kBrown
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Why are Bodybuilders bigger than Powerlifters? This question seems to keep coming up (IronMag, T-Nation, and of course my news feed) and it always seem to annoy me.
The biggest problem with people’s perception of BB vs PL is the damn pictures this nonsense starts off with. Seriously people stop comparing images of a heavyset power lifter to a bodybuilder decked out in oil on stage, dried out after weeks of cutting for a show or photo edited to high hell for a magazine shoot. News Flash that bodybuilder DOESN’T look like that 9/10s of the time!
The perception seems to be that the two sports are mutually exclusive, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The two sports can be wonderfully combined by anyone who enjoys pushing their strength limits, participating in the Big Three, and stepping on the platform. By participating in Powerlifting you stand no danger of getting fat, fluffy, or in any way out of shape. The fact is the strength gains that occur when doing PL are not only rewarding and will put on quality muscle. Plus the assistance/accessory work that we do is sufficiently high volume to support hypertrophy. However, this is NOT to say that this style of training is ideal for when you are 10 weeks out from a show, when you should be focusing on being stage ready and peaking for the stage.
This brings me to the giant elephant in the room: DIET. Being that PL doesn’t REQUIRE people to “look good” not all individuals place a large emphasis on diet and how diet can enhance / support their muscle building potential which in turn supports their strength gains—of course following weight class constraints.
When comparing PL to BB I think we should be a bit more fare and compare OFF SEASON BodyBuilders to Diet-Conscious Power Lifters…. Ohhh that’ll level the playing field. Of course no PL guy is going to look like a BodyBuilder on stage, why would he deplete that much? Makes no sense for the sport. Similarly why would a Bodybuilder focus on strength gains in the big three when (s)he is 10 weeks out from a show? Silly.
Take a look at some of the Powerlifters that place an emphasis on diet, and tell me they couldn’t be BB stage ready in 15 weeks? Crazy… Look at the crossover athletes that do both BB and PL. They aren’t hard to find.
Fact is if you have an interest in strength training PL is for you, but you have to keep into perspective your overall goals. Power lifting is great for building size and strength if you have the proper training and diet. If you are ten weeks out from stepping on a bodybuilding stage obviously PL isn’t ideal and training would have to change.
This isn’t rocket science. This “us vs them” or “why are one bigger than the other” is bull****. Stop comparing the absurd pictures on both sides of the spectrum.
The biggest problem with people’s perception of BB vs PL is the damn pictures this nonsense starts off with. Seriously people stop comparing images of a heavyset power lifter to a bodybuilder decked out in oil on stage, dried out after weeks of cutting for a show or photo edited to high hell for a magazine shoot. News Flash that bodybuilder DOESN’T look like that 9/10s of the time!
The perception seems to be that the two sports are mutually exclusive, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The two sports can be wonderfully combined by anyone who enjoys pushing their strength limits, participating in the Big Three, and stepping on the platform. By participating in Powerlifting you stand no danger of getting fat, fluffy, or in any way out of shape. The fact is the strength gains that occur when doing PL are not only rewarding and will put on quality muscle. Plus the assistance/accessory work that we do is sufficiently high volume to support hypertrophy. However, this is NOT to say that this style of training is ideal for when you are 10 weeks out from a show, when you should be focusing on being stage ready and peaking for the stage.
This brings me to the giant elephant in the room: DIET. Being that PL doesn’t REQUIRE people to “look good” not all individuals place a large emphasis on diet and how diet can enhance / support their muscle building potential which in turn supports their strength gains—of course following weight class constraints.
When comparing PL to BB I think we should be a bit more fare and compare OFF SEASON BodyBuilders to Diet-Conscious Power Lifters…. Ohhh that’ll level the playing field. Of course no PL guy is going to look like a BodyBuilder on stage, why would he deplete that much? Makes no sense for the sport. Similarly why would a Bodybuilder focus on strength gains in the big three when (s)he is 10 weeks out from a show? Silly.
Take a look at some of the Powerlifters that place an emphasis on diet, and tell me they couldn’t be BB stage ready in 15 weeks? Crazy… Look at the crossover athletes that do both BB and PL. They aren’t hard to find.
Fact is if you have an interest in strength training PL is for you, but you have to keep into perspective your overall goals. Power lifting is great for building size and strength if you have the proper training and diet. If you are ten weeks out from stepping on a bodybuilding stage obviously PL isn’t ideal and training would have to change.
This isn’t rocket science. This “us vs them” or “why are one bigger than the other” is bull****. Stop comparing the absurd pictures on both sides of the spectrum.
