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Topic of the Week -How Are Bodybuilding And Powerlifting Similar And Different?

A

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Administrator. Graeme
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TOPIC: How Are Bodybuilding And Powerlifting Similar And Different?

Bodybuilding and Powerlifting are very similar; they are also very different. They both involve lifting weights, but a body of a powerlifter is completely different than a body of a bodybuilder

How is bodybuilding and powerlifting both similar and different? How is the training similar and different?

What are the benefits of both of the faces?

Do you think there is any comflicts between the two camps ? powerlifters and bodybuilders?

Do you using any powerlifting routines into your bodybuilding routine?

What do you prefer; bodybuilding or powerlifting?
 
There seems to be confusion as to the definition between muscular size and strength, results from current standards for bodybuilding competition add to this…and at least part of this confusion also stems from the fact that competitive weightlifters would more often than not- not have a physique of a bodybuilder.

Having a look around a gym or on a particular sporting event I have made some observations.

A few bodybuilders are very strong… but few of them demonstrate a level of strength in proportion to their size, muscular size…and some of these bodybuilders are actually quite weak when consideration is given to their muscular mass.

This weakness has nothing to do with their quality of their mass, like those of anybody else, are strong in proportion to their size; poor leverages or some other factor makes it impossible to transmit a high amount of their muscular strength to their limbs… they have a very powerful engine and a poor transmission, in that they can produce the power but cant use much of it.

Wide shoulders, narrow hip, long legs and short torso and greater than average mass could easily become a successful bodybuilder, he may look strong, but his strength will not be in proportion to his appearance of strength, but those proportions will have a pleasant appearance by today’s standards.

In contrast, a competitive weightlifter may not appear to have much more than an average amount of mass, but able to demonstrate much strength, we’d be looking at narrow shoulder girdle, thick waist, wide hip, short legs and a proportionality long torso.the requirement for building great strength, but more often than not pleasing to the eye.

Bodybuilders and weightlifters have grown apart more than any period in time, especially if you spend time on forums, you see constant chest banging and although we all use the same tool (the barbell) which we should and usually perform the same exercise, which we should, I think the separation is due to natural selection, the type I described simply do not have the ability to demonstrate strength and men with the potential to build great strength more often than not have the type of physique to enter a body building contest.

Usually after a short period of time and relating to Markos’s 5 year post, an individual will be forced in one direction or another.

If strength increases rapidly with little increase in muscle mass then he will be encouraged to turn his interest to so-called competitive weightlifting…but if his mass increases out of proportion to his strength, then he’ll most likely see himself as a body-builder.

I was looking at a doco and thought this;
Draft horses are built for power, race horses are built for speed, we fall into the similar category.

You can increase the muscular mass of the draft horse and you’ll make it stronger and faster, but it will never make it as fast as a good race horse.

You can increase the muscular mass of the race horse…it will also make the horse stronger and faster, but it will never be as strong as the draft horse.
 
What do I prefer? Powerlifting and overall strength training. Why, because for me setting new PB deadlifts are more fun and more useful then posing and wishing my triceps were bigger.
 
For me bodybuilding - purely because your changing the way you look for everyone to see - everything you do can change the way you look and I think that is the biggest driving force behind why I love weight training/bodybuilding.

I think Powerlifting is a great sport and I think this forum has a good group of guys who love powerlifting/strength training - I would love for some though to open their minds abit to other aspects of weight training such as bodybuilding....I think this is a good discussion to have!
 
I have recently decided to cut down and see what I look like. If I look ok then I may consider entering in a bodybuilding comp. Im still doing the 3 big lifts just with more reps. Im giving myself about 52 weeks to diet down lol.
 
Skalatharx said:
I have recently decided to cut down and see what I look like. If I look ok then I may consider entering in a bodybuilding comp. Im still doing the 3 big lifts just with more reps. Im giving myself about 52 weeks to diet down lol.
Click to expand...

Any idea what what you think u would have to be man?
 
Skalatharx said:
I have recently decided to cut down and see what I look like. If I look ok then I may consider entering in a bodybuilding comp. Im still doing the 3 big lifts just with more reps. Im giving myself about 52 weeks to diet down lol.
Click to expand...
Don't stop when you reach 'cut' status by PL standards, PL cut = gut removal, aim for full set of abs.
 
Joel said:
Any idea what what you think u would have to be man?
Click to expand...

I just got my bodyfat checked at 25% (7 point skin fold), Im not good with calculating weight loss and bodyfat so I can't realy say. Im just going to keep plugging away until I drop to single digits lol
 
Powerlifter: Concerned with lifting as much weight as possible in the Squat, bench, deadlift. Nothing else matters

Bodybuilder: Concerned witht the size, proportion and symetry of their muscles, as well as their bodyfat level so as to show as much muscle as possible. Strength does not matter.

I am not a powerlifter or bodybuilder. Not even close to either.

I am more interested with having a bigger, more aesthetically pleasing physique than in being strong.

However, I have personally found that the most noticeable improvements in my physique have occured with an improvement in strength in a handful of compound movements, which include the powerlifting excercises.
 
Skalatharx said:
I just got my bodyfat checked at 25% (7 point skin fold), Im not good with calculating weight loss and bodyfat so I can't realy say. Im just going to keep plugging away until I drop to single digits lol
Click to expand...
Single digits is a long way man..Good luck.
Hopefully I'll join you (or you join me) in the single digit club.

BTW - I love bodybuilding but really only train using the big lifts.
I rarely do isolation exercises.
 
Shrek said:
Single digits is a long way man..Good luck.
Hopefully I'll join you (or you join me) in the single digit club.

BTW - I love bodybuilding but really only train using the big lifts.
I rarely do isolation exercises.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is a long long way, thats why im giving myself 52 weeks lol. Im sure you will beat me to it :p.
 
Only if I stay motivated, nearly got there last year after dieting down from 107 to 94, probably needed another 2-3kg.

This time for sure.
 
When we look at top weight classes, the differences become much more pronounced than the similarities. When we look at all the lower weight classes, the differences kinda take a back seat.

A powerlifter builds muscle to improve his squat, bench press and deadlift. Any muscle that doesn't directly or indirectly help them to improve these lifts is weight that could be pushing up their weight class/altering their WILKS without improving performance. Thus powerlifters are much less likely to be too concerned about their biceps peak or having perfect calves - even though they may do some exercises to strengthen and condition these muscles to prevent imbalances and allow the main lifts to keep on going up.

The powerlifter below the top weight class also has to be concerned with body composition. S/he doesn't want to be as lean as a bodybuilder is on stage, as performance often goes down at such low bodyfat levels. But s/he'll want to be fairly lean, as excess bodyfat doesn't help lifting half as much as the same weight in muscle mass could. So long as they have their basic bodyfat needs, an extra kg of muscle is more valuable than an extra kg of fat.

Motor recruitment patterns and optimising technique to move the greatest weight are also very important for powerlifters. The squat, bench press and deadlift aren't just 3 of many important exercises to the powerlifter. They are the 3 main exercises, and everything else is built in around them. You squat to squat, you bench press to bench press, and you deadlift to deadlift. Thus once they've learned to backsquat, powerlifters may never leg press or front squat or overhead squat etc ever again, since the variations in movement patterns also cause slightly different muscle recruitment patterns - it's training for a different skill which could have been spent on the same skill, and it may be producing hypertrophy that doesn't carry over to the main exercise, thus for powerlifting purposes it's a waste of muscle mass.

On the flip side, a bodybuilder often wants to make exercises "inefficient" to make the muscles do more work, wants to hit muscles from many different angles to hypertrophy as many of the fibres as possible, wants lots of muscle everywhere, wants the muscle to be symmetrical and proportional, and wants the muscle to be very visible by having drastically low bodyfat levels when it comes competition time.

Personally, I want to be generally strong and proportional. I don't want superlow bodyfat levels. I don't care about being huge, but certainly don't complain when I discover I've grown new muscle mass. I want to be strong in more than just the squat, bench press and deadlift - I also want to be strong in the Olympic lifts, overhead press and bodyweight exercises. And I want to be strong for my weight, so that guys twice my size will feel a little bit immasculated training next to me.
 
I think im more of a recreational bodybuilder, want to get to 80kg 10% next year sometime, while being strong. If i did compete it would be in novice powerlifting comps and see where i go from there.

If you think about it bodybuilders and powerlifters are just about the same.
 
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