For sophomore Yashraj Choudhary, the rhythm of reps in the gym is routine, but his weightlifting journey is far from ordinary. What started as a goal to lose weight has evolved into a reflection of his identity, as he approaches the gym with discipline and consistency.
Before stepping in the gym, Choudhary didn’t always feel confident about how others perceived him. He weighed about 255 pounds when he began weightlifting at the start of freshman year.
“You get treated worse, and people laugh at you because there is this preconception of you being fat,” Choudhary said. “It’s like the first thing someone sees when they look at you.”
For him, motivation became personal because he wanted to be respected. Beyond changing his appearance, he wanted to challenge himself and test his limits in the weight room. However, Choudhary didn’t have a clear idea on where to start.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Choudhary said. “I would just go to the school gym and do bench press or something.”
Over time, he began setting concrete goals, such as increasing his maximum bench press to cutting down his body weight to 200 pounds. After more than one year of consistent dedication in the gym, Choudhary’s combined bench press, deadlift and squat exceeded 1000 pounds on April 10, officially making him the first sophomore in Lynbrook history to enter the 1000-pound club. Reaching the 1000-pound club is widely recognized as a benchmark of well-round ed and advanced strength.
But even as his numbers climbed, a different challenge began to take shape. Choudhary realized that the biggest challenge wasn’t physical, but mental. Staying consistent day after day proved to be the hardest part.
“Motivation is temporary,” Choudhary said. “You can feel motivated, but actually putting in the work consistently is different.”
For Choudhary, visible changes came slowly. Because he saw himself every day, it was difficult to notice progress. It wasn’t until eight months into weightlifting that Choudhary observed physical changes like loose skin to the clothes that have become too big for him. Those tangible differences made his progress feel real and reinforced that his effort was paying off.
During his weight loss phase, he focused on simple habits, such as walking 10,000 steps every day and cutting out unnecessary snacks.
Choudhary managed to cut his body fat percentage from 36% down to 27% while doing cardio and aims to lower it to 20% in the near future.
Beyond the physical transformation, Choudhary said the most meaningful change has been his mindset. Weightlifting has forced him to reevaluate his habits and take control of his daily life.
“I realized that to accomplish something big, you have to change a lot in your life,” Choudhary said.
