What they don’t tell you about keeping a consistent weight training schedule is that you never feel 100%. Most of the time, at least one body part is slightly sore. And just when that soreness subsidies, it’s time to train that body part again! The only time you feel completely fine is when the training pauses for things like vacation. But then you don’t mentally feel good about pausing, afraid those hard-earned gains will all melt away in a few days of inactivity.
That’s obviously not how it works, but I did say it was psychological.
The gains are indeed hard-earned because contrary to expectations, it takes a bloody long time to put on muscle mass cleanly. (One can always stuff themself with as much calories as possible, but then they’d be putting on fat as well as muscle.) Those dramatic one year transformations you see on social media? (Or Kumail Nanjiani.) It’s totally steroids. Adding 30 pounds of muscle in 12 months - whilst keeping body leanness - is impossible without artificial medical assistance.
I’ve been lifting weights consistently for about six months (progressive overloading, and eating a crap ton of protein along the way) and only now do I see some tiny hypertrophy of the muscles. I’d be happy if I gain three pounds of muscle total by the end of 2024.
Of course, the aesthetic improvements are mere positive side effects to the main goal of strength training: longevity. I want to be agile, limber, capable for as long as possible, right into the golden years. The aesthetics will fade sooner or later anyways. The strength and muscles cultivated now will (hopefully) prevent me from taking a fall at 70, breaking a hip, and dying shortly after. (The mortality rate on the elderly after taking a fall is enormous.)
There are no shortcuts (unless it’s Ozempic). Anything worth doing takes a long time.
Bright evening walks.