The Art of Becoming Bigger, Stronger, and Better Looking.

Most lifting programs are okay. And that's fine. Building a healthy amount of muscle isn't rocket science. So long as you lift weights a couple of times per week and attempt to get stronger at the big compound lifts, you'll build enough muscle to reap most of the general health rewards. You'll probably look halfway decent, too.

But… eh… that isn't very fun. And if I'm going to be spending a few hours in the gym every week anyway, I'd rather treat it as a hobby, get interested in it, have fun with it. And what's more fun than building a body that's way, way better than just decent? What's more fun than becoming impressively strong? Or truly mastering the art of lifting?

I love overthinking and optimizing and min-maxing all of the details. I don't just want to squat, I want to squat the best way—the way that most closely aligns with my goals. I want my technique to look solid. And I want to be strong at it.

Now, that doesn't mean that I'm a professional powerlifter or bodybuilder. Far from it. I'm a dad who runs a business and spends his time writing and illustrating. I have a degree in design theory, I work a desk job. I only lift weights 3, sometimes 4 times per week. Oftentimes, I show up to the gym tired because my baby woke me up during the night.

A big part of being a good husband and father is being strong and healthy, having vigour, making my family feel safe. I ought to lift weights, and I do. I show up even when I'm tired. I find time even when I'm busy. If I'm already putting in all of this effort, why not get better results out of it? Why not have more fun with it? Why not become great at it?

I don't just want to wing it in the gym, maintaining my strength year after year, being decently healthy but never getting any better, never becoming truly strong. I'd rather follow a program—a good program—that gets me steady results. I want my years in the gym to add up to ever more impressive results.

If we're lifting weights anyway, we might as well get more out of it. We may as well outlift ourselves, outlift all of our friends, build a truly badass body.

Anyway, here at Outlift, we take lifting way too seriously. For the fun of it. Because it's a hobby that we can love. And because succeeding at it will bring us joy.