I am in AWE

[WeakendWorrior]

I figure a good 1st post would be to exclaim how awed and intimidated I am by many here...

1.5x bodyweight? How is this possible? I mean, of course I know it is, I see people do that and more at the gym, but still...I struggle at 70 lbs, and it took me a long time to be able to squat that....

15+ chin-ups? I still can't do even one.
I got a looooooong way to go.....

And how the hell does everybody eat so much? I very much realize how key it is, and I stuff myself with milk and eggs and pasta and meat 'til I want to barf, but I consistently top out at little more 2000 calories. 3500? 5000? more than that? just the thought of it makes my head hurt. I'll keep trying to force it nonetheless...

I'm just amazed, that's all...I find it amazing what the human body can do. (well, except mine)

I must say this: I have taken a good look at many SL articles, blogs, posts, etc. and I am very impressed with the level of intelligent information and shared knowledge available here...something to be truly proud of.

[sean]

I find it amazing what the human body can do. (well, except mine)

Eat, sleep, lift. You're not special. Your body will adapt. Welcome.

[lirmax]

Heya WW,

At first those targets do look sick but like sean said, stick to the basics consistently and it all starts to happen. When I started up I could barley do two chins, I'm about 2 months in and my chins are around 10,8,6 which is not much, but from nearly nothing its pretty amazing progress.

I have trouble eating enough as well but I found double burgers with the fixings tend to help me hit the calorie numbers.. that and consistent eating.. lots of small meals for a few days and you will notice you are hungry nearly every couple of hours, making it easy to keep eating. That and if you stick to the SL plan, your hunger goes bonkers after your workouts and into the next rest day.

I started with body weight squats too as my hip/groin mobility was horrid and those were difficult. I'm doing 110lb now (adding 5lb at next workout) and getting through all my sets which is stunning to me.
Don't sweat the weight used or anything but form at first (I started with the bar even though I could bench more etc) once you master the mechanics the weight is nearing something that gives good gains and it all starts working.

Keep at it and you will soon be amazed by yourself!!

-lir

[joesterizer]

Two magic words: Progressive overload.

Lift more today than you did yesterday. Drink one more glass of milk.

We've all been where you are.

[jpez]

I know what you mean. When I prepare to do my squats which are around 80kgs now, once I get the weight on my back I think "Wow how do these guys do it? How do they lift 50 kgs more than this?" which feels to me very heavy. But of course I know these guys have put in a lot of hard work and dicipline to achieve this, and since I'm slowly improving with my own lifts, why shouldn't I be able to lift that weight some day?

[maroon]

Welcome

You can do it if you want it enough
The nice thing about this program and community is that the numbers start adding up pretty fast and you learn to cope with the heavier lifts over time. Everybody go through rough workouts and bad stalls. Some earlier than others. Nobody will judge you. I failed at my OHP for a workout already at 30kg, but suddenly the progress comes superfast again. The key is to persist.
Now a while later I'm pressing 50kg. This is very heavy for me 5x5 now, but in a year's time it will probably be a warmup.

Essentially it's just you and the weights. What others are lifting isn't that important, just that you continue to challenge your own body to get stronger. If it takes you a year to bench 55kg it doesn't matter. You still bench 55kg and a lot more than when you first started (example with random numbers here by the way, I have no idea what you bench for 5x5).

The brilliant thing about this place is that complete beginners and quite advanced lifters get on well and share a wealth of information. The "I lift so much more than this guy I'm not going to talk to him" is non-existant. A lot of us beginners here gain a lot from reading more advanced lifters logs.

Get a log going and I'll be sure to pop by. Best of luck to you