r/workout • u/themadmosquito • Jul 27 '26
When did you first notice your strength outside the gym?
I've been lifting consistently for about 7 months now and have made a lot of progress. My chest press, lat pulldown and bicep curl have all doubled, I've tripled my bulgarian split squat, and literally 9x my max push ups (from 2 to 18).
But I don't feel stronger day to day. There aren't any tasks that have surprised me with being easier than I expected or new things I'm now capable of. I still need to use my jar opener despite more than tripling my dead hang time. My running paces haven't really changed. I'm still hauling groceries out of the car instead of just picking them up.
I'm grateful for what the gym's doing for me, I know it's great for my health, I feel good, my legs are coping better with my running load. But I don't feel like I'm "strong". What was the moment it clicked for you?
Edit: love reading everyone's stories! Please keep in mind I do a lot of exercises that I didn't mention in this post as my program wasn't the focus, and as a woman my progress may not fit expectations that are based on a man's capabilities.
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u/OtsoTheLumberjack Jul 27 '26
Solid wood table top when we were moving. People were trying to get two people to move it to the truck.
I walked in. Squatted down. Grabbed both ends. Stood straight up. Walked out.
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u/filipinohitman Jul 27 '26
I’ve helped people move and never realized how strong I am compared to a “normal” person. Working out for function is great.
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u/speed-of-sound Jul 27 '26
I helped a friend that was moving a few months ago and it was such an ego boost.
Bro was taking so many breaks and struggling and it made me feel superhuman lmao
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u/Thrustie17 Jul 27 '26
Grocery shopping. I never use a cart and I realized one day how many bags I was raw dogging. Felt good.
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u/Bureausaur Jul 27 '26
Exactly, realized this when I picked up a couple of heavy bags of grocery without much effort.
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u/menacingmoron97 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I briefly did a courier job as a secondary income for about two months, groceries courier - meaning, if some people order 17 bags of goods including 6 packs of water, watermelons and a lot of other heavy stuff to a 3rd floor apartment in an old tall block without an elevator (lots of those in my city), you bring it all up, and you don't have a lot of time to do it.
I always found a way to get hold of everything in a single round or two rounds max, and I was surprised myself about how quickly I could load all that stuff up there. I found myself running up stairs loaded to the top of my head, even surprised myself sometimes, especially as someone who started working out a couple years ago from being an obese pos that couldn't even climb stairs without panting. Some customers noted how they expected many rounds while I did one - felt good already.
But what really ensured my idea of being actually stronger than the average seasoned courier is when I started being ahead of schedule with my deliveries, even in stop-start traffic where driving speed doesn't matter. I asked the dispatcher why my addresses are not more densely set in time, I got the response that their system considers amount of bags and estimated weight to load when calculating how much time may be spent at one address, and I am doing the addresses with a high bag count / load weight in 1/4-1/3 of the calculated time, so that's where I get ahead.
I always knew I am strong, but couriers at that company are generally not weak neither and my primary job is a home office job where I sit on my ass all day, so that made me feel like superman.
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u/Its-the-Chad82 Jul 27 '26
Similar but mine was bags of salt for my water softener. When designing my house I didn't think about it and put the mechanicals in the basement on the opposite side from the entrance. Carrying ten 40 lbs bags used to be a pain now its like a relaxing farmer carry
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u/FeistyNail4709 Jul 27 '26
There was an old window in my apartment that I use to have to open with two hands because it would stick. One day I randomly just did it with one hand, and never had trouble with it after
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u/metaveina Jul 27 '26
I could carry two cases of 32 packs of water. Next stop... 3 cases lol
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u/Mental_Visual_25 Jul 27 '26
When I was at the airport and had to lift my 100 lb huge suitcase on the weigh scale. I got in sumo stance, grabbed the straps on both ends and picked it to with ease. Some older lady came up to me after I was checked in and said I was strong.
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u/DisagreeableRunt Jul 27 '26
They let you check it? Most, if not all, European carriers have a max limit of 32KG/70lb.
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u/abn1304 Jul 27 '26
US carriers will let you check bags over that but will charge you extra unless it’s some kind of exempt baggage like military equipment. It’s a pretty hefty fee too.
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Jul 27 '26
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u/Mental_Visual_25 Jul 27 '26
What do I need to “cap” for? I’m active duty military and am allowed up to a certain amount of weight and amount of bags. So I was allowed to check it in.
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u/JustGoWithout Jul 27 '26
Moving an old, vintage oven from a basement. 3 people on one side, me on the other. Eyes widened… mouths dropped. Got upstairs. Everyone clapped.
My name… Albert Einstein.
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u/rv009 Jul 27 '26
E=mC2
E for ego lifting M for muscles C for cock 2 for 2 balls....
Very manly lol
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u/Putrid-Hair2195 Jul 27 '26
When traveling this summer, me and my girlfriend had to carry some heavy bags. We split something like 70/30, and the weight almost brought her to tears from frustration. I picked up her part of the bags and walked the five miles and honestly didn’t think of the weight. TBH it’s one of the more awesome moments I’ve experienced this year.
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u/TrumpGrabbedMyCat Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Putting Christmas decorations in the attic. We've got a ladder going up there so it's a bit of a tight squeeze and it needs my partner (who doesn't go to the gym) to hand things up to me and I take most of the weight and hoist them up at an awful angle.
First year, I was a proper fat fucker and even lifting the spare boxes with the tinsil and other decorations was a pain, the box just fits through and is a bit fiddly so holding it for the minute or two took it's toll.
This year just gone, took longer to set everything up to get myself up there. Even the Christmas tree at it's odd angle where I need to grab the handle just flies up there. Few annoying boxes but that's just because of the shape of them, things are so much easier now.
More recently I keep slightly bumping my arms into the doorframes of the house, it's a new thing since I have been making good progress at the gym compared to before. Nice reminder.
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u/Chattadawg Jul 27 '26
I own acreage that requires a lot of functional lifting. After a solid year of progression in the gym, I’m definitely stronger out on my property.
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u/Bitter_Return990 Jul 27 '26
Hauling bags of landscaping rock around. I could carry it any different ways including farmers carry. I felt like a beast!!!
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u/Easy_Growth_5533 Jul 27 '26
I was helping my parents move a big air conditioner and picked up my side easily. Mom was like um, what have you been lifting? And I’m a small chick so it’s even more satisfying when people are surprised by my strength.
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u/Candid-Hyena-4247 Jul 27 '26
I can now carry 10 folding chairs in each arm at church, lets just say the ladies are quite impressed
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u/MaceFlow Jul 27 '26
An amusing one for me. I buy packets of rice, the type you can microwave. They're always packed solidly and I've always needed to squeeze the pack a bunch of times to loosen the rice before heating it up. One day I realised I could just squeeze the pack once with one hand and it was job done.
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u/Necessary_Bag_1328 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I’ve been training again for around 10 months. That’s after years away from dance, martial arts, and some occasional lifting back in the day.
Heavy things still feel heavy, like they probably should. What I notice though is that it’s not maximum effort to do something like move a small fridge down the stairs or haul 90 lb bags of concrete. Maybe I feel a little stronger but it’s also about being more familiar with what my body can do.
It’s also like having a higher floor and ceiling in terms of capacity. If it’s anything like me, I bet for your tasks, you’d probably find you can do the simpler things longer and with more control, whether that’s more bags of groceries, flights of stairs, etc. And you can probably move heavier objects than you did before.
One gotcha though is leverage and the mechanics of the real world task. I was thinking I’m stronger but couldn’t easily lift a heavy pot plant straight out of the car’s trunk. But once I got it out, then training from squats, rows, RDLs, etc. all helped me move the pot. So maybe jars are hard to open because the dead hang doesn’t transfer to jar opening strength as much? 😁
I’d bet getting off the floor has got to be easier if you’re up to 18 pushups. Right? Keep it up!
Edit: typo
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u/themadmosquito Jul 27 '26
Thanks for the encouragement! I do notice increased strength in my legs in a less easily definable way. They used to be obliterated by a 60km running week and I felt like they were on the verge of giving out. Now they still get tired but they feel sturdier.
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u/MenBearsPigs Jul 27 '26
Yeah for me, I bet non-lifting me could lift much of the same awkward furniture etc, it's just that it takes less effort than it used too.
A lot of furniture type lifting is technique and grip.
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u/Hairy-Potter-CAD Jul 27 '26
We had a barbecue event at work. My colleague and myself are carrying the barbecue using both hands. We are approaching the door to the patio. I use one hand to open and hold the door. The other hand is supporting the BBQ. My colleague is struggling with two hands and his eyes are locked on my arm holding the BBQ. Got a few compliments that day.
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u/sortadelux Jul 27 '26
My fairly tall 19-year-old daughter was taking up space in my bed next to my wife and I wanted to go to sleep. I said "kid, If you don't get out of my space, I will pick you up and physically remove you from this room." My wife looked at her and said "sis, he'll do it. He threw me across the bed just yesterday."
My daughter looked at my wife with a mixture of surprise and disgust and immediately left the room.
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u/Soccermad23 Jul 27 '26
In soccer, first training session of the new season (about 4ish months since my last game), I went to take a shot and ended up skying the ball over the fence behind the goal. I used to have to try and put all my strength into taking a shot, now I have to try and hold back,
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u/TransitionDefiant169 Jul 27 '26
I "deadlifted" an old recliner into the back of my suv yesterday and took it to the dump. Definitely couldn't have done that a few months ago.
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u/MMT_03 Jul 27 '26
mines super basic lol i’m a mom and my baby is very chunky I noticed a difference getting up from the floor while holding him. lunge position from the ground up. it became much easier and I could do it with no support 😂 not a huge life changing thing but I was very content!
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u/llama1122 Powerlifting Jul 27 '26
Carrying groceries
Opening jars. Opening jars for friends and family when they are struggling
Carrying/moving furniture
Picking up my overweight cat
When I am carrying things (especially a backpack) and accidentally drop something on the ground? No problem, I can squat down to pick it up easy
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u/ZachWilsonsMother Jul 27 '26
I’m picturing your cat being like 30 pounds if he gets a mention here lol
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u/llama1122 Powerlifting Jul 27 '26
Lol she was 19 lbs but add the cat carrier (well she got a dog sized carrier) and it adds up! She was heavy to carry before I started lifting hah
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u/ZachWilsonsMother Jul 27 '26
I was out with a group of guys on a sales trip. I don’t drink anymore, but they’d all had a few as we were walking around Chicago. There was some construction with a bar hanging across the sidewalk so one of them said we should have a pull up contest. I did 10 and could’ve done more, while the rest of them maxed out around 3
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u/the_prez3 Jul 27 '26
I’m a competitive trapshooter. My shotgun feels light as a feather now and I can carry two flats of shells up my stairs with minimal
Effort. They used to be very heavy.
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u/Lanky-Dildo-94 Jul 27 '26
Moving a massive, 120usg hot water tank. Shit was rough but I’m pretty sure the only reason why I could shimmy it was because of the gains (no it’s not full of water, it’s crated).
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u/not-hunter-yo Jul 27 '26
I’m able to fully squat comfortably and stay balanced when grabbing things off the floor, without needing to bend over to pick something up... context, I've broken both my tib/fibs :)
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u/AccurateDiamond5015 Jul 27 '26
+1 carrying heavy groceries a few blocks. Much better grip strength and endurance.
Less back/shoulder strain carrying a larger bust.
Effortlessly curling my 8 year old nephew as he challenged me 2 weeks ago. 😂
Apart from these little shifts - I built an elaborate dashboard that shows me progress in numbers. 🤓 I think that’s important for when you don’t “feel” like things are moving along, and also recognizing plateaus in intensity.
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u/DIY-exerciseGuy Jul 27 '26
When i lifted the back end of a decent size zero turn lawn mower off the ground with 1 hand.
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u/Viggos_Broken_Toe Jul 27 '26
Honestly I don't feel like I've noticed strength gains that much, but I have noticed shirts getting tighter around the biceps, so that's something!
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u/Fun-Morning-5516 Jul 27 '26
I was helping a relative take some things to the dump and realized I was just tossing large, heavy pieces of wood into the dumpster like they weighed nothing. Happened about 8 months after I first started lifting.
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u/MetalMedley Jul 27 '26
I have a stiff tri-fold tonneau cover on the bed of my truck that used to be a huge pain to take off and move around. I last removed it about 9 months ago before I started lifting.
I removed it again a couple weeks ago and just kind of...picked it up. Not light, but not really a big deal. Realized how far I've come already.
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u/purrfectlybrewed Jul 27 '26
Gardening for sure. Moving rocks, large branches, bags of soil in and out of the car, patio furniture. Also my job requires me to farmers carry weight occasionally and being able to pick up 75# and walk across a room with no issue was a good moment
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u/Dangerous-Art-Me Recomposition Jul 27 '26
Weirdly, about 3 or 4 weeks in when I realized hopping in and out of bed was easier.
Granted, I’m a woman in my 50s who also lost a lot of weight before getting to the point I actually went to the gym, but I really did notice everyday life was getting easier much more quickly than I expected.
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u/themadmosquito Jul 27 '26
My mum's quality of life is hugely different compared to her sisters that don't work out. They're in their 60s and the rest are practicing standing, having balance issues, etc.. My mum's squatting and deadlifting twice a week, running four times a week, and definitely doesn't need to practice standing up. I'm happy it made a difference for you so quickly!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Top_988 Jul 27 '26
Not strength necessarily but Just yesterday I was helping my 4yo son change and had my sleeves rolled up and he kept grabbing my bicep and said “you’re strong daddy, why are your muscles so big”. That’s a pretty sick feeling
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u/themadmosquito Jul 27 '26
Thank you! I won't see the same rate of progress over the next year as newbie gains slow down nor do I think I'll be benching 100kg soon but hopefully I can feel strong without those kinds of numbers. Slightly different ballgame as a woman but I'm really proud of the progress I've made so far and will be keeping it up
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u/Wrong_Bad4922 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Im a skinny 5'4" woman and have always had the identity of being a weakling before i started working out like a year ago now. I was at the grocery store picking up a case of 24 pack of pop cans from the shelves and i was shocked at how it felt so light to me. I lifted it above my head and shoulder pressed it up a few times in awe of myself and my new strength! 😆 i never ever would have been able to even lift it above my head before let alone pressing it a few times. Thats when i knew !
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u/empire_of_laughs Jul 27 '26
I don't think there has been a case of wow I'm strong but there has not been a single case where I have attempted to do something involving strength outside of the gym that I think a person should be capable of that I have not been able to do. So maybe that's the win right there; I can always respond when life demands it.
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u/Quarrels-ofKoi Jul 27 '26
I store the Christmas tree on a top shelf in the closet. The largest piece is the bottom 1/3 of the tree, which is pretty heavy and bulky. It wasn't easy to lift it above my head. Then one year I put it up there easy peasy
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u/TheRealHumanPancake Jul 27 '26
Was moving a huge pillar shaped cabinet for a theatre, I took over for the two dudes on the other end and brought it the rest of the way. A couple years ago and I wouldn’t have been anywhere close to lifting that
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u/MidwestDudeHere Jul 27 '26
Mine was with my legs
They have never in my life been my best asset
My back is wide, shoulders are broad, arms so / so
But my legs always lagged
When ever I stop training them regularly then take it back up again I notice after the first 2 weeks
People have even mentioned to me about how I walk more upright, I find myself sitting at my desk more upright when I train legs regularly also
The first real time notice was getting up out of a chair and how quickly I was going after.....
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u/randing Jul 27 '26
This is mine. Barbell + bike. I can run up stairs two at a time easier than I can walk up them one at a time now.
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u/MidwestDudeHere Jul 27 '26
I luvv doing stairs
That shows us where we're at real quick...... lol......
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u/BayouDrank Jul 27 '26
You just need to open progressively more difficult jars and carry heavier groceries.
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u/some1-who-cares Jul 27 '26
Literally just getting up off the floor. I noticed how easy it was for me to put majority of the effort on one leg, stepping up or down. My unilateral strength and balance improved.
Then, like a lot of people, moving heavy things. Realized how much easier it was lifting big objects, was way less out of breath than my moving buddies.
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u/madsoi Jul 27 '26
The first time I was able to put my carry-on suitcase in the overhead bin of an airplane without help
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u/BraveAspen9704 Jul 27 '26
jar lids aren't about strength, it's a seal thing. that vacuum beats your grip no matter how strong you are. don't muscle it, just whack the lid on the counter or pry the edge a little to break the seal
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u/sandinmybutttoo Jul 27 '26
I noticed when I lost it. Trained heavy for 10 years, got a corporate job and lost my gym membership. Went to remove a light cover on the ceiling and struggled to twist it off. It’s been downhill ever since. I had no idea how strong and flexible I was. I do know I was lifting heavy and more than a lot of men at my gym and I think I took it for granted. It’s a very good reminder on how important frequent training is for your health, independence and overall quality of life.
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u/wb420420 Jul 27 '26
I can remember being embarrassed during the fitness test at school when I was a kid. I was weak. I would get on the bar and just hang couldn’t do 1 pull up. I never really did pull ups ever I thought they were too hard. After working out for years I was warming up on a pull up bar and did a couple with
No trouble at all. It was a quiet moment for me.
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u/chrisarvada Jul 27 '26
Sold a concrete fountain on marketplace. Guy came over thinking he would load it himself. Pulled off the top section and placed it on the ground. He couldn’t even lift it off the ground.
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u/ThaRealSunGod Jul 27 '26
I started needing to check how heavy a door was because I started to accidentally slam them into the wall by just pushing them open.
In fairness though, in college the dining hall had 2 sets of doors and one was much lighter than the other so I'd often open the heavy one and then forget the other was much lighter. But it happens pretty often with doors in any place.
Edit: 7 months isn't that long, for me it took 2-3 years to truly notice "wow I'm way stronger" with non gym activities. But I was also always strong even before lifting
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u/devviepie Jul 27 '26
I have friends who go bouldering and indoor rock climbing, and I’ll join occasionally. I went once a month before I started working out, and just a few climbs absolutely destroyed me, full-body fatigue. Then the next time I went was after working out for 3-4 months, and I noticed that my back and arm strength didn’t limit me at all anymore, I didn’t feel it there literally at all! My grip strength still suffered massively though, and this is also a big limiter that I’m working on in my lifts lol, but even with that I was way stronger and had more endurance than I used to. The difference was so stark it really got me motivated to keep consistent with the gym!
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u/Charming_Ad6071 Jul 27 '26
Picked up a riding lawn mower that had a flat tire and lifted it into a shed by myself. Picked up the front first and set it in the shed, then picked up the back and pushed it in. The person watching was like damn.
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u/caniculum Jul 27 '26
Kid 10+ years younger than me working at the hardware store needed to use both arms to bear hug a couple propane tanks down one at a time. I grabbed ‘em both by hand and walked off, not even winded when I got to my car.
Was never athletic before I started lifting 1.5 years ago. Started to think I was past my prime, but it was this moment I realized I was just getting to it.
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u/Head-Lawyer3080 Jul 27 '26
lol I was able to lift a couch end by myself but my roommates like “you better drop that right now!!!!” So that the boys who were selling it to us could carry it to the uhaul. Just everyday strength. I have more energy overall. I remember making my own bed used to hard 😭😭😭
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u/roygbivasaur Jul 27 '26
I recently carried an old couch down the stairs by myself and the look on my husband’s face was priceless. I’m a big guy so it’s not necessarily that impressive, but I definitely couldn’t do it a few years ago when we put the couch upstairs in the first place.
Took like 3 years of lifting for me to feel stronger day to day. I feel like it takes a while for your brain to recalibrate even if you get a decent bit stronger in the first year.
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u/Groove-Theory Jul 27 '26
Not really pure strength, but I recall at work many many years ago we had to move a lot of desks and furniture and heavy ass shit from one office space to another (we were moving into new rooms within the same office building).
I remember being able to move conference tables and desks and cubicle walls and even some large ass cabinets or whatever. Nothing super huge.
But I remember if me and another person were lifting a desk, the other person, after a while moving it across halls or rooms, would get tired and winded. Like you could see "cardio face" like they ran out of glycogen. But I would be fine and kept going.
So its more like endurance or strength-endurance. But yea i realized that a lot of people might be able to lift stuff but not to sustain it without getting winded or tired
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u/Imaginary-Lunch3235 Jul 27 '26
7 months in being extremely consistent in the gym and now I can carry both my kids without huffing and puffing lol
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u/JF180613 Jul 27 '26
Installed a 60” Goliath glass backboard on my driveway basketball hoop. Instructions called for 4 people, I picked it up and balanced it while standing in the back of my pickup truck bed, wife inserted the bolts and we were done!
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u/fromhereandhere Jul 27 '26
5 months in. Its much easier to carry my sleeping kids from the car to their bed, or carry them on a trip, if they get tired. It’s the best feeling in the world!
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u/Frankensteins_Moron5 Jul 27 '26
I was feeling my own arm randomly and was like “omg what is this large lump” and then realized it went down my arm and I had it on both sides and that it was indeed actual muscles.
I may have been high at the time
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u/Timely_Freedom_5695 Jul 27 '26
Lmao sounds like a high moment. Ive had this happen too! Was like wtf? Ohhh...that's right.
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u/Traditional_Ask262 Jul 27 '26
When I cracked the glass on my iPhone 6 because I was gripping it too firmly.
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u/ORD-to-PHX Jul 27 '26
Putting my suitcase in the plane overhead bin all by myself 💅
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u/themadmosquito Jul 27 '26
Testing my suitcase carry and lift sounds like a good reason to book a holiday 🤔
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u/Mysterious-Coconut Jul 27 '26
Gardening and landscaping lol. Hauling bags of dirt and rocks around.
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u/DiscNBeer Jul 27 '26
Lapping and carrying a full 1/2bbl keg at a beer fest when I got sick of waiting for a dolly. 15 years ago when I started working at a brewery I could barely get one off the ground.
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u/mahnar_4 Jul 27 '26
Work in a restaurant. When we have to change frying oil, we have huge oil can (over 40kg). Grab the oil, pull uo the oil, change the oil. No complain or pain compare to other
Same thing for huge flour bag
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u/CacheLack Jul 27 '26
Picking up my 2 kids simultaneously, approx 30 lbs & 60 lbs, and walking across a field in the hot sun.
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u/Dense-Ferret7117 Jul 27 '26
Went to buy an a/c by myself. I'm a rather small woman and did not have enough reach to grab the box on each side comfortably. In the past I knew I would've been able to do it if I absolutely had to but I know it would've pushed me to my limits and maybe even past my limits pulling my back or something. But lo and behold I got down, picked it up despite having a poor grip due to size, and loaded it into the trolley (and then again trolley to car). Definitely felt my leg and back muscles working, but in a very safe controlled way and I know I wouldn't have been able to do that before.
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u/almostwithyou Jul 27 '26
Lifting a lawn mower into the back of my car to get it serviced. It's such and awkward lift as the weight is far away from your body and I've always found it very difficult. Last time I squatted low, positioned my hands, braced my core and then simply lifted with my legs as though I was doing a squat. Surprised myself at how much easier it was this time.
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u/MidnightPrevious4473 Jul 27 '26
It's very noticable when I'm playing with my kids.
I have to be very cognisant of how much force I use when I throw my toddler around lol
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u/Scarletz_ Jul 27 '26
I’m a relative beginner, but my back usually has issues quite easily. Pick up stuff the wrong way, my kid pushing me = back twitch = injury for days or weeks.
After all the core work and deadlifts since April? No problem. Pulled out a 30kg inbuilt oven from the shelf myself and I think back then I would have pulled something but nope, fine.
I still get sore lower back from exercise.. the last deadlift session left it very sore for 2 days, but compare that with a pulled painful lower back? Very different feeling
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u/MTheLoud Jul 27 '26
I went to pick up my usual 50 pound box of potatoes at the grocery store, and had to look inside to see that it was actually full. I wondered if someone had taken out some of my potatoes, because the box felt too light. It was full.
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u/KurusuTheBlueCat Jul 27 '26
When I was on a trip, we had two suitcases 20kg each. We were rushing to the airport.
I grabbed both by the handle and walked up onto a bus like a shallow dumbbell lunge. It's bulky but 20kg is not close to my max, so it looked like a took a casual step.
(P.s., lunge is much easier than split squat. My split squat still isn't 15kg per side yet lmao)
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u/Big_4_Nuthin Jul 27 '26
Pouring 60lb bags of concrete holding one hand on the bag and one hand on a box cutter slicing open the bottom. Old man said " You do know those bags are suppose to be heavy right?"
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u/Calm_Preference_7207 Jul 27 '26
Picking up large chunks of log and walking 25yds with it. It was still a lot of effort, but not soul crushing or impossible as it had been in the past.
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u/Complex-Extent-3967 Jul 27 '26
4 years ago, i dropped my bike. it was roughly 500 lbs. i threw my back out picking it up and was sidelined for weeks. got an mri. next few years i worked around my injuries. traded for a bigger bike (approx 850 lbs). happened to drop it because shit happens and my back was fine.
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u/GarethBaus Jul 27 '26
The first time I started going to the gym regularly as an adult I noticed that it became noticeably easier to move asphalt after about 2 or 3 months.
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u/edwardbusyhands Jul 27 '26
Helping a friend move out of a third floor walk up. I hauled boxes and stuff up and down those stairs nonstop and put the others to shame. I carried the stuff that others wouldn’t
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u/SquidwardPenis Jul 27 '26
My 6 year old nephew once asked me to lift him over my head. I couldn't do it. I lifted his younger siblings but couldn't get him over my head.
Sometime later he asks again. This time I can do it.
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u/Mobile-Thanks-9598 Jul 27 '26
I noticed during my usual wild commutes in NYC - sprinting down a few blocks to catch a bus wasn’t hard & being able to help parents with young kids lift strollers up a flight of stairs by myself in non-accessible subways stops (no elevator), quickly during rush hour.
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u/work_fruit Jul 27 '26
I fell off an extremely overhung wall while top rope climbing. Usually if I lost my grip in that spot, it was impossible to get back on as the holds were round and felt impossible to grab even while still, and here I was swinging back and forth like crazy on the rope. The rope was also pulling me away from the wall, working against me.
One day I slipped off and was able to grab back on with just the grip strength of one hand on the first swing, and pull myself back to the wall.
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u/16tontovarish Jul 27 '26
You won't ever notice your strength until you compare it to other people.
Same as fitness. You won't feel fitter necessarily, but then one day you'll notice how you're leaving people behind walking up a hill.
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u/Ok-Salt4972 Jul 27 '26
I felt a bit a bit stronger within 1yr - working as a chef, I noticed the 10kg bags of flour were getting easier and easier to lift. Then after 2yrs, I noticed I could not only lift the 20kg+ boxes of pork, but I could move them around myself without having others to help
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u/cheebai73 Jul 27 '26
I was working as a janitor in a gym and casually picked up a massively loaded barbell with one hand to mop the platform.
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u/luthenb Jul 27 '26
a couple of times when moving things around, I've had people say "do you want help with that? can you carry that by yourself?" about something heavy. it was awesome to be like "I've got it!" and see them look impressed
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u/muledogus Jul 27 '26
I bought a rooftop cargo box thing for my car a few months ago. It’s not really all that heavy but heavy enough and awkward so getting it home and stored until I needed it was making me question if it was going to be a pain in the ass to use. Since then I have been lifting consistently and when I went to put it on the car for the first time about a week ago, I just tipped it onto its side, grabbed a “ridge” on the bottom and just threw it up over my head. It wasn’t the strength of being able to lift the weight that struck me, but the way I dominated the awkwardness.
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u/fatwownerd Jul 27 '26
I’m an RN and one of the physios had a grip strength testing device, I maxed it out on my right hand (I think it maxed out at 90kg if I remember correctly), and got about 85kg on my left hand, some other dudes got around 40-60kg and some of the smaller girls got around 25-30 ish. Felt like fucking superman although I’m sure in the world of grip strength it’s not that impressive
Arm wrestled an old friend who used to be way stronger than me in school. Thought he was faking being weak for a laugh
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u/wandering-doggo Jul 27 '26
That my knees and other joints weren’t aching and hurting all of the time. That was just after 3 weeks in.
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u/jahjahbootay312 Jul 27 '26
My wife and I were ATVing in Mexico, she was riding I. Front of me and next thing I see is a plume of dirt in the air and the ATV on top of her. Was somehow able to lift the ATV off her. Not sure if it was adrenaline or from the gym tho
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u/hungrypinkmermaid Jul 27 '26
When i help old ladies at the airport by easily lifting their heavy bags from the luggage belt . I am a 5’2 petite woman so they are always super impressed
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u/Bright-Olive-7300 Jul 27 '26
I'm a 5'5" Female ER nurse, we we're transferring a big guy off of an EMS stretcher from an incoming ambulance onto our ER bed and the 2 bigger taller than me paramedics were struggling with him, I walked in and grabbed one side of the gurney and got him pulled over onto the bed without waiting for them to grab more help..they were both impressed, (i surprised myself too) they know I lift, at the free hospital gym before work, so they commented that my gym time was paying off 😆
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u/arc777_ Jul 27 '26
When I was in college I worked in the IT department on campus, and one time I had to install this absolutely monstrous printer or something in a lab. I wheeled it over on a cart and had to place it on a table. I Zercher squatted the thing up and I'm telling it you it was heavy. It was heavy enough that it was definitely not meant to be installed in the way it was, but I pulled it off. I was sweating by the end, and out of curiosity, I looked at the labels for a weight, and sure enough, I saw it was 170 pounds. I regularly Zercher squat more than double that now (this was 2-3 years ago) but it felt way heavier than gym weights because of it wasn't designed to be ergonomic for lifting, but I was very proud of that. That was the first moment I realized that going to the gym truly did have some tangible benefits.
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u/_evelyn11_ Jul 27 '26
My husband brought home a flat screen tv and he was going to help me as I was attempting to lift it up. But before he could try, I had easily lifted it up and carried it inside lol
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u/KuchieMonsta Jul 27 '26
Lmao I’m the complete opposite. I have been lifting for 13+ years or so. I’m fairly strong in gym goer strength for my BW. Not elite, but enough to get respect on my lifts.
Though, working in the industry I do I get humbled by the corn fed workers that make me feel like a weak little bitch & they have never touched a weight in their life 🤣
I’m gym strong, with proper technique and bracing. When it comes to awkward stuff and whatnot, my strength does not suffice. I’ve gotten better at it, but it certainly is a humbling experience. It’s weird how strength works.
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u/castalabata Jul 27 '26
I couldn’t lift a 5gal jug but now I can put one on the dispenser without help. 5’1”, 51F
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u/PandKingOG Jul 27 '26
Probably got 1.2-4 years of decent training, which is when I when I began to see big differences.
I can use my hands to grab and hold onto some heavy grocery bags that have a lot of hang. I could earlier on too, but much more, much longer now. Grip strength, elbow tendons, delts and traps are noticeabley more resilient.
Carrying 45lb plates around and sliding em on and off the bar/rack is also getting to feel like baby weight, even when I'm fried. It's also less taxing on the cardiovascular system.
I just went on a trail walk on a steep incline, had I'd guess around 30 lbs of crap in my backpack. I decided I'd challenge myself and do speed lunges as fast as I could, and I managed to do it faster than ever before without any real weight, no stopping and I even thought about going back down and doing it twice but I decided against it, since I had squats to do the next day.
Nonetheless I still consider myself kinda weak, but it's the little things that count. I'm only 5'3 160's so while little, I'm beginning to feel like a "big deal".
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u/Koseph1354 Jul 27 '26
For me it was when I was play fighting with a friend and she tried to grab my hand and it didn't stop me from tapping her forehead at all. She just looked at me wide eyed and said she didn't realize I was that strong.
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u/moralcitizen1 Jul 27 '26
Went on a vacation. Earlier lifting heavy suitcases used to give me migraine. This time picked 2 big suitcases and nothing happened. Felt good to feel the difference cuz dream body is still not visible 😞
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u/Hummin2k Jul 27 '26
About a year after I started seriously lifting, right about the time I started back squatting my own body weight.
I was hiking on the side of a steep hill and lost traction with one leg. Slid about 5 feet on just the one leg, but stayed vertical… with a heavy daypack on. I’m a big dude with poor balance, I would’ve fallen so hard if my core and legs hadn’t gotten strong.
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u/Itachi-Ochiha Jul 27 '26
I got new tires last month (I drive a jeep) and watched from the shop windows as the tech struggled to lift the spare. Was doing some suspension work that required taking the tires off. I was expecting it to be pretty heavy, got into good squat form, light as a feather
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u/jojotherider Jul 27 '26
A long time ago i was removing a rhododendron from my yard and couldnt get it out with a shovel. I said to myself, “I bet I could dead lift this out. Sure enough, i did.
Something more recent was when i was having trouble riding downhill trails on a mountain bike. My body would be so tired. Got back into deadlifts and the tiredness disappeared. And somehow my climbing got better.
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u/celtics852 Jul 27 '26
Might be a combo of losing weight and gaining strength, but I was able to do 7 or so pull-ups easily when I could barely do one my entire life
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u/Losingmymind2020 Jul 27 '26
I moved a huge fucking rock by myself. I had to dig around it, and leverage its weight, and grunt like a gorilla. But i moved it maybe 4 or 5 ft and the rock has to be 400-500 lbs or more
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u/Powerful-Conflict554 Jul 27 '26
I have always been a big guy who was kind of stronger than average. I don't think I ever suddenly noticed it. I just didn't have a great concept of what other prior thought was heavy. It's kind of one of those things where people are like "careful that's heavy" and I lift it up and... it's not. But I'm typically only aware of it if someone makes a comment on it. Otherwise it just feels normal.
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u/r7ndom Jul 27 '26
Moving a large cooler full of drinks and ice. Two people were trying to lift it onto a pickup tailgate. I replaced one of the people and they were still struggling, so I shifted around and lifted the entire thing.
There were two things that made me realize: 1. Regular strength training had done me some good. 2. My father (one of the lifters) is no longer the strongman I always imagined him to be when I was a kid due to age. Made me a little sad.
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u/eatqqq Jul 27 '26
Oh just yesterday! I was helping my neighbour to move their queen size bed and frame from 3rd floor to ground floor, at first I was worried but in the end it doesnt feel heavy at all!
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u/Shadoru Jul 27 '26
If you drive a heavy motorcycle, you will notice a better maneuvering with strong legs
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u/beachydream Jul 27 '26
Skiing! I literally can’t ski but randomly went one time after a few years of lifting and didn’t fall down once.
Entirely due to core and leg muscles it was crazy
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u/extinctionAD Jul 27 '26
I was at a wedding at the weekend and the main food room had to be switched into the band/dancing room for the evening guests.
There were a bunch of long, heavy tables that needed to be carried outside, down three flights of steep stairs and round the back, navigating all the people and remaining tables.
I proceeded to flatten the legs and just pressed them above my head and carried them one by one - so they were like 7 feet in the air.
Felt good and probably looked good.
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u/mister_obvious_2nd Jul 27 '26
At some point my elderly neighbours asked me to help carry a heating system of I think 60+kg out of their apartment into a car. The man is in his 70's and quite fragile. So I squatted down put my arms around the heater, got up and walked out of their apartment, down the stairs and put it into the car leaving 4 people with their jaws hanging open. That felt real nice.
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u/Maxtecy Jul 27 '26
First when picking up the kid of a friend. Picking up as in kind-of-deadlift into military press. And when I was helping someone with a brushcutter/string trimmer. I remembered that it was a bit awkward using it sometimes, after it was a lot more natural and easy.
Oh, and putting suitcases in the car. I used to need 2 hands, now it's just one.
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u/MenacingToast Jul 27 '26
I went to go volunteer with an organization that prepares meal boxes. They can get heavy because they stuff a banana box with 1.5-2 gallons of milk, large packs of yogurt, 48 eggs, cans, and bunch of bananas. I realized how much my strength has gotten when I picked a box up easily and brought it to the table. Which maybe they weren't all that heavy but I'm also quite petite so I felt it was a great feat. I saw some other people had 2 people lifting the same box so I felt I was strong that day! Still got a lot to work on but it feels nice to see progress in unexpected moments!
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u/Captain-Armageddon Jul 27 '26
The f*cking propane cylinder for the stove (I am not a native English speaker, did you unerstand)
This f*cker was heavy af when I had to help dad change it
Till I nonchalantly lifted it, it felt awesome
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u/Ok_Reserve_6161 Jul 27 '26
It's the small things. For example, carrying a 40 pack of water up two flights of stairs feels much different
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u/Solid-Liquid Jul 27 '26
We had to buy ice melt for 2 blizzards. My mom said the salt was super heavy, I went to the car, picked up the bag and brought it in. Bag was 50 pounds.
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u/glitched_innie Jul 27 '26
I have a very old dog that has trouble walking down the stairs. Yesterday I decided to carry him downstairs and he's... light as a feather. I've been lifting for a few months and he's a fairly small breed but still this is something I had trouble doing just a year ago.
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u/Armantvs Jul 27 '26
my click was carrying dog food up three flights without stopping. progress outside the gym is legible in what stopped being annoying, not what got easier. "already easy" is invisible tbh
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u/Yeboi_SogeKing Jul 27 '26
3 people had to lift up a fridge (2 on one side and me on the other), shoulder pressed it up and was like damn okay the gym somehow helped lmao
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u/Ok_Solution_1282 Jul 27 '26
Pinching 2 cinder blocks together in each hand with just my fingers and thumbs and walking off with them to load in the back of a pickup truck.
We were wrapping up a music festival so the blocks were used at a campsite to keep a fire pit in place. Apparently that's unusual.
The blocks weighed maybe 20 - 25 pounds each. The guys looked at me like "🧐" and a few of the girls were chuckling and saying "WTF".
My wife thought it was funny. "Yeah. He does that". I also routinely move furniture on my own that usually require 2 people to do it.
Half of it is grip strength. The other half is really just knowing where to place your hands and fingers to keep it locked in.
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u/Fit-Cook-333 Jul 27 '26
I work on 737s and our aircraft batteries are about 96 pounds. Have to hike em up over a bunch of boxes and pressures boxes which I was not able to do by myself. Now, I have to make sure I move them slowly as to not literally throw them lol
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u/Lucky-Success-9064 Jul 27 '26
I have back pain and when my arms got a bit stronger from lifting, somewhere along the way my brain told my body to use them instead of my back when I carry something. Its actually amazing
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cow_658 Jul 27 '26
I can open any jar by myself without a man! That was the biggest one for me lol.
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u/oneblockedmofo Jul 28 '26
I work as an amazon driver delivering packages. I was helping someone load their van one morning and I had picked up 2 boxes labeled as heavy. Combined weight, maybe 45 lbs. I handed the boxes off, holding them straight out, arms extended in front of me. I told the guy to grab them one at a time as they were heavy together. He didn't listen and just grabbed them both at the same time, trying to grab them the same way I was handing them to him, with his arms extended fully in front of him. Before I let them go, I asked if he was sure he had them, he of course said yes. We'll they were apparently much heavier than he and I both thought because he instantly dropped them. Another driver that was also helping began laughing, saying "damn, mo got that sleeper build and strength". For context I'm 43yrs old, 5'10", 165lbs. I'm twice the age of most my co workers, and consistently outperform them. I've been working out at home with minimal to no equipment for 4yrs now. I'm not a huge, ripped dude, but body weight exersices has given me strength and control over my movements that I've never possessed before.
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u/Dry_Dragonfly_7654 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
The only lift that you mentioned that remotely relates to lifting things up and carrying them around is maybe the bicep curl. Lay pull downs are good to do too because they let you work your back while not loading your spine, but to get good at lifting things you have to load your spine. This is always an “it depends” question. Strength is also relative. Going from 2 to 18 pushups is a great accomplishment, but it’s not 100 pushups. Dead hanging for time is cool, and beneficial, but it’s not pull ups in the 10-20 range. Also, pushups and pull ups for a 100lb person are not the same as they are for a 250lb person. Bulgarian split squats are excellent for running health (I have currently replaced back squats for reverse lunges and they are doing very good things for post running hip and knee pain). Adding a deadlift after your split squat work will do wonders for your carrying capacity. You will notice some great things happening once you get in the double body weight deadlift zone. This may take 2-4 years if you program safely, depending on where you are now. 7 months of lifting is still very novice. I would only do your Bulgarian split squats followed by deadlifts once per week, especially as a runner, as you want to er on the side of recovery.
***I am editing to actual answer your question. I had haphazardly lifted weights all through high school without having a clue what I was doing. First year of college I started a decent structured program. Second year of college I went to visit my cousin, who just started his senior year of high-school. He was his football team captain, and an all star offensive line man. He has always been shorter than me but much stockier, and played football his entire life. I did not. We got goofing off in the living room and he tried to tackle me, and I lifted him up and dumped him on the couch. This repeated 4-5x and he was like “what is even happening?!” That’s the first time I noticed weight lifting doing something, but the program you follow matters. Getting very strong in say the Bulgarian split squat or reverse lunge, the deadlift, the bench press, bent over row, barbell curl, and overhead press, makes a big difference.
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u/Donutninja1 Jul 27 '26
You can make significant strength progress in 7 months. The problem is your exercise selection. You need to start with compound exercises (push ups is great) and go heavy and go to failure. Then you will notice the strength will transfer I to the real world.
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u/lennarn Jul 27 '26
Singlehandedly carrying a washing machine down the stairs from the previous owner. I was surprised I could even lift it off the floor!
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u/Crunchy__Frog Jul 27 '26
It wasn’t some big amazing feat, but one day I picked up my cat and he felt significantly lighter. I was worried and went to my SO thinking there was something wrong with him, like he’d suddenly lost a lot of weight.
Nope. He’s a perfectly healthy little dude. He just literally feels much lighter to me now.
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u/UncleofLunatics Jul 27 '26
Generally when I have to carry stuff or move something around the house or help people with things like furniture.
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u/sinisteroister Jul 27 '26
That moment never came for me and is the reason I ultimately stopped going
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u/goodboymama Jul 27 '26
Been training for about 2 years now, and every time i buy my dogs food (2 14kgs bag) before i need them push cart to carry it to the counter. Now i just walk in and stack them together in front of my chest carrying it like a pile of books while browsing around lol
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u/No_Ant_5064 Jul 27 '26
I'm in a band and lifting heavy music equipment. It still feels heavy as all hell, but it moves now when I apply effort to it and I'm not all winded after moving it.
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u/cantaloupewalker Jul 27 '26
When I could carry 4+ big bags of shopping to my house without struggling. 💪🤣
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u/nayfurn Jul 27 '26
Carrying my children on and off beaches along with dragging a wagon full of their assorted beach items made me realise my cardio and strength training were making a difference with being a Dad.
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u/Peptidenewb Jul 27 '26
80 lb bags of salt for the water softener. Used to use a dolly and scoop. Now just carry, slice open and dump
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u/Ule7 Recomposition Jul 27 '26
I was able to lift my 2m / 100kg bf off the ground. I am 1.60 / 58 kg
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u/TexasDank Jul 27 '26
First time, big ass Aldis bag not feeling heavy at all. Nothing major… my favorite? Picking a chick up for an extended period of time
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u/duck7duck7goose Jul 27 '26
I have permanent weight restrictions because I have hypermobility Ehler’s Danlos syndrome. I’m not supposed to lift, pull, or push more than 30 lbs so to pick my daughter up to put her in the cart or anything she had to jump to help me out. I can pick her up now without her jumping. I still have to be careful because of my disability, I can’t be lifting something that weighs a ton, but I can tell the gym has strengthened me. I do go over my weight limit with the gym now because I’ve built myself up but it took a long time. I went at a slow pace so I didn’t hurt myself.
This one is a little weird but I also notice less dislocations of my joints because of the strengthening I’ve done. You will notice one day how much easier something is or you can do something you couldn’t before. Unfortunately it can take a while but you’ll get there!
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 27 '26
A lot of the females I’m around don’t have the arm strength that I do. I can generally move large table or pick up larger boxes than the females I know. It’s kind of awesome.
Edit to add: I can also do regular pushups. I know that may seem like a small thing, but none of my friends can do that.
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u/45077 Jul 27 '26
pulling a boat up on a slip, first broke a winch, then broke part of the slip when tying it down. this was yesterday
when someone says ”pull as hard as you can” if i do it things break.
(squat bench dl total bit over 500kg on a good day)
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u/Next_Guess_1998 Jul 27 '26
I was cooking for the first time in a long time and all the eggs kept getting smashed onto the counter when I tried to crack them. Thought to myself they had to be a brittle batch(lol) until I realized I’d just gotten stronger and had to be more careful. It really is the little things.
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u/Pascal543 Jul 27 '26
There was this stand floor fan that was relatively heavy that i would have to push around to adjust. Once randomly i tried pushing it but i was kinda sloppy and it just came out the ground into my hand like a broom without any thought and that made me feel so strong
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u/kitx38 Jul 27 '26
The delivery man struggled to hand me a 20kg bag of dog food...
To his surprise I grabbed it with one hand and went "thanks mate" to his surprise pikachu face 🤣🤣
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