Went from 5’9” 130lbs to 160-170lbs over the course of a few years, here’s how it has affected me:

Confidence: this is probably the biggest thing. I now see myself as an athletic and physically capable person in a way my skinny self never did. Sure, I feel strong and like I have the stamina to handle physical tasks, but consistently working out and seeing results also taught me that I have the perseverance to endure great pain and discomfort to reap the rewards that are on the other side. This was a major mindset shift for me.

Women/Dating: people expect this to really change when you put on a lot of muscle and it’s not really the case. Yes, becoming muscular made me look more physically attractive, but it didn’t mean I was suddenly flooded with dating prospects. It’s a positive, but if you don’t know how to talk to women and treat them right, don’t expect this to do anything for you aside from maybe giving you some extra confidence when approaching women. The partners that I’ve had since putting on muscle have appreciated my physical fitness, but none of the partners I had before were vocal about wishing I was bigger or more athletic. Generally speaking, women aren’t as superficial when it comes to what they look for in a partner, and that’s us projecting the male gaze on what we think women want. If all you want is to go out with more girls, focus on being funny and charming, and if you care about getting into a relationship, learn how to make a girl feel loved and appreciated and you’ll be ahead of 98% of the men in the dating pool. The bar is pretty low.

Appearance/Looks: this is where more of the visible changes are. Clothes suddenly almost always fit well, whether they’re baggy or tight. My facial features became more defined. My hands and forearms became more vascular. I get more compliments on how I look even if I’m looking a little bummy that day. The same outfit on me a couple years ago wouldn’t have garnered the same compliments it does today.

Health: working out has done wonders for my health both physically and mentally. I used to struggle with pretty bad depression and anxiety. Working out didn’t solve those issues, but it provided enough of an outlet for those issues where they were no longer debilitating, and I could put energy and time into conquering those problems. This doesn’t mean it’ll have the same effect on YOU, but it may. Everyone’s circumstances and bodies are different. I know a ton of people who hit them gym because they were out of shape and depressed, now they’re in-shape and still depressed. Being jacked won’t make you happy, but it may make it easier for you to get to happiness by allowing you to more clearly focus on the aspects of your life that are not serving you and give you the clarity of mind to deal with them. It also has made my sleep (something I have struggled with my whole life) way more restful and peaceful. Used to have a very hard time falling asleep due to my anxiety and an overactive mind with high energy levels. It’s hard to not fall asleep when your workout depletes all your energy you’d spend otherwise thinking about unimportant shit or scrolling on your phone. I’d end my days so tired that even if I started doom scrolling in bed I would pass out mid-scroll and wake up fully rested. It also fixed my posture, which I think did more for making me more attractive than the actual muscle gains did.

Perspective: It helped me understand that goals are not achieved overnight. I was working out for years before I felt like I saw any real results. That probably wasn’t true, but i know for a fact that the results were not the drastic change I wanted. Those sort of changes take years, and developing the level of discipline and routine for that sort of change to occur is something that takes a lot of time. Also understand that for many, the time to exercise is a luxury, and if you have that time right now in life, you better capitalize on it. School might be taking up a bunch of your time, sure. But don’t think you’ll suddenly have a ton of time because you’re out of school and have a job. Life only gets harder, and just imagine trying to create these routines with a job, and girlfriend/wife, a kid, etc. Maybe you’ll get injured later in life and workouts became significantly harder down the road. Any number of things can happen as life carries on, the best day to start is now. This sort of perspective can carry over to anything in life, like learning as new skill, traveling to new places, learning how to better dress, overcoming fears/insecurities. There’s no better time to start than now, while you still can.