UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Original question from Quora:

Do people have unrealistic expectations when they join the gym?

ABSOLUTELY!

People always overestimate what they can achieve in a couple of months, and sure as hell underestimate what they can achieve in several years.

It goes both ways, they either think they’ll implode into a ball of muscle by touching a couple of dumbbells, or they think they’ll never go anywhere if they don’t juice the fuck up.

It’s really a bit of a shitshow, ESPECIALLY, ‘cause most of the influencers out there downplay how much you can achieve naturally ‘cause they themselves never had the fucking balls to endure the slow grind of gaining size and strength as a natural.

I probably know hundreds of dudes that took gear, are weak as fuck, and most of them look as wet as a watermelon.

But worse than anything else is dealing with the notions that people preach online— if you have the slightest hint of traps and delts, motherfuckers accuse you of taking steroids— and the same delusional Keyboard warrior have the guts to say everyone should be squatting north of 400lbs in the same sentence.

I remember when I started lifting heavy, I read on a forum that I should be able to squat 2 times my body weight, deadlift 2.5 times my body weight, bench 1.5 times my body weight, and OHP my body weight for reps within A FUCKING YEAR.

The narrative was that ANYONE should be able to do it, that it's nothing special at all and I should feel bad about not reaching it.

Well, let me put this straight.

While studying, raising a daughter, working all day, and having a social life, DANG BRO— those are HARD numbers to hit.

Fitness gurus and online influencers fail to understand that people DON’T LIVE fitness— for some of us it's a part of our Lifestyle but not the end all be all that some people led us to believe is THE ONLY WAY to go about it.

It's a little hard to overcome those unrealistic expectations, especially when you see people online boasting numbers that sometimes sound SURREAL, seriously I've only seen a handful of people squatting over 500, and a bunch of those guys were either gym owners that live this shit or full-on competitive powerlifters— cranked on gear and stimulants— but on the internet, EVERYBODY says that they’re lifting WAY MORE than they actually are.

Also, if you’re lifting for aesthetics keep in mind, that people who look like the ones in the picture are either 1 in a hundred million or juiced to the fucking gills, particularly GRRLZ think they’ll build big shoulders like the girl on the pic by touching a heavyweight— hang in TIGHT.

Getting muscular is HARD, SO VERY VERY HARD.

So instead of comparing yourself to whatever standards people shove at your face— BUILD YOUR OWN STANDARDS— compare your progress with your own performance— be better than you were yesterday— do something good for your future self, and just keep grinding your gains.

They will compound and you will succeed as long as you DON'T QUIT LIKE LAME-ASS PUNK!

STAY ON THE IRON PATH!

Big KISS,

THE POTATO MAN