Five Things I Did Right As a Newbie Weightlifter

Five things I did right as a newbie that that played a big role in my long-term success.

These are the five things I did right as a newbie that played a big role in my (relative) long-term success in the gym.

1. I adopted a “lock the door, throw away the key” mentality.

While I probably could’ve been more critical of my progress in some ways, I never beat myself up over a lack of progress. Those early years could’ve been a lot worse had I been overly critical about my gains, especially as a “hard gainer” (yeah yeah, no such thing). Sure, I always wanted more, but I managed my expectations surprisingly well for how badly I wanted it and focused instead on the long game. I adopting what I coined the ‘lock the door, throw away the key’ mentality. I left all my frustrations at the gym and didn’t take them with me (looking at you guy who weighs himself every 5 minutes).

2. I had healthy eating habits before they were fashionable.

Before “eating clean” was ever a thing, I grew up in a home with a mother who made eating nutritious meals the norm. We drank water instead of juice. Ate veggies, hearty soups, you name it. Our house was stocked with what I mockingly referred to as “raw materials” because you had to prepare a meal well in advance before anything could be readily eaten. This reality meant becoming more conscious of the ingredients of the things we ate (which was most of the time very healthy). Hell, tomatoes were my favorite snack since kindergarten. I used to bring them to school and see the other children eating pretzels or fruit roll-ups. I was lucky in that we don’t get to choose our parents but mine turned out to be great role models in that way (among many others).

3. I never had a partying phase.

You should begin lifting weights as early as possible but this will inevitably come into conflict with the other conquests of youth. Getting swole will inevitably lead to being included in all sorts of social engagements that you should participate in.

I managed to keep the partying casual, never allowing myself to become a fixture. Sure, I went to parties. I even enjoyed them. However, partying never developed into a lifestyle for me like it did many of my peers. Beer never “grew on me”. Yeah there was a bit of FOMO at times. There was also a fair bit of ROMO (Relief of missing out), but ask the chronic partiers, 10 year out, if they would’ve traded those days for time grinding in the gym.

4. I lifted legs early and often.

It’s almost cliche at this point to tout the benefits of lifting legs. Before it was fashionable, all I knew were that the guys who had the best double leg takedown on the mat (wrestling) had massive lower body strength. Being the simple man I am, I too wanted my double leg to be massive. My coaches advocated for squats and deadlifts so I did them, early and often. 10 years down the line, couldn’t be happier to not be playing catch-up.

5. Consistency is king.

This may be most important of all. To this day, I haven’t gone more than a week at a time being away from the gym and even that is rare. From day one of the gym, I was hooked. Whether it be vacation, business trips, same deal. I found the local or hotel gyms. When lockdowns came, I was still out there grinding in 0˚ temperature sporting 15 lbs of layers with a tiny space heater. In case you didn’t get the point, this level of dedication comes from many years of consistent training. There is no better predictor of success than consistency. Consistency truly is king.