One thing I love about lifting is the stats. Being able to track my progress in the main lifts, and seeing the small progressive improvements add up to big chan

One thing I love about lifting is the stats. Being able to track my progress in the main lifts, and seeing the small progressive improvements add up to big changes overall is very rewarding. I’m also the kind of person that started off saying, “I’d like to be able to do a body weight pull-up” which soon became, “I’d like to be able to do 4 body weight pull-ups” which eventually became... you definitely get addicted to the gains and even if you plateau in one lift or another, there’s always another muscle you can train. Once you start moving real weight there’s also a euphoria to hitting those big PRs which you can work yourself up for and then it’s a blast when you finally hit them. I lift 3x a week - push, pull, legs. I do 6 week cycles of 12 reps, 8 reps, 5 reps (for the main lifts). And at the end of each 5 rep cycle I test my 1 rep max on bench, deadlift, and squat. 14 weeks ago I just missed adding those up to 1,000 lbs (a big milestone) and fully expect to exceed 1,000 when I test again in 3 weeks. I was never a weight lifter / body builder. Aside from a brief stint trying CrossFit I had basically never touched weights aside from a class in high school. If you looked at a picture of me 5 years ago I was a completely different person. It took 2 years of cardio and yoga just to work up the inner strength and basic flexibility to feel like I could safely approach weights. I like that it’s the number one priority for one hour, 3 times a week. The rest of the week you never ever have to think about it. Well, you will feel it, but it takes no mental strain. Then you get in and get it done and feel awesome that you’re just a little bit better than last week, and go on with your day. The most important thing is doing it right, doing it effectively, and most of all doing it safely. Getting injured will set you back hard. Pay a trainer once a week to do one of the three workouts with you, critique your form, and tweak your program. Go for the big milestones when you have a pro watching you, and listen when they tell you stop. Best investment of time and money I’ve ever made.