle with Nelson (Goliath II). "Bart the General" features a TrainingThePeacefulVillagers montage as Bart's army prepares to fight the bullies.
** In the parody vignette "Bartman Begins," Bart Simpson trains to become Bartman after his parents are murdered by Snake (who appears first as a common hood in the Joe Chill mold and later as a reptile-themed supervillain), and he does so in an "old-timey montage" on grainy film that looks like something from between the 1890s and the 1940s. (Apparently, [[ShallowParody someone forgot to tell the animators]] that ''Film/BatmanBegins'', despite being set during a "depression," is supposed to be taking place in the modern day.)
** Subverted in "Homer The Whopper", where his trainer wants to do a montage to "Eye of the Tiger". Homer protests "Aww, that song is a little on the nose. Can we do it to David Bowie's "Heroes?"" Eventually, they decide to just skip ahead a month.
* One occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Call of the Cutie'', when Rainbow Dash coaches Apple Bloom in a number of different activities, all in the hopes of helping her find the thing that will become her life calling and cause her cutie mark to appear.
** Fluttershy gets on in "Hurricane Fluttershy" where her animal friends help her learn to be a stronger flier. Making it a '''literal''' example of GonnaFlyNowMontage'''
* Doom gets one in ''TheSuperHeroSquadShow'' after a fractal-powered MODOK takes over the Legion. Complete with running up a lot of steps.
* Angelica Pickles of ''{{Rugrats}}'' goes through one in order to prove that she is the best in the summer camp she got shanghaied into.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' did this when Stan helped Roger to graduate police academy.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' introduces Mon-tage, who has this as his superpower, solving problems by invoking these to learn skills or accomplish tasks instantly. He even weaponizes it directly near the end, invoking a montage to rapidly age an escaping thief into infirmity.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' spoofed this twice, first in "Raging Bully" and then again in "Doof Dynasty".
-->''You're gonna run up a ramp with two buckets of water,
--> Swing over mud for some reason!
--> At some point you'll drop to your knees while its raining, and look up into the skkkyyy!
-->You'll stand on a post with your arms out!
--> ....these flowers are way out of season!
--> [[StarWars You'll fly to a swamp planet, meet a little green man]],
--> And move things with your miiiinnndd!''
* ''SamuraiJack'' has this in spades. The pilot has is the BootCampEpisode,with Jack living with a buttload of characters. The "Jack learns to Jump Good" episode has him training with a tribe of apes who weigh him down with stones and have him run an obstacle course. The scene works on ManyLevels
* There's one in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Supersmurf", as Brainy tries to make himself strong through exercise before he tires himself out.
* Subverted in the Christmas episode of ''TheClevelandShow''. Donna is trying to train Cleveland to finally beat his father at their annual holiday boxing match. She then presses play on a boombox and the first few notes of "Eye of the Tiger start playing. [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome Then the screen cuts to "Montage Cut Due To Familiarity" and it skips to the next scene.]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Not exactly a montage since you can't exactly skip through things, but many people do listen to TrainingMontage style music to pump them up while they are training or exercising.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOcsBiCaEJ8 A montage of training montages]]

-->''Always fade out in a montage...\\
If you fade out it feels like more time has passed in a montage...''