@stewart01 Microwave it a lil, makes it so much easier!
What was your “DAMN I’M GETTING STRONG” moment?
- Thread starter justin_holmes
- Start date
aequitasveritas
New member
@randy2747 I need to know more 
@aequitasveritas Seriously, that's it!
Cut off one of the ends to allow air to escape (don't skip this step), and microwave it for like, idk, a minute.
My microwave is kinda cheap so a minute isn't very strong- depends on the microwave.
It warms up and softens
Cut off one of the ends to allow air to escape (don't skip this step), and microwave it for like, idk, a minute.
My microwave is kinda cheap so a minute isn't very strong- depends on the microwave.
It warms up and softens
@randy2747 or stab it a few times with a skewer, then nuke
@prodiadzes This is so pure 
teatimebabe28
New member
@justin_holmes Two big ones.
In 2020 my mental health improved enough to start putting some effort into my lifting and I'd made a lot of progress over the summer. My dad was backing his small truck trailer down the very narrow windy driveway of their old cabin and it kept turning too much or the wrong way, so the old forward back forward back going nowhere trailer dance. So I grabbed the end, lifted it up, and walked it a few feet sideways to point the right way. Did it a couple times and we were down the driveway in less than a minute. My passion for lifting and strength came back, 6 years after I'd stopped.
The second one was a month ago, I squatted 315 pounds, which beat my old lifetime PR of 300x1 set in 2014. That was a few months before I started my transition, when I was 7 years younger and had over 50x as much testosterone. I quit lifting shortly thereafter to lose all my muscle and be more traditionally feminine and slender. I was "the strong guy" in my group of friends and beating that was a real WOAH moment. It's kind of funny, back then I thought I was hot shit (I didn't know any really strong people like the folks in r/weightroom) but this time I feel like I'm just getting started.
In 2020 my mental health improved enough to start putting some effort into my lifting and I'd made a lot of progress over the summer. My dad was backing his small truck trailer down the very narrow windy driveway of their old cabin and it kept turning too much or the wrong way, so the old forward back forward back going nowhere trailer dance. So I grabbed the end, lifted it up, and walked it a few feet sideways to point the right way. Did it a couple times and we were down the driveway in less than a minute. My passion for lifting and strength came back, 6 years after I'd stopped.
The second one was a month ago, I squatted 315 pounds, which beat my old lifetime PR of 300x1 set in 2014. That was a few months before I started my transition, when I was 7 years younger and had over 50x as much testosterone. I quit lifting shortly thereafter to lose all my muscle and be more traditionally feminine and slender. I was "the strong guy" in my group of friends and beating that was a real WOAH moment. It's kind of funny, back then I thought I was hot shit (I didn't know any really strong people like the folks in r/weightroom) but this time I feel like I'm just getting started.
@teatimebabe28 cool to see another trans lifter. I haven't reached the weight I could lift when I still had testosterone (I was also quite a bit heavier at the time) but my training at the time was not that serious so I think in a year or so I can do it. Cool to hear you got so far honestly.
teatimebabe28
New member
@dawn16 I have a couple things going for me:
I've been through a ton of adversity, and work out harder now. I worked out hard before but quit the breathing squat program each time I tried, this time I didn't think there was anything special about just not giving up.
I figured out my gender and gender roles/expectations, and HRT makes the gains look/feel different. I struggled a lot with feeling masculine, and greatly enjoyed looking very slender/non-muscular, and went back and forth at lot. But after all of my journey it's strength and muscle that I love, and without testosterone growing muscle doesn't feel masculine. I follow the top female bodybuilders/strength athletes and my body growing muscle looks way more like them than male athletes.
I've been through a ton of adversity, and work out harder now. I worked out hard before but quit the breathing squat program each time I tried, this time I didn't think there was anything special about just not giving up.
I figured out my gender and gender roles/expectations, and HRT makes the gains look/feel different. I struggled a lot with feeling masculine, and greatly enjoyed looking very slender/non-muscular, and went back and forth at lot. But after all of my journey it's strength and muscle that I love, and without testosterone growing muscle doesn't feel masculine. I follow the top female bodybuilders/strength athletes and my body growing muscle looks way more like them than male athletes.
teatimebabe28
New member
@reginald_ringor Omg your user name is perfect, I hit my bong as a pre-workout. 
reginald_ringor
New member
@teatimebabe28 It’s funny because my friend and I were talking about getting high before working out just earlier when we started our workout. Does it help or does it make it harder?
teatimebabe28
New member
@reginald_ringor I feel more focused and mindful of my body, plus it's enjoyable. I do a slow mobility + yoga warmup with lots of deep breathing and it feels amazing. It's part of my routine, when I hit the bong it's go time and I get right to it. I've also had people say they could never work out high and seem baffled that I can, so ymmv lol
I vape or use concentrates which doesn't make my lungs all yeck like when I used to smoke years ago.
I vape or use concentrates which doesn't make my lungs all yeck like when I used to smoke years ago.
reginald_ringor
New member
@teatimebabe28 When you do, you only do it when you’re doing yoga or do you do it when you lift weights too?
teatimebabe28
New member
@reginald_ringor Always with weights, the yoga is just part of my warmup.
justin_holmes
New member
@teatimebabe28 HOLLY COW! That’s amazing! Muscle memory is real, and you’re just a fine example! The mental gains and physical ones are the best, I hope the best for you going forward!
teatimebabe28
New member
@justin_holmes I also kept active jobs after quitting lifting, and exercised lightly now and then to look a bit better, which makes such a huge difference compared to being sedentary for years. I doubt I'd be close to where I am now if I had spent those years in a sedentary job and had to undo that.
Still, I had lost all and then much more of my strength, I struggled with opening jars and you'd never know I used to be kinda jacked. I started back in 2019 using 2 pound dumbbells, and late 2020 I started squatting with an empty bar.
I also gained 85 pounds. Definitely related to one of my meds, as I barely ate from my depression and the weight gain side effect pulled a full 180 on that, then covid blues and eating too many potato chips. Excessive but I definitely feel like growing is easier when I'm this big, probably because it's easy to get a lot of protein when I eat enough to gain 85 pounds. Easily put down 100-140g if I get fast food, once I ate a box and a half of mandarin oranges which is 30g, even my usual amount of plain oatmeal is 25g protein before adding some milk.
Still, I had lost all and then much more of my strength, I struggled with opening jars and you'd never know I used to be kinda jacked. I started back in 2019 using 2 pound dumbbells, and late 2020 I started squatting with an empty bar.
I also gained 85 pounds. Definitely related to one of my meds, as I barely ate from my depression and the weight gain side effect pulled a full 180 on that, then covid blues and eating too many potato chips. Excessive but I definitely feel like growing is easier when I'm this big, probably because it's easy to get a lot of protein when I eat enough to gain 85 pounds. Easily put down 100-140g if I get fast food, once I ate a box and a half of mandarin oranges which is 30g, even my usual amount of plain oatmeal is 25g protein before adding some milk.
velvety777
New member
@justin_holmes Clean & jerking my body weight felt pretty damn good
justin_holmes
New member
@velvety777 I know they say “not to get caught up in the numbers” but DAMN you can definitely feel like you’re crushing it when you’re able to see just how much you’re lifting compared to your size!
velvety777
New member
@justin_holmes For someone who was scrawny all through school, this was a big accomplishment
biggiecheese
New member
@justin_holmes Someone at the gym asked me how they could learn to do sets of pull-ups like me! I was so flattered and caught off guard but thought about my long journey!