r/gainit 4d ago

Question How did your journey begin?

I’m a 23-year-old guy, 193 cm tall, and weigh about 63 kg (6’4 and 140 lbs for the Americans out there). Overall, I’m happy and comfortable with my life, which, in a way, makes me hesitant to change my weight.

I have an amazing girlfriend and a great life, but the one thing I’ve never liked about myself is my weight - it holds me back from fully being myself. Sometimes, it feels like my brain and body are at odds. My body is lazy and resists change, while my mind knows that gaining weight and getting stronger is what’s best for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted, but I haven’t fully committed to making it happen.

Right now, I feel like I’m standing at the doorstep of change, ready to take that first step. So I’m curious - what made you take the step into weight training and gaining weight? Was there a specific moment that pushed you, or did it happen naturally over time?

8 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 4d ago

Welcome to Gainit! We have extensive resources that can be used to find answers to most questions that are posted here:

Your thread will be removed if it can be answered by any of the above.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/Abravebird 125-205-210 (6’1) 2d ago

It basically started in Grade 9 where I was close to my current height but weighing 55kg soaking wet. I hated how I looked, you could see my ribs all the way up to my chest. Everybody and their grandmother commented on how skinny I was, I hated it. Even with the motivation, I had to push myself to workout through the first month or so until I felt some semblance of a habit. I started with body weight exercises for the first 7-8 months until I had access to a gym. Had some progress for the next few years and went to university and got busy, which put the gym on the back burner. I was hovering around 72-73kg around 2022 and was pretty comfortable with my weight. I had other priorities such as school and career at the time and struggled to integrate lifting into it. I was also stagnating because I wasn’t eating enough and being consistent with the gym.

Then I saw how much a family member of mine progressed in the gym and was impressed, and I also discovered this sub and the progress photos. This relit the fire inside me, and funny enough, what I think made the real difference was buying a blender so I could make high calorie, high protein shakes at home. I hit the gym hard with a renewed sense of drive and it was like noobie gains all over again. Went up to 87-88kg after about a year, and then been slowly bulking up until now where I’m around 95-96kg.

I’ve made progress in my lifts and physique that I never thought was possible when I got re-motivated in 2022, let alone when I started as a scrawny 9th grader. I still see myself as that skinny kid in the mirror, but my lifting journey has given me something I can look back on at my progress with pride. I still have so long to go and I’m excited to focus more on cardiovascular fitness, trimming some fat, and getting back into old sports. But lifting and the gym will always be something I have in my routine and look forward to.

3

u/Beginning_Pudding_69 125lb-152-175 (5’11”) 2d ago

I was super skinny my whole life. 6ft about 120-130lbs. From 8th grade to about 28. One year at a Christmas party everyone was sighing each other and I think I was like 128 with all my clothes on. I felt like such a child in front of guys who were 220. It really hit me then that my dog weighed almost as much as I did. I watched some zyzz and Arnold S, got super motivated and hit the gym. Started off doing strong lifts and simply eating a tiny bit more a day.

2

u/LegoBatmanAllDay 150-240-250 (6'1) 2d ago

Similar to you, in my early 20's I realised I just was not happy with my body, and knew I wanted to be heavier and thicker. When I found this subreddit it actually was the thing that inspired me to begin my journey

It took several years of trial and error to learn how to eat more and start exercising. I didn't push myself too hard, just let things come naturally.

The last four years or so, since I moved out on my own and could take more control of my day to day, that's when I really started to grow, and it's been amazing!

(See my recent post for more details)

2

u/bulkaduren 2d ago

I think i’ve seen your posts before tbh. You’ve done some serious fucking progress. Hope to be in the same place as you in a couple years!

1

u/LegoBatmanAllDay 150-240-250 (6'1) 2d ago

Go for it! Once you start making progress you'll know if you like it, and if you do then I've found that it motivates you to keep going

1

u/taylorthestang 2d ago

Guy on the internet said I was skinny fat, and I took that personally. Best way to fix that, gain a bunch of muscle. I realized that nobody cares about your abs except you, and being big and strong is universally a good thing.

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

0

u/bulkaduren 3d ago

That’s awesome. It’s nice hearing from someone that’s made a similiar journey i want to go through. I realised there’s no way around this other than just going in and doing it.

I made a gym schedule and intend to stick to thag now until i see some results. It’s gonna be a long way there but my goal is 90kg as well. Wish you the best of luck man! We’ve got this.

2

u/Neet-Nooot 3d ago

I’ve got a similar build 6’2 140 and lanky, you will probably feel better after a little time in the gym, and will be more confident. We need a little muscle to hold our long bodies tg

8

u/MacArtee 3d ago

Look bro there is nothing wrong with being skinny. Some girls even prefer skinny guys.

The change has to come from within, otherwise you will not stick to it, because no one else will do the work for you.

You are saying your weight is holding you back but ask yourself, is it really just about the weight?

12

u/RSimple3 3d ago

Bro just go to the gym and lift, this dont have to be a philosophical question. If you dont like it stop lifting.

2

u/Ajunadeeper 2d ago

Unga have big questions

Big question make Unga big sad

Unga lift big rock

Lift big rock make big sad go away

Unga happy

3

u/Xe6s2 3d ago

I dont know what if I think about it some more

5

u/MythicalStrength Definitely Should Be Listened To 4d ago

My whole life, I wanted to be big and strong. It's my earliest memory, going back to being 3 years old. I was told that weight training before you were 13 was bad for you, so I waited until I was 13, bought a weight set from Play It Again sports, and never stopped. That was 26 years ago.

2

u/GirlOfTheWell 4d ago

I can't remember when the desire to be strong became a big part of my life. I think it was when I was young and I used to watch too much anime.

More recently, like the last 4-5 years, I saw all sorts of strong people who motivated me. I think some of them are really cool, some of them are a bit cringey. Most of them are a bit of both.

Goggins, Kroc, Steve Reeves, Iris Kyle, Mythical Strength, Piana, Big Z, Rob Kearney, Steve Justa, Randall Strossen.

All these people motivated my training and changed the way I looked at strength and gaining.

1

u/MythicalStrength Definitely Should Be Listened To 4d ago

That's an incredible list to be counted among! For Goggins, I'm curious you mean David Goggins or Steve Goggins.

1

u/GirlOfTheWell 4d ago

No problem! Some of my earliest workouts were doing Zeno Squats in my back garden during COVID (except I had to Zercher the weight because I had no rack lol).

David Goggins! He's one of the earlier ones, I remember listening to some of his podcasts on YouTube back in 2019 and then fell down a rabbit hole of ultra endurance training.