From casual fitness to powerlifting: How I made the switch

ruggedpanther27 said:this Pisarenko guy is a total lightweight

Honestly, this kid looks like a scrawny amateur, which is why all those heavy lifts seem so baffling to me... I’ve been digging through his old videos lately, though... and man, he’s actually legit...🙏

Who knows where he'll end up...

I’ve really started getting into this stuff, mostly because of this forum and you...

Once my leg is healed, the first thing I'm hitting at the gym is the deadlift...😁

But Pisarenko is an absolute legend...
A beast, weighing in at about 285 lbs of pure muscle...
The current record holder is Rezzazadeh, who sits at around 350 lbs body weight, and his clean and jerk record is 580 lbs (they wiped the old records when the weight classes shifted)...

That should give you an idea of what kind of machine Pisarenko is—he's 65 lbs lighter, yet has a higher clean and jerk (rumor has it he's pulling 595 lbs and snatching 615 lbs in training)...

And this kid is a monster too...
He might look a bit lean, but he isn't 330 lbs...😁
The guy was just born strong and started training young, which explains those insane numbers...

Well, I'm glad if I managed to motivate you even a little bit...👍
So, what happened with your leg?

Michael Rivera63 said:And man, Pisarenko is a total legend
absolute beast, weighing in at 130 kg of pure muscle
currently, Rezzazadeh holds the record with about 160 kg of body mass, and his clean and jerk is sitting at 263.5 kg (they wiped the old records when the weight classes changed)

That just shows you what a machine Pisarenko is—he’s 30 kg lighter, yet he’s got a bigger clean and jerk (word is he’s hitting 270 kg in the clean and 280 kg in the jerk during training)

And this guy is an absolute animal too
He's gotta look a little lean; it's not like he's 330 lbs of bulk😁
The guy was just born strong and started training young, which is why his numbers are so insane

Hey, I'm glad if I could motivate you somehow👍
So, what kind of leg injury are we talking about?

Well, I tore my meniscus, but the doc says it's not too bad... I don't need surgery, just physical therapy

Basically, it's hitting the gym hard plus specific exercises with a PT. They say cycling will probably help the most, though; a buddy of mine actually said cycling saved his knee when it went out

Once I get through this, I'm going to dedicate myself more to the Holy Trinity😁 up until now, it's been nothing but bench press

ruggedpanther27 Asks:
So, my meniscus is shot. Well, according to the doctor, it’s "minor," so no surgery is required—just a solid round of physical therapy... turns out I might actually have to work for my recovery after all.

Physical therapy is absolutely brutal... plus doing those specific corrective exercises with the PTs can be a total killer. Honestly, though? I think cycling is going to be my biggest lifesaver. At least, that’s what the experts are telling me, and a buddy of mine swears by it too—he said his knee was completely shot until he started hitting the bike regularly...

Once I finally clear some space on my schedule, I might actually dedicate a bit more time to the Holy Trinity... 😁 So far, the only thing being talked about is the bench press...

Watch yourself out there. And honestly, I’m pulling for you—wishing you a really speedy recovery... 👍

And then we’re looking at a total of about 2,200 pounds... 😉

Michael Rivera63 said:Man, take care of yourself. Wishing you a super speedy recovery!👍

And hey, aim for 2,200 lbs total eventually!😉

Thanks! Honestly, I'm good if I can hit 1.5x bodyweight bench, 2x bodyweight squat, and 2.5x bodyweight deadlift.

@Jason Campbell70/">@@Jason Campbell70

How long does your warm-up usually take before you jump into those 225lb sets? Do you typically run through some lighter sets with 110lbs first, or do you just get a solid warm-up going and then go straight for the heavy stuff?

boldtinker12 said:How long does your warmup take, and what does it look like before you hit those 220lb sets? Do you run some sets with 110lbs first, or just get a quick warmup and jump straight into the heavy stuff?

My warmup? Mostly just swinging my arms around. 😁

A little bit of movement, then I might—very rarely—knock out a few reps with featherweight loads, regardless of the lift. Just enough to feel the full range of motion and check if my muscles feel tight.

Michael Rivera63 Hey man, if it’s not too much trouble, could you toss me a few links regarding torque, RPM, and all that technical goodness?

Jamie Rivera70 said:Michael Rivera63 Look, if it isn't too much trouble, could you toss a few links my way regarding recoil, muzzle blast, felt impulse, and all that other fun stuff?

For crying out loud...

Well, you’ve certainly got plenty to keep you occupied here... 😁

There’s just so much detail packed in here that you’re going to have a hard time catching everything if you only give it a passing glance...

How many times am I going to watch this? Honestly, at this point, I should just throw out the damn 550-pounders already, but... well, here we are... 🙂

Honestly, it’s much better if someone just walks you through it in person... it makes everything so much simpler.

Watching you work, only to have you swoop in and tweak those tiny little details that actually make all the difference...

Michael Rivera63 said:Man, seriously...

There is honestly so much stuff to take in here. 😁

The level of detail is insane; if you’re just glancing at it, you’re gonna miss the good stuff.

Every time I try to dive deep into this, I feel like my brain is about to hit its limit, but hey, what can you do? 🙂

It’s honestly way better if someone just walks you through it—it makes everything so much easier.

They can watch how you handle things and then tweak those tiny little details that actually make a massive difference.

So, if one of your girlfriends would be willing to show me the ropes... 😬

Otherwise, I guess I'm stuck looking to you! 😁

Jamie Rivera70 said:Well, if one of your girlfriends actually showed me some skin... 😬

It looks like I'm stuck with just you again 😁

Man, life is tough for you... 😁

Michael Rivera63 said:Man, I feel you... life's tough out there. 😁

😢

At least grab a razor and clean yourself up!

😁

Let's just get together and hash this out. 👍

Well, still no luck hitting that 300 lbs on the bench. Two attempts, both failed.

Lifting 285 lbs feels relatively easy enough, but 300? Just won't happen today.

How many times can you hit 100?

boldtinker12 said:How many reps can you get with 220?

Hard to say exactly.

Last time I hit about 10 reps on a circuit... no spotter involved.😁

But I can definitely handle at least 12 reps at 220 lbs.

Hit 130 kg for two reps today.

Even though I originally went in for just one set, I got set up on the bench, unracked, lowered the bar, pressed it, and just sat there stunned by how smooth it felt... after holding the bar steady for a few seconds, I figured, why not one more? Lowered it and cruised through the second rep. 🙂

Just joined the "300 lbs" club😁

Jason Campbell70 said:I finally joined the "300 lbs club" 😁

Way to go, Jason Campbell70! 😁

-briskjackal5

Jason Campbell70 said:8x220 lbs
7x220 lbs
6x220 lbs
5x220 lbs
5x220 lbs
4x220 lbs

Yesterday -
7x245 lbs
6x245 lbs
5x245 lbs
5x245 lbs
5x245 lbs

No spotter. Actually, I was the only one in the gym. 😁

Progress? Hopefully. 🤷

Hey everyone, I was scanning through the forums looking for a specific thread to jump into, but I couldn't seem to find one that fit.
So, here’s the deal: while I was hitting some heavy bench presses, I started feeling this sharp pain in my elbow, though it only really flares up when I'm pushing serious weight and reaching that final lockout position where the bar is resting right on my shoulders.
Once the workout was over, that sensation settled into a bit of a dull, nagging ache in the joint.
Has anyone else dealt with something similar, and does anyone have an idea of what might be causing this? I'd love to hear your thoughts on potential recovery steps or, more importantly, how I can prevent this from turning into a real injury...