# Early and Often: 225

By [Early and Often](https://paragraph.com/@early-and-often) · 2023-12-11

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If you’ve been following this blog, then you know the biggest goal of mine was to hit 225 Lbs on bench press. Today I’m going to write about what I learned about myself during this process.

### Background:

January 2022: 95 lbs

I recently just broke up with my girlfriend of 2 years to focus on myself and building myself as I had felt I had lost touch with who I was and wanted to be.

I went to the gym with my best friend and tried bench pressing for the first time as I had been too afraid to get under the bar beforehand. I could only do 95 pounds. (25 pound plates on each side).

I really didn’t think even lifting my body weight (~155 at the time) was in my future at the time.

### Progression Timeline:

Total time: from 95→ 185= ~8 months (August 2022)

Total time from 185 → 220= ~ 4 months (December 2022)

Total Time from 220 → 225= ~ 11.5 months (December 2023)

[https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xD05C0485dE86a302C3Ab52f38C480F104cDEb2E4/2](https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xD05C0485dE86a302C3Ab52f38C480F104cDEb2E4/2)

### Lessons learned:

1.  Set goal, Plan, and Execute
    
    I learned that when I set a goal, I need to write down a strategy to execute that goal. By continuously writing down how I will reach my goal helps me stay disciplined in order to execute that goal.
    
2.  Nothing is linear
    
    It’s cliche but you never realize it until you reach that desired finish line. It could be finishing a project, buying a house, relationships, and in my situation: fitness.
    
    I was having such quick progression in 2022 that I was loving the gym. I couldnt wait to see what I accomplished next. In 2023, I faced many ups and downs. Sometimes even doubting myself on if hitting my goal was even possible. Was my routine necessarily working? So many good days just to be followed by failing at reaching my goal.
    
3.  My future goals will have different paths/progressions and that is ok
    
    The biggest lesson I learned is that my goals will be achieved in waves. There are times where everything will fall in your favor and yu feel unstoppable. There will also be days where you don’t think there will be a light at the end of the tunnel
    
    One thing that I will now remember when times get tough is to trust my system, trust myself, and trust that whether it is tomorrow or 10 years that I will eventually achieve what I desire.
    

### Reason for writing this:

I’m not writing to brag about hitting my goal. If anything it is the opposite. I’m writing to remind myself and any readers of all the failure, sacrifice, and discipline it took to reach that goal. And how you can take a lesson from something so irrelevant to society (like how much someone can bench) and transform that into lessons you can use in real-life.

I look forward to my future challenges in life wheerever they may come from. Work, relationships, training, deaths, births. You name it. The most important thing I learned was that only I will determine the outcome, and the effort I put forward to get a result.

[https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xD05C0485dE86a302C3Ab52f38C480F104cDEb2E4/4](https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xD05C0485dE86a302C3Ab52f38C480F104cDEb2E4/4)

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*Originally published on [Early and Often](https://paragraph.com/@early-and-often/early-and-often-225)*