@justin_holmes Deadlifting my body weight, and I just recently am able to pistol squat for a few reps on my right side! Now to conquer the left leg!
Congrats on your all progress. I have struggled to find something in adulthood that I felt was mine, it really is the best feeling!
@justin_holmes I picked up and carried a full 25L jerry can with one hand today and it was easy! This was after not training just about all year after surgery and covid lockdowns!
@justin_holmes Strong in a different way: When I started HIIT classes I felt like I was DYING. After going consistently for 4 ish months, I decided to go for a run. I ran 1h15 minutes with ease without stopping. I felt super cool!!
@justin_holmes The first time I went to do a chin up, and then realized I had enough strength to do a second one without touching the ground. For the longest time, I could only do one shaky one and I had to jump into it. When I knew I was able to start doing multiples, I felt like Wonder Woman!
@justin_holmes You can bench your body weight after 4 months?? Amazing! I've been going for 9 months and can do 37.5kg and no pull ups! Inspired to get to that point
@justin_holmes A while ago I was doing an excersize in the gym where you pull a sled. I didn’t know how much weight I had to use because it was the first time I had ever done that exercise, so I just used what was on it already. It was heavy but I managed it. Then the owner of the gym (former bodybuilder)came up to me and asked me if I realized I was using the weights that he had been using to train just an hour before. I don’t remember what the weight was & I dont go to that gym anymore. But it made me feel really strong.
Edit to add: do put weights back when you’re done using them.
@feelslikebrick When I was rehabbing an ankle injury I had to pull my physical therapist around on a rolling chair in basically that exercise but they didn't have a sled in their office. Really should have gotten his weight!
@justin_holmes I don’t make any noises anymore when moving from one position to another. I can just… stand up from squatting down. I used to come fully equipped with sound effects.
I don’t feel especially strong yet, but I feel capable of more, and that’s a big deal for me.
@justin_holmes It wasn't actually a weight exercise but a balance one. I progressed from trying to stay seated on a Swiss ball with my feet off the ground all the way to being able to kneel up on the Swiss ball and chuck a 4kg medicine ball back and forth with a friend without falling off. It looks like your just messing around but its intense quad and core usage!
@justin_holmes When I finally kicked into a handstand (at the wall) two months ago, 40 years after the last time and 6 years after a sever shoulder injury. I’m working towards free standing now - it feels amazing.
@justin_holmes I can almost walk an entire kilometer without pain! (Was in a freak car accident Oct 2020, spent 3.months on crutches, and now walk with a cane. Nerve pain is a bitch)
@justin_holmes I just had this! I noticed there's another muscle between my shoulder and my bicep that's popped up. Never see that before. Plus biceps are starting to show, woooooo
@justin_holmes I am enamoured with calisthenics / bodyweight movements even though I don’t train specifically for them. Being able to do full proper push ups for reps was a super cool moment for me! Also being able to do a full Turkish get up, pistol squats and L sits.
I do strive for numeric progression with my big 3 lifts but have really only committed to getting strong at them this year joining a strength gym & programming after years of being at a commercial gym — and recently I had a 3RM test and deadlifted 100kg, squatted 80kg & benched 37.5 (bench is that poverty lift for me ).
I’m 5’3 and about 128lbs and when I was asked about my lifetime goals before I started my program, they were actually 1.5x BW squats & deads and BW bench. They seemed scary when I listed them months ago, but I’m really glad that I’m closer to these goals than I thought!
@justin_holmes Being told you're 'looking solid' by the gym manager and then later that same day being told by my trainer that my delts were looking bigger and that it was obvious I'd gained a lot of mass, however that also meant I was harder to push in for my decline bench now that I'm heavier (usually I'll lie on the bench and if I need to move it slightly then my trainer will push/pull the bench while I'm on it)
@justin_holmes I’m not there yet but I feel it is coming soon. Last week I benched 40kgs for 6 and that felt pretty great, but I think I won’t have that feeling until I hit 50kgs.
Same with deadlifts. I can do 75kgs but my goal is 100kgs.
I’ve really noticed how much harder it is to gain muscle now I’m older. In my twenties I gained muscle by sneezing. Now I’m lifting 3 times a week and I still can’t bench 50kgs even after a year.
Mental side of knowing I can do things -> When I first rode 100 miles on my bike earlier this year. Because in Febuary, I didn't think I could.
Physical side -> When I broke the 2hp ( ~1500w) mark during a sprint on my bike. For context, this is a higher peak power than all but the best sprinters in the world can do.
). 
(usually I'll lie on the bench and if I need to move it slightly then my trainer will push/pull the bench while I'm on it)