From casual fitness to powerlifting: How I made the switch

In my view, significant muscle mass is built by moving heavy weight, primarily through compound movements. And vice versa.

When you're training, do you push for max weights? Do you opt for lower rep ranges instead of sticking to the standard bodybuilding protocol of 6 to 8 reps?

Right now, my main focus is hitting a 300-pound bench press. (I'm currently sitting at a 120 kg 1RM 😳).
I'm convinced that once I hit that objective milestone, there will be a massive, visible impact on my physique—even if you can't measure aesthetics with a scale.

Because of this, I’ve been structuring my last few sessions around heavier loads and fewer repetitions.

What are your thoughts? 😁

I bet Michael Rivera63 is gonna drop a massive wall of text on this soon, and who knows, maybe even Shrek will finally show up and give us an answer 👍

When it comes to my squats, deadlifts, and lunges, I always stick strictly to a 5x5 routine.

The last two days:
Push day: bench press, dips, a few sets of tricep extensions, and finished off with close-grip bench.
The heavy hitters were the bench and the dips.
Six sets of bench press:

8x220 lbs
7x220 lbs
6x220 lbs
5x220 lbs
5x220 lbs
4x220 lbs

Five sets of dips.

Pull day:
Main lifts:
5 sets of bent-over rows (😁🤣)
5-6 sets of deadlifts.

Skipped the lat pulldown machine entirely.😁

Secondary work—variations of dumbbell curls and straight bar curls.

And who exactly is the target audience for this thread?

Michael Rivera63 said:So, who is this thread actually intended for?

For my own ego,

I was just wondering—how much weight are you actually pulling when you're doing rows with a forward lean?

Don't go pushing every single exercise to absolute failure. And please, stop doing the exact same number of reps and sets every time you hit the gym. The whole point of training is variety; if you don't switch things up, your body just adapts and stops responding, so you have to shock the system with something new. goldenfox24 raised a great point there—I know exactly what he’s getting at. Your bent-over rows should ideally be right in line with your bench press strength; that’s where you want to be for perfect balance.

Timothy Chase91 said:Stop training to failure on every single set.

I don't.

Timothy Chase91 said:Don't just stick to the same reps and sets every time. That's not how training works—you need variety.
Because if you don't change things up, your body adapts too fast. You have to shock the system eventually.

I follow that rule.

Timothy Chase91 said:goldenfox24 asked a solid question. I know what he's getting at. Your bent-over rows should ideally match your bench press. That’s the sweet spot.

I'm not sure what my max is for bent-over rows. I don't typically test a true 1RM for that movement, though it's definitely lower than my bench.

Blue Lion said:Why is that?

When you push all the way to failure, your speed drops off. It’s not just about slowing down, though—you often end up needing a partner to help you grind through the rep, which kind of defeats the purpose of the set because the muscle ends up feeling completely drained. In my opinion, you should wrap up any exercise the moment you notice your movement starts to slow down.

The theory holds up just the same—if you can pull your own body weight for a certain number of pull-ups, you really ought to be able to handle that exact same weight for that same number of reps during weighted training. If you don't respect that ratio, you’re basically just asking for a shoulder injury
.
Now, if Men's Health is telling me otherwise, then I guess I'm a liar too
.

Tried hitting 130 on the bench press today.

It didn't happen.😢

Later, I figured out why.
My technique was off; I was dropping the bar too high, right toward my neck.

Back at it tomorrow.🙏

Jason Campbell70 said:So, I went for a 285-pound bench press today.

It didn't go as planned—not even close. 😢

I finally caught on to what went wrong a little later on...
My setup was just totally off—my technique was sloppy, and I ended up dropping the bar way too high on my chest, right toward my neck. That’s a dangerous spot to be in, honestly.

Back at it again tomorrow, though! Hopefully with a better groove. 🙏

Man, this guy has no clue how to bench. 🙂

Hit the gym today to test out 130 kg, just to get a feel for the load.

Spotter was on standby for assistance....

I got it up.

But my Spotter kept a hand under the bar the whole time. Even if he claims he wasn't actually helping, I'm not counting this as a successful 130 kg lift.😁

Timothy Chase91 said:Avoid taking any exercise straight to failure. And please, stop doing the exact same reps and sets every single time. That's the whole point of training—you need variation. Your body adapts way too fast, and once it does, you have to shock the system with something new. goldenfox24 asked a solid question here; I know exactly where he's going with this... your bent-over rows should ideally match your bench press strength. That’s the sweet spot.

Based on what logic?

Grab some "Muscle revolution" from Waterbury. The programs are killer for hypertrophy and strength... everything actually works.

Michael Rivera63 said:What logic is that even based on?

Look, pushing equals pulling...

just like pull-ups and overhead presses... squats and deadlifts.

Nicholas Kern90 said:so pushing equals pulling...

just like pull-ups and overhead presses... squats and deadlifts...

How many people do you actually know who have identical numbers for both the squat and the deadlift? (I mean, people who actually tested their true one-rep maxes for both and ended up with the exact same result...)

And don't even get me started on pull-ups versus military press...

What would the weight ratio look like for bench/squat/deadlift?

Just some kind of average

Jason Campbell70 said:What would the weight ratio look like for bench/squat/deadlift?

Just some kind of average...

There isn't really a set rule here.

It all comes down to your specific build...

Back in the day, my deadlift was almost double my squat...
And my bench was actually pretty close to my squat, even though I didn't focus on it much at all.

I've been tweaking things lately, so I don't really push heavy deadlifts or benching anymore (maybe just a few sets of three once a month)...

Now, the gap between my deadlift and squat has narrowed quite a bit, while the gap between my squat and bench has grown significantly...

That said, people usually aim for ratios like this:
Bench: 1.5 x BW
Squat: 2 x BW
Deadlift: 2.5 x BW

But like I said, it really depends on how you're built...

Michael Rivera63 said:How many people do you actually know who have the exact same squat and deadlift? (Like, they tested their absolute max for both and the numbers are identical)

especially when it comes to pull-ups and military press...

Pull-ups and military press are pretty much in that same category for me.

The point is, there shouldn't be massive gaps between antagonist muscle groups.