Bodybuilding, aside from natural bodybuilding federations, is also a sport often defined by steroid use. Powerlifters are stronger than bodybuilders because they are conditioning their bodies to efficiently lift the most weight possible within the most advantageous position in order to satisfy the rules of the competition.
That means taking advantage of grips, stances, and leverages to minimize the range of motion, perfect the bar path, and limit time under tension. Powerlifters train at higher intensities with weights closer to their true one-repetition-maximum in order to prepare themselves to push towards a new limit. A bodybuilder understands that the muscle grows under stress, and chooses exercises to increase time under tension, optimally-contract muscles along their pennation angle, and isolate muscles as best they can in order to induce symmetrical hypertrophy throughout an entire body part.
How does this affect strength and hypertrophy? And do rep ranges and intensity matter? The science seems to suggest that intensity and volume actually matter relatively little. We know that training within a low rep range repetitions and higher intensities introduce more strength gains, which is why powerlifters are stronger than bodybuilders.
But existing data suggest that muscle growth occurs almost everywhere within the rep range, and rep ranges themselves matter very little overall. So why are bodybuilders bigger, but generally weaker? Bodybuilders trade putting in a greater effort to gain more strength within a specific movement for more quality work in a variety of movements in order to maximize not only general hypertrophy but muscle symmetry.
Bodybuilders pose onstage in speedos, bikinis, or other revealing outfits and receive a score based on muscle size , symmetry, and definition. The judges will score you based on the criteria of the competition, as well as your appearance relative to the other competitors. Nevertheless, the primary drivers of victory in bodybuilding are size and muscle definition displayed through posing routines onstage.
Bodybuilding primarily relies on resistance training with barbells, dumbbells, and machine-based weights to maximize your muscle growth. While you still lift reasonably heavy weights, you lift slightly less weight than a powerlifting workout but do more overall repetitions. The rest periods for these workouts tend to be somewhat shorter as well, roughly 1—2 minutes between sets. Bodybuilding also requires more time spent on isolating muscle groups. For example, these exercises are frequently found in bodybuilding routines and less common in powerlifting:.
While powerlifters may perform a few of these exercises in certain programs, bodybuilding almost always involves several isolation exercises per workout, in addition to higher repetitions of compound movements like squats and presses.
The purpose of heavier training in bodybuilding is to improve strength that eventually allows more high repetition training using heavier weights. Ultimately, if you can lift a heavier weight for more repetitions, it will increase the overall muscle-building stimulus of your workout. However, bodybuilding ultimately aims at increasing muscle growth itself via high repetition training. Bodybuilding is a sport that focuses on maximizing muscle size and growth while minimizing body fat on competition day.
Training for bodybuilding involves higher repetitions using medium-to-heavy weights and isolation movements. Both sports rely on weight training to succeed in competition. However, the purpose of the weight training for each sport is different, which ultimately results in substantially differing workout programs over time, despite some overlapping methods. Powerlifting training using heavy weights and lower repetitions is incredibly beneficial — even for non-competitive lifters.
A few of the potential benefits of powerlifting training are meeting performance-based goals and increased functional strength and bone density. Using heavy weights for low reps is effective for improving maximal strength, including increasing bone and connective-tissue density. Studies have shown that lifting close to your 1RM during training provides the greatest stimulus to bone and tissue growth, compared with training at a lower intensity 3.
Given that the movements used in powerlifting develop maximal strength across the biggest muscles in your body, powerlifting can improve your overall functional strength for performing day-to-day activities. In particular, heavy squats and deadlifts build the strength and core stability required to avoid throwing out your back while bending over or standing up, especially as you get older.
While improving your health or appearance may be your primary motivator for training, having performance-based fitness goals is a good way to stay motivated while striving to meet your long-term goals, such as improving your health.
The positive feeling of getting measurably stronger week-to-week or even month-to-month is incredibly rewarding and helps break up the monotony of simply going to the gym. Not everyone is motivated by numerical improvements in the weight they lift. While bodybuilding and powerlifting training techniques overlap at times, the main benefits of bodybuilding include building muscle, focusing on nutrition , and incorporating more aerobic exercise.
Bodybuilding training using medium-to-heavy weights for 8—12 repetitions and multiple sets per muscle group is the best method to build muscle mass 4. It has been linked to improved insulin sensitivity , reductions in blood fat and body fat levels, and a higher resting metabolic rate 5.
Resistance training may delay, offset, or even reverse age-related muscle loss, all of which are important for older adults who want to maintain their health, strength, and quality of life well into their golden years 6. Given that the sport of bodybuilding requires competitors to reach exceptionally low body fat percentages, nutrition is a key aspect of all bodybuilding training.
While all sports at high performance levels involve nutritional considerations, diet and nutrition are integral components of bodybuilding training and culture. The focus on healthy eating, macronutrient and micronutrient considerations, and monitoring calorie intake benefit anyone interested in improving their overall diet.
Aerobic exercise cardio is vital for any well-rounded fitness program. However, in the sport of powerlifting, cardio is often left out, as it may hinder improvements in maximal strength 7. On the other hand, bodybuilders often incorporate cardio to increase calorie expenditure to help burn body fat, particularly during cutting periods. This is because lower rep ranges produce strength adaptations and higher rep ranges produce hypertrophy adaptations.
Therefore, the real difference is not necessarily what rep ranges are used, but rather, the ratio of time spent in each rep range. For powerlifters, they will spend on average in the lower rep range versus higher rep range.
For bodybuilders, they will spend on average in the higher rep range versus lower rep range. On average, powerlifters use heavier loads and bodybuilders use lighter loads. This is a function of the rep ranges and the types of exercises used. Yes, the loads are different, but because the rep ranges are also different, the training efforts are still equally as high.
The rest intervals refer to the time spent in between sets. Lower weight equals less rest. Therefore, powerlifters will typically take between minutes of rest between sets, while bodybuilders take between minutes. Recovery is an important aspect for both powerlifters and bodybuilders. This would certainly lead to over-training, burn-out, and increase the risk of joint and tendon injury. This could create muscle soreness lasting in excessive of 48 hours.
Other ways powerlifters and bodybuilders implement recovery protocols are:. While powerlifting and bodybuilding both use weight training principles, their end goals are different. Powerlifters aim to increase their 1 rep max in the squat, bench press and deadlift.
Bodybuilders aim to increase muscle mass and muscular symmetry. As a result, everything from their exercise technique to programming will differ.
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