When people think about lifting weights, they naturally focus on the physical side of it.
What people fail to consider often times are the benefits that lifting weights can provide outside of just looking good.
There are a lot of life lessons to take from lifting weights and bodybuilding that I don’t see discussed elsewhere.
Lessons that will help make you a better person and have a higher quality life outside of the gym than you would’ve had otherwise.
Since most of us will never be Mr. Olympia, the gym will likely be a place where we develop our souls more than our muscles over the years.
It’s a place that we can always go to and work on ourselves.
A place without distractions where we can be with our own mind and body while getting after it.
I’m going to give you the ten life lessons I’ve learned from lifting weights for over twenty years that have helped me to grow as a person and live a strong life.
# 1- Growth comes from pain and struggle
To grow and improve at anything on earth is painful.
If you want to grow bigger muscles in the gym, you must go through a lot of pain.
What separates people that build great physiques from those who build mediocre ones is their ability to deal with the pain they encounter.
Just like lifting weights, those who are able to deal with the pain in their life and keep moving forward are those that go furthest.

Failing at a goal or not getting that promotion time and time again is painful. There’s nothing more in the world that you’d rather do than give up.
If, you give up however, you will never become the person you want to be.
You have to learn to go through the pain and struggle and never give up no matter what.
# 2- You can always do more than you think you can
There’s a phenomenal quote by Navy SEAL David Goggins where he discusses how you are only at 40 % of your capability at the point when you think that you’re done.
Our limits are for more mental than physical. Any top athlete on earth will tell you that.
If it was just a matter of training hard, there would be far more people being able to do things like run a 100-mile race through the desert.
There have been so many times in the gym when I felt that I was truly done. My muscles were burning, and I was exhausted.
I realized that it was mostly mental at these times as something as simple as a new song coming on would instantly fire me back up and help me to keep going.
I know that you too have had this experience in the gym.
Outside of the gym, you can do more than you think you can as well.
All day long your mind is telling you do quit. To take it easy.
You know deep inside of yourself that you are capable of doing and being more.
# 3-The body will listen to the mind
There have been so many days over the years when I wanted to do anything else but go to the gym and lift.
You know what happened when I went to the gym anyways? I usually had my best workouts.
After going through it so many times, it’s become normal to me.
On days when I really don’t want to go to the gym, I usually go anyways. I may feel tired and lazy when I first get there, but after a few sets I get going.
I start talking to myself in my head. Telling myself that I feel great and that I’m ready to crush a workout.
It’s amazing how quickly positive self-talk can get you going again.
I’ve found this same principle to be applicable outside of the gym as well.
When I don’t want to do something like work on this blog for example, I force myself to do it anyways.
Once my mind starts thinking, my body falls right into line and starts typing.
Never forget that the mind is the leader, not the body.
# 4- Worry only about what you’re doing
When you’re in the gym, it’s so easy to get absorbed in what other people are doing.
When you see someone in better shape, you might start feeling bad or jealous about it and before you know it, you’ve lost your momentum.
The same thing happens in life. You see people on social media or YouTube doing better or making more money and you start feeling bad about it.
How do you feel after that? You feel like you just want to go lay on the couch and watch TV.
In and out of the gym, it’s important to worry only about what you’re doing. Don’t get caught up in what other people are doing.
When you get caught up in what other people are doing, you’re not playing your game. You can never be like them and they can never be like you.
You will do your best when you focus on what you can do and the task in front of you.
# 5- What works for someone else might not work for you
We are all unique.
Just because I see someone in the gym blowing their arms up by doing cable curls doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for me.
Sure, I can try them and see if they work, but if they don’t, there’s no point dwelling on it.
I can find 5 other exercises that I can focus on that will work better for me.
Just because you see someone else starting a certain business or doing something in a certain way doesn’t mean you should do it the same way.
A lot of people in the supplement space do well on YouTube. I personally feel that I am 100 times better at writing than speaking so I choose to blog.
Not the end of the world.
We all have different ways of doing things and there is very rarely one right way to do something.
Find your game and play it.
# 6- Consistency is key to progress
If I go in the gym tomorrow and have a killer workout, then take a few weeks off, I’ve wasted my time.
Even if I was taking massive amounts of steroids, working out once a month would do nothing for me.
Anything worth doing is worth doing often.

If you want to pack on muscle, you need to train often.
If you want to get better at writing, you need to write often.
If you want to get better at public speaking, you need to practice speaking often.
Whatever it is that you want to do, you need to spend as much time doing it as possible in order to make progress with it.
# 7- What you track, you pay attention to and therefore improve
When I was obsessed with building a big bench press, I recorded my workouts religiously. I would write down the exact weight and number of reps I did with each workout.
I did that for years and got great results which included winning a state championship in the bench press at 17 years old.
Anything you want to improve, you need to track.
Whether it’s your calories to lose weight or your finances to get out of debt, anything you track you pay attention to, and therefore improve.
If there is any specific area of your life that you want to improve, figure out a way to track it.
I guarantee that you will see noticeable results in a short period.
# 8- You usually have to break the rules and listen to your intuition
There are a ton of rules with lifting weights and bodybuilding.
Which exercises you are supposed to do and which rep schemes etc.
There are a ton of rules that many people follow religiously. The people I’ve seen follow all the common bodybuilding rules to the utmost degree typically struggled to get results.
Our bodies are different and therefore no one method will work for everyone.
If you listen or watch any professional bodybuilders, you will see that they do a lot of weird things. Ronnie Coleman used to eat most of his meals at a restaurant for example. That’s usually a big no go for bodybuilders.
There will be many times in life where you will need to break the rules and listen to your intuition.
You should always listen to that voice deep inside of yourself before you look outside for someone else’s voice.
Your intuition knows where you want to go. If you learn to listen to it, it will usually lead you in the right direction and will tell you to break a few rules.
# 9- Don’t rely on others for a spot in the gym or in life.
The sad truth is that many people throughout your life will let you down. Friends, family members, co-workers. All of them.
The quicker you realize this and expect it, the better adapted you will be when it happens.
Nobody is perfect and you will let people down as well during your life. It happens. Life happens.
When you learn to constantly rely on people, you are going to have some issues. When that person doesn’t come through, what are you going to do then?
If you rely on a partner and the gym and they don’t show up, what are you going to do? You (hopefully) won’t just throw in the towel and go home. You’ll stick it out and work out alone.
We all depend on people for certain things but learn to be independent.
If someone comes through for you then great, but don’t let it ruin your day or life if they don’t.
Just accept it will happen and keep moving forward.
# 10- You can lay down and rest, but you better get up.
There will be times when you lift until you puke or need to lay down for a bit in the gym.
I’ve nearly passed out many times over the years.
You can sit down for a few minutes until you feel better, but you better not give up and go home.
Sometimes in life you are going to get knocked down.

Things will not go your way.
When something doesn’t go your way, you can’t just give up.
You can take a break and regroup, but you better get back in there and keep going.
What separates losers from winners is the ability to keep going. Losers quit, but winners always find a way to keep going.
Remember this. It’s never truly over until you quit. As long as you can get back up, there’s still a chance. A good one.
Lessons from the iron
This is one of my favorite posts of all time.
These are lessons that I had to learn through years of sweat, pain and torture.
It took me until I got a little older to realize how powerful lifting weights can be and how many lessons it has to teach.
I feel truly sorry for people that have no interest in it or can’t stick with it.
They are missing out on so many opportunities to grow as a person.
Stay pumped,
Dan Strong.
P.S. What life lessons have you learned from lifting weights and working out? I’d love to hear your answers below!
I enjoyed reading this post and learned a lot. Point #2 about the song motivating you to continue is true for me too when it comes to running. A good playlist that keeps you motivated helps your success big time!
Mind over matter is important. I have to get up and go to the gym early and there are many days where I just don’t want to make the effort to go and make up excuses in my head not to go. I always try not to listen to those voices. I need to get up and drop my husband off at work anyway and my work and gym are across town so there’s no point in going back home so I usually end up at the gym and crush it those days. It’s the days where I don’t have to drop him off at work where I can’t talk myself out of not going and end up trying to go back to sleep but those days are few and far between now.
My life lesson for fitness is similar to one of yours. Listen to your body, do not ignore it. When its telling you to slow down, slow down. When its telling you to rest, then yes skip a morning workout and sleep a little longer, that workout can be made up later in the day, sleep and rest is important to achieve your results.
Hi Stace,
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Isn’t amazing how powerful music can be? That’s great. It sounds like you are able to beat that part of your mind telling you to take it easy most days! I love that life lesson and agree. The only thing is that it takes a while in my experience to truly listen to your body and understand when you really need a rest versus just not wanting to go and do the work. Very important for avoiding injuries though. Some people just take it too far and take it easy all the time LOL. Thank you so much for your comment and stopping by!
Could agree more with you. In order to grow physically, mentally, spiritually we need to become comfortable being uncomfortable.
Really great post. I think you nailed it.
As for what I have learned from the gym is its not a battle against others (who can lift more, run faster, etc) but against yourself. Can you be better than your last day? What have you done today to improve from yesterday.
Thanks Camden! I’m glad you enjoyed it. You are 100 % right. We have to learn to constantly push through the discomfort and out of out comfort zone. Love that lesson. The only person you are in competition with is yourself!! Do whatever you can to improve each and every day and crush it. Thanks for your comment and thanks for stopping by!!
I really enjoyed your post. I myself have a hard time getting to the gym. My excuse is I am 48 years old I am not going to do much as far as developing muscle anymore. I use to work out a lot when I was younger and in the military. But now I find every excuse there is not to go workout. I want to go work out mainly cardio but I find myself not going. Then I wonder why my belly is starting to stick out and promise myself to go. Like you said it is more mental than physical. I am not afraid of pain I just am afraid to step back in the gym now that I am out of shape. After reading this I felt some motivation starting to come out. I need to just do it and quit procrastinating. I like how you said the more we do the things we don’t like the the more better we get at it and I agree totally. So thanks for a very motivational post and I sure look forward to more from you.
Thank you James! Once you get out of the habit, it can certainly be difficult to get back into it. I’m glad this post helped with the motivation part of it. Just think how much better you will feel physically and mentally once you get back into the gym. Thanks for your comment and thanks for stopping by!
Great article! I actually lifted weights in my preteens. However, when my dad got rid of his weightlifting set, I quit forever. So, yeah, I went from being praised for my strength to being made fun of for being weak. All these years later, and I still can’t forget that if only had just kept going somehow. It’s not like I can blame my dad. Late in my teens I came across a bit of money and spent it on stupidity. 🙁
I’m glad you wrote this. Hopefully, it will help people stay motivated. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Cathy! It’s never too late to start back up again! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment.
Hi Dan,
I really enjoyed your entire post and how you have connected working out at the gym with important life lessons. A few of your points certainly resonated with me like keeping track of your progress which is like setting a goal and reviewing that goal every day until you achieve it. Or the idea of being consistent, there are so many times I don’t feel like going to the gym mainly because I am tired but once I am there and I start I feel so much better and I am glad and I went in the first place. Your point about not relying on others for our own successes, failures, happiness was inspiring because we often judge our success and happiness on how other people see us or respond to us but we shouldn’t. We are enough as we are. Thanks for a great read!
Thanks Ginalisa! That happens to me constantly. I really don’t feel like going, but after about 15 minutes of being there I feel great and am happy that I went. Absolutely right. We should stop focusing all the time on what other people think and how they see us, but it’s easier said than done. At the end of the day, we all care what people think and it’s a difficult thing to deal with. I struggle with it all the time, but I have learned not to let it stop me and have gotten better with it over the years. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment and thanks for stopping by!