I absolutely love lifting. I'm a pretty small guy at 5'8" 185 and probably around 4% body fat at 20 years old, but I have made some huge gains since I started lifting about five years ago. I was about 140 lbs and pretty soft. I would estimate that my maxes were probably 95 on bench and clean and 135 on squat and deadlift. Let me tell you, it was hard to stick with lifting being that size and strength, but I stuck it out and made some massive gains. My maxes now are at about 315 for bench, 280 for cleans, 470 on squat, and around 500 on deadlift (that's an estimate since I have recently been supplementing rack pulls for deads). I know these are not phenomenal numbers, but this has all come over a period of about five years during which I was also a three sport athlete (football, wrestling, and track) so I was doing minimal lifting during these seasons. Anycrap, my point is (besides tooting my own horn, ha)that it's not always going to be easy, and you may not progress as quickly as you would like, but it is important to stick with lifting, if not for a sport than for overall health and well being. A good way to do this is to motivate yourself by setting goals and monitoring your progress. Another good motivator is to have a partner that will push you and help make you better. One thing I also want to stress is the gains that can be made using supplements. I know that there is sometimes a sort of stigma associated with supplements. Some may say it is cheating or "they're steroids" but such individuals are either misinformed or just ignorant. The truth is, supplements can help you max out your bodies potential, they can help you get over plateaus, and they can help with recovery and reduction of lactic acid among other things. Now, I'm not advocating pro-hormones or steroids. I have never used any sort of test booster or anabolic steroid and I don't believe anyone should, but with the correct supplementation you can greatly increase your gains. Supplements are by no means a requirement for getting bigger, stronger, faster, in better shape or whatever you aim to do. All you need to do is to lift smart, stick with it, and don't get discouraged. The gains will come and it will feel great when they do because it validates everything you have been working towards.
As long winded as that was, I really only scratched the surface, so if anyone needs some more specific help with workouts, supplementation, or anything else lifting related don't be afraid to ask. I'm always willing to help to the best of my ability.
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