How bad did it get for Mikhail Kniaziewicz, once a fit sports fanatic growing up in a well-to-do Philadelphia suburb who earned a college football roster spot on the strength of his left leg, to end up depressed, lonely, out of shape and overweight, wondering if life was worth living?

“It got to the point that some nights I would sit outside alone, listening to music with the suicide hotline number in my hand, ready to dial. Thankfully, I never got to a point where I felt that I had to call it,” Kniaziewicz says.

For that—and for the amazing turnaround that followed—we need to go back to the very beginning of his journey.

From the Pitch to the Gridiron

“Growing up, I was a very active kid,” Kniaziewicz recalls. He and his older sister were involved in sports as long as he can remember, and he took it seriously. “I guess you could say I was a little trophy hunter growing up, and I spent far more time focusing on sports than I ever did schoolwork. I was just so infatuated with pro athletes, and training and being the absolute best with any sport I was in.”

He figured soccer would be his mainstay, but after excelling in youth leagues, he ended up not making the cut for his high school soccer team as a freshman. Disappointed but undeterred, he took his kicking acumen to the football field instead. It stuck. “I ended up going to Division III King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and played four years there,” he says.

That’s when the issues with his weight began. He entered college around 170 pounds at a height of 5’7”—but after just one semester, the so-called “Freshman 15” turned into the “Freshman 45,” putting him at 215 pounds. However, it wasn’t just the typical college culprits of fast food and partying that sent Kniaziewicz into a spiral. 

“My first experience with depression happened after my last high school football game senior year—I missed a game-tying extra point, costing us the game and eliminating us in the playoffs,” he recounts. “I received threats on social media that night and my house was egged. My teammates didn’t support me; they contributed in the bullying. It was so bad I sat by myself at lunch the rest of my senior year and didn’t even go to prom.”

Proving Ground

The pain endured for a couple years, as Kniaziewicz eschewed professional help. Eventually, though, he came to a crossroads in his mind—and decided to turn the negative energy into positive change. “I wanted to use the pain as a tool to further reach my goals. It’s sounds crazy, but I wanted to continue thinking about those bad memories because it motivated me to become highly successful in life, not only to find self-worth but to prove all of them wrong.”

Kniaziewicz was already well-versed in the weight room, having started working out in high school when he joined the football team. But as a junior in college, he really poured himself into his quest for fitness., training with a hybrid mix of heavy, low-rep powerlifting moves and high-intensity exercise to failure that helped him drop from 215 to 165 pounds in six months. “I’d train twice a day, watch videos of workouts and read articles in Muscle & Fitness,” he says. “For me, bodybuilding and the gym were my anti-depressant, and I loved spending time there.”

Nutritionally, he dropped as much processed foods as he could from his diet. “I simply stuck with foods that were closer to being in their natural form,” he explains. “Fruits, vegetables, and any kind of meat was what I ate every single meal through every day. I also spent a lot of time studying about supplements, how they work and when to use them. I regularly took whey protein, BCAAs, and green-tea-based fat burners.”

Under Attack

Seeing his football career winding down, as a senior Kniaziewicz turned his athletic ambitions to the bodybuilding stage, targeting the men’s physique division, while also deciding he would put his BSBA degree in marketing to use in a personal training career. But an old nemesis was about to rear its head as he prepped for his competitive debut in October 2019.

“I first experienced pancreatic issues my senior year of college,” the 24-year-old says. “It wasn’t too bad then, as the nurses just had me eat snacks (instead of full meals) to rest my pancreas. But I had my second attack 10 weeks out from the show, and it was easily a 10 on the pain scale.”

After some difficult treatments, including fasting and feeding through an IV, Kniaziewicz figured his preparations for the show had been set back at least three weeks—but he wasn’t ready to quit. “From a training perspective, I had to eliminate all ab workouts and keep cardio to a minimum, so I didn’t cause further damage to my pancreas,” he explains. “For my diet, I had to switch from a keto to a low-fat approach and keep my meals small, which restricted my growth. I was basically competing at about 70%.”

That 70%, however, was enough to take fourth in his class at the 2019 OCB Chesapeake Classic—and now he’s gunning for two more competitions in 2020. “I’m spending a huge amount of time getting mentally and physically stronger so I can showcase my true, best physique, and hopefully earn my pro card,” he says. 

Looking back, Kniaziewicz also credits that missed kick for changing his life for the better. Had that fateful boot instead sailed through the uprights, “I never would have discovered myself, my love for health and fitness, and even my passion to help others and make a difference in their lives,” he points out. “In a weird way, I’m extremely thankful it happened.”

Kniaziewicz’s Training Split

Monday: Back, Triceps
Tuesday: Chest, Biceps
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Shoulders
Friday: Biceps, Triceps
Saturday: Legs
Sunday: Rest
He’ll also do three 30-minute low-intensity cardio sessions per week. 

Everyone has to start somewhere. And the great thing about being a beginner is that strength gains typically come quickly. More strength leads to more muscle and so the adventure begins. But beginners are easily lulled into making the mistake of using beginner programs for too long, inadvertently stalling graduation to the next level – the coveted arena of the intermediate.

Newbies will primarily want to build muscle and get stronger, the obvious. The mirror and the scale will help us determine the progress on the aesthetics side. The bench press, power clean, and front squat will be our benchmark lifts to test our strength gains and help us determine whether it’s time to make the jump.

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Why These Lifts?

We could argue benchmark exercises for days, but between these three lifts, you get a clear analysis of where you stand.

• The Power Clean: Tests your explosive power, pulling, athleticism and full-body strength.
   
• The Bench Press: Tests your upper-body pushing strength but it’s far more telling than that. If you don’t think that the bench press involves the whole body, try benching with a torn Achilles or an ACL tear. Your lifting prowess will depreciate quite a bit.
   
• The Front Squat: Test the lower-body, it also tests core and shoulder strength by holding the bar in the rack position, and has a stronger carryover to athletics.

What Are The Benchmark Weights For Beginners

After about 8-12 weeks of sound training, you should shoot for the following goal weights.

Exercise                   Goal

Power Clean             3/4x bodyweight for 1 rep

Bench Press             1x bodyweight for 1 rep

Front Squat               1x bodyweight for 1 rep

Beyond Beginner

Once you can nail the above benchmarks, it’s time to move on to loftier goals. With further regular training, you should shoot for the following.

Exercise                   Goal

Power Clean             1.5x bodyweight, or bodyweight for 3 reps

Bench Press             1.5x bodyweight, or bodyweight for 10 reps

Front Squat               1.5x bodyweight, or bodyweight for 10 reps

Intermediate Plus

We could easily have included the deadlift, back squat and overhead press and you can certainly strive for progress with those lifts but the power clean, bench press and front squat are the best indicators. They better help track progression and separate the men from the boys. Once you hit the 1.5x bodyweight mark, then you can start to pick some of your own benchmarks. Until then, use these as your standard of strength.

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Justin Grinnell, CSCS, is the owner of State of Fitness in East Lansing, Michigan. Justin received his Bachelor of Science in kinesiology from Michigan State University specializing in exercise science, fitness leadership, athletic administration, and health promotion in 2004. He is a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), and the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). He also holds a certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and is CrossFit Level I certified. For more training info from Justin Grinnell, CSCS, you can visit his gym’s website at www.mystateoffitness.com, his Facebook page, or check him out on Twitter

In addition to taking care of his body, “Shazam” actor Zachary Levi is also a huge proponent of mental health. Levi dishes on how to clear up your mental space on a day to day basis.

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