What I Have Learned In My First Year of Lifting

[Burnham24]

Well, to say I've been lifting for a full year is a bit premature, but it's fairly close. For someone who has been involved in sports his whole life, I didn't start serious weightlifting until around the beginning of my junior year in high school, and I'm about to start my senior year. In that time, I've put on a solid 30 pounds (from 150 to 180) and completely changed my life. It's safe to say weightlifting is the best decision I've ever made. Here are a few things that it has taught me:

[B]No, those huge guys in the gym aren't a**holes/B]
I hate that this has to go here, but it was probably the first thing I realized when I stepped into the gym. There is a sort of stereotype (at least where I'm from) that those guys benching four plates and squatting six in tank tops are scary, and scary people are automatically labeled negatively. In actuality, those guys are probably the nicest people I've ever met. They are almost always willing to answer any questions or help a newbie like myself.

Take everything with a grain of salt
Even just looking around Bodybuilding.com it is apparent that everyone believes they the secret to the best meal and exercise plan. In person, they try inform others of "scientific breakthroughs" or less-known "facts." Most of these stem from misunderstandings of what the actual studies accomplished, or, even worse, are a load of horse crap. Everyone should do their own research first and try their own fitness plans before coming to any conclusions.

Form is everything
A newcomer's plan when coming into the gym for the first time is to simply lift as much as they can. They ignore form, and risk injuries constantly. This was me, unfortunately. My weights skyrocketed and I felt unstoppable. My max squat jumped from ~225 to 295, my bench easily surpassed the 200s. Then I would get a lingering knee or shoulder ache, and I realized I needed to fix my form. It's hard for an ecstatic newcomer to understand this immediately when all their weights are soaring, but after a few months it becomes apparent that they need to take their time, which leads to the next lesson.

Patience and persistence are key
This is probably the most important lesson I've learned. To accomplish anything in life, everyone needs these two values.

Looks aren't everything, but they are pretty damn close
This is sad, but true. When you meet a new person, the first thing they see is your appearance. People look up to those who look stronger and look like they know what they're doing. Bodybuilding makes a person more attractive, and attractive people are more successful (Link 1). From personal experience, it has greatly benefited me socially. I used to be the skinny, pale kid that a few select people would pick on and know I wouldn't do anything, though I wouldn't have called it bullying. But it was close. Now they all want to hang out with me. F*** em.

No one cares what you're doing
My biggest fear starting out was that everyone was watching my every move. My girlfriend who recently went to a gym that wasn't at the school for the first time also felt that she was being watched. She feels extremely embarrassed when she loads up her weights, and I can imagine that I felt similar. If you need to take a minute to study a new machine, go for it. If you can't yet bench 95, start with the bar. If you need a spotter for that, ask for one. People will be far more impressed if you work hard with low weights than get injured squatting twice your body weight. I once watched a 13-14 year old overweight kid walk into the gym, go straight to the rack, pick up the 40 pound dumbbells, and curl them relentlessly. He looked as if his shoulder and back were going to blow out at the same time. Don't be that kid.

You're probably still a beginner
Most of these rules apply to other areas of life as well; that's where this one is focused. The Dunning-Kruger effect is "a cognitive bias wherein unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly assessing their ability to be much higher than is accurate." (From Wikipedia, link 2. A visual graph is attached). Around the 4-6 month range I started to consider myself an intermediate. I knew what the all the machines did, what some muscles were called, basic dietetics and biology, and I was beginning to look like I lifted weights. I was, in fact, far from getting that promotion. I was, and still am, a beginner. Even after a year. I am still learning everyday. The more you can learn about any topic, the more you realize how much is still left to learn.

I'm sure I will think of more to add as I approach the official one-year date. Most, if not all of these lessons apply to life in general, not just weightlifting. This list is by no means complete and I will add more as I think of them.

1) businessinsider.com/attractive-people-are-more-successful-2012-9
2) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

[Progress2Best]

First and foremost good job staying dedicated for a year. I started working out my Junior year of highschool as well. By the beginning of senior year people started asking me if I lifted weights which always felt good. It's funny how the huge guys in the gym are usually the most humble.

I agree completely with you on the industry revolving around "secrets."

"Everyone should do their own research first and try their own fitness plans before coming to any conclusions."

I wish every beginner could read that. ^^

You've learned a lot, more than most have in that first year I'd say. Good post man keep updating it as you go on.

[goatmanjon]

Well said Burnham. Wish I had your attitude when I was 17.

[scmosesso]

Spot on! Thanks for sharing!

[XiaoGong]

"Patience and persistence are key" this is verry important...4rsgold Team Agree with you!!!