Lifting does NOT improve confidence

[Navigator]

I thought about it quite often and came to this conclusion after all these years of lifting
Yes, it's nice to feel and look better and to be in good physical condition but sincerely I didn't find that it boost my confidence that much if any
I am pretty much the same in a way of confidence after years of training
Confidence starts in your head, not in a gym which is just another scam of fitness industry

[khrazz]

I thought about it quite often and came to this conclusion after all these years of lifting
Yes, it's nice to feel and look better and to be in good physical condition but sincerely I didn't find that it boost my confidence that much if any
I am pretty much the same in a way of confidence after years of training
Confidence starts in your head, not in a gym which is just another scam of fitness industry

Are you working on yourself in conjunction with your strength training?  If no, then thats the reason why you did not improve your confidence . Confidence comes from yourself perceiving achievements. To clarify, if you go from being 132lbs, 180lbs (lean mass ofc), then thats your personal achievement, and if you feel proud of it, people will perceive you as confident.  The same goes for achieving numbers in the gym (like 500lbs deadlift, 220lb bench etc) . Those numbers mean nothing to the people outside of the gym world, but if this makes you feel good, then you are going to have increased confidence thanks to it, because you reasure yourself that you set a goal, and made it happen.


Confidence comes from setting goals, and making them happen.  If you simply go to the gym just to workout, without any plan, how can you possibly think that the gym alone will make you confident? It wont. You always need to work on something not actual work, i mean hobbies outside  the gym, like for e.x reading books.

Truth be told, training in the gym or for some certain sport teaches you 1 golden aspect. Patience. It also teaches you the things take time to build, and that can also manifest in other areas in your life. Things take time. Tbh, thats the biggest lesson you get from working out (even if you use steroids)

Btw, you cant self measure your confidence. Only other people can, and even then you need to be careful of whom it comes from, because sometimes people try to tear down confident people by telling then they are unconfident (fear projection of themselves towards you)

[Plato]

still think it be easy to be confident when you look nice but its true I know unattactive people with more confidence then me .

[TruthSeeker]

It can improve confidence significantly, especially in the beginning. Imagine the following – a skinny kid with poor posture joins a gym. He gains some muscle and begins to look a lot better. The same could apply to a really fat guy who finally eliminates the lard surrounding his bones. 

However, after a certain baseline is reached, the novelty effect wears off. A new PR does not have the same effect on your perception of yourself anymore. You have developed resistance to the dose.

Ultimately, confidence is a fleeting idea. You can't have it all the time. It's impossible. Even the self-proclaimed alphas experience a lot of self-doubt. 

In general, lifting can only do so much. A man these days is expected to be super human – handsome, rich...etc. There are many more elements that affect your confidence in the matrix. Heavy deadlifts are not high on the list.

[Plato]

yes guess everyone is insecure to level but doesn't that make us human in sense, you have enjoy the worries and self dealt a little bit