Went to the gym like normal today and it felt like I was having an off day. I have my deadlift up to 195 lbs, but today I only managed 185 lbs. On squats, I was only able to do 115 lbs. I started thinking to myself, " How pathetic is this? I can't even squat the weight that I have lost so far!" And then a rare thing happened. Another inner voice told me to get real and gain some perspective.

"Dude, you couldn't even lift your left leg and your back would spasm whenever the wind would change directions before the surgery. Now you are bitching because you can't stand up with more than a 100 lbs on your back?! STFU and appreciate where you are!"

I literally humbled myself. If I never make another gain in any of my lifts from this point forward, I am so much better off than I was before. I should be dancing a jig every morning. So next time you get frustrated in the gym, think back to where you were right before the surgery and hopefully gain some perspective like I just did.

Edited May 2, 201610 yr by BigViffer

Excellent point !!!

You are so far ahead of the game right now.

You don't want to forget that other factor either........Each time you go, you're a little older. And while we may get better as we get older, we seldom get stronger. Age does take it's toll. Gettin old sucks.

I have to do that with myself ALL THE TIME.

I was having one of those days at the gym the other day, too. I hadn't slept well that week, I gained like a pound and a half, and felt like a big, sluggish, tubbo. I was thinking the whole time on the treadmill "I don't wanna run todaaaaayyyyyy" and in walks this guy who looked like he had cerebral palsy or some sort of neurological disorder, with braces attached to his arms helping him walk. He walked over to the weight machines in front of me, gingerly setting his braces aside to start working out on the machines.

I started running on the treadmill.

Perspective, man.

And I apologize I just noticed I just posted in the guys room

But I still feel ya

And I apologize I just noticed I just posted in the guys room

But I still feel ya

No worries Babbs. Only reason I put it here is because sometimes our machismo makes us lose sight of where we started. Women are welcome to post in this thread.

Edited May 2, 201610 yr by BigViffer

@@BigViffer

I'm humbled by what my body is able to do now. I am on the fringe of the age requirement for the senior games in my area. I hope I can keep this up as I get older.

@@Babbs

Great perspective.

@@BigViffer

I'm humbled by what my body is able to do now.

... oh man... must resist temptation...

You do realize it is taking all of my considerable self control to refrain from asking a totally hilarious and entirely adult question about that statement, don't you?

Edited May 2, 201610 yr by BigViffer

Sometimes I love you people.

And I don't even KNOW you people.

But seriously ... you know what I mean.

@@BigViffer and @@Babbs ... your posts brought tears to my eyes.

@@BigViffer

I left myself wide open for that...

Lol Did you like that one too...??? keep up that self control my friend.

Jenn 1 said: I left myself wide open for that...

Lol Did you like that one too...??? keep up that self control my friend.

Ok now see......this is why we have to ban you from the guys room..............

first you get us going with all the very thinly veiled comments and then blame us when we take the bait..........c'mon.....not fair....we can't help it.......we are programmed to respond.

@@BigViffer

I left myself wide open for that...

Lol Did you like that one too...??? keep up that self control my friend.

lol, priceless! Oh, and much appreciated. Always can use a good chuckle.

@@Recycled

So sorry. Don't ban us. I'm glad some of the guys don't mind us chiming in. Some days you just need a laugh,

sorry for posting in the male board

but I know how you feel. Just the other day I got on the scale after a while of not checking my weight and I had only lost 1 lb and I felt dissapointed. But then I started to mentally scold myself..."come on, you lost 175lbs in less than a year, what are you disapointed about?"

I wanted to revisit this thread for one very good reason. In 6 months, I have gone from my "frustrating" 115 lbs to an honest 200 lbs squat! Baby steps every week, eating right, and actually using rest days have allowed me to hit my 200 lbs goal.

My deadlift is up to 240 and I am cool with that, but when I made the 200 lb squat goal, I weighed 200 lbs. Now I weigh 213. Argh! The goal has moved on me!!

Oh well, just have to keep working on it...

GAINS!

Muscle has memory. We have a lot of it as obese men, in our lower bodies...and so even though the extreme calorie restriction will cause us to catabolize a bunch of it and reduce our strength, we can get it back, and then some. NO LIMITS