What I’ve learned from 10 Years of lifting weights

A decade of lifting teaches you a fair bit

Most of what works isn’t exciting, and most of what’s exciting doesn’t really matter long term.

You stop chasing hacks. You stop falling for extremes. And you start appreciating the boring stuff that just works.

Here’s what lifting for a long time has genuinely taught me.

1. Genetics matter (and that’s fine)

This is one people don’t love hearing, but it’s true.

Some people:

• Build muscle faster

• Stay lean with less effort

• Recover better

• Look “in shape” without doing much special

That doesn’t mean hard work doesn’t count — it absolutely does. But pretending genetics don’t exist just sets people up to feel like they’re failing when they’re not.

The goal isn’t to look like the top 1% on Instagram. It’s to get the best out of your body.

2. The best programme is the one you can stick to

I’ve tried loads of programmes over the years. 5x5, 5,3,1, German volume training, mike Mentzer shit where you go 1 set to failure - the lot.

The ones that worked weren’t the most complicated — they were the ones that fitted around life and could be run consistently.

Progress comes from:

• Showing up week after week

• Training in a way you can recover from

• Being “good enough” most of the time

You don’t need perfect. You need repeatable.

3. Most people aren’t training as hard as they think

As it says on the tin

A lot of people:

• End sets early

• Avoid the harder reps

• Avoid the harder movements

• Quarter rep and sandbag every movement to protect their ego

You don’t need to destroy yourself every session, but if nothing ever feels tough, progress is going to be slow.

If you’re not breaking a sweat and are spend more time on your phone than lifting, chances are this applies to you.

Training should feel uncomfortable. That’s normal.

4. The basics work — even if they’re boring

Getting this printed on my gravestone – This and the word nuance. New & exciting may sell well but the novelty wears off real fast. People who nail the basics and stay in the game long enough are the ones who see real progress

Results come from:

• Decent & consistent technique

• Progressive overload

• Eating enough (or managing a proper deficit)

• Recovering properly

• Time

There’s no secret exercise or split that suddenly changes everything. If there was, we’d all be doing it already.

5. Unrealistic expectations kill motivation

One of the biggest mistakes people make is expecting far too much, far too quickly.

Social media has convinced people that:

• A few months should change everything

• Progress should be constant

• Everyone should end up shredded

Real life doesn’t work like that.

Progress is slow. Plateaus happen. And that doesn’t mean you’re doing things wrong.

Once you accept that, training becomes a lot more enjoyable — and usually more productive.

6. Feeling good starts to matter more than looking good

At some point, priorities change.

You start caring more about:

• Joints feeling healthy

• Performing well

• Being strong

• Training consistently without breaking yourself

Looking good is still nice, obviously — but it stops being the only thing that matters.

Longevity wins.

7. Lifting is important — But it’s not everything

Training can give you confidence, structure and a sense of progress.

That’s great.

But missing a session, gaining a bit of weight or having an off month doesn’t undo everything or define you as a person.

Lift weights. Take it seriously.Just don’t let it be the only thing you care about.

You’ll get a lot more out of fitness if you stop identifying with it.

Final Thought

Ten years of lifting mostly teaches patience. It is one of the few things in life where you are directly rewarded for the effort you put in.

It’s an opportunity to tell yourself you’re going to do something hard and do it.

This builds a sense of confidence that few things can match.

If you can:

• Train consistently

• Push yourself when it counts

• Keep expectations realistic

• And play the long game

You’ll do just fine — regardless of genetics or what social media tells you.