What bodybuilders can learn from powerlifting

[Realtalk]

i dont power lift so have no idea what my 1 rep max are, i lift as heavy as i can for the amount of reps i want to do and leave the 1rm to u big power lifters

It makes no sense for a bodybuilder to test their 1rm... Makes no sense for anyone who doesn't compete in a sport doesn't require it to test it. Strength gains can be gauged from 3rm or 5rm.

 

In saying that it is still beneficial to increase your 1rm with programming and get stronger. Im going to be honest, bodybuilders aren't smart people when it comes to training and what I mean by that is they don't understand how to get stronger and how to really maximise their time in the gym. At the core of what they know lifting 140kg for 10 reps is better than lifting 140kg for 6 reps oh and hypertrophy, hypertrophy, hypertrophy which to them basically means entering the gym, switching off the brain then crawling out exhausted.

 

It's important for everyone to get stronger even bodybuilders. Do you think my back was bigger when I could barbell row 100kg for 25 reps or when I could barbell row 100kg for 10reps... The answer is obvious. to move a weight for more reps it needs to become a smaller percentage of your 1rm.

 

Strength programs build on hypertrophy progeammes. And then a good hypertrophy program will lead to better strength programs. They both build on each other, and over time create a bigger and stronger lifter. Bodybuilders can benefit from powerlifting and powerlifterrs can benefit from bodybuilding.

[maccaz]

It makes no sense for a bodybuilder to test their 1rm... Makes no sense for anyone who doesn't compete in a sport doesn't require it to test it. Strength gains can be gauged from 3rm or 5rm. In saying that it is still beneficial to increase your 1rm with programming and get stronger. Im going to be honest, bodybuilders aren't smart people when it comes to training and what I mean by that is they don't understand how to get stronger and how to really maximise their time in the gym. At the core of what they know lifting 140kg for 10 reps is better than lifting 140kg for 6 reps oh and hypertrophy, hypertrophy, hypertrophy which to them basically means entering the gym, switching off the brain then crawling out exhausted. It's important for everyone to get stronger even bodybuilders. Do you think my back was bigger when I could barbell row 100kg for 25 reps or when I could barbell row 100kg for 10reps... The answer is obvious. to move a weight for more reps it needs to become a smaller percentage of your 1rm. Strength programs build on hypertrophy progeammes. And then a good hypertrophy program will lead to better strength programs. They both build on each other, and over time create a bigger and stronger lifter. Bodybuilders can benefit from powerlifting and powerlifterrs can benefit from bodybuilding.

 

agree! strong and big go hand in hand 

 

if you get strong and have a big bench and squat, you are going to be able to use more weight in your hypertrophy sessions and grow a bigger chest and legs than you would if you weren't strong in the first place

 

frustrated that i spent so long not really considering strength, have had better size gains training for strength than i did training for size lol

[ngapuhi strong]

agree! strong and big go hand in hand 

 

if you get strong and have a big bench and squat, you are going to be able to use more weight in your hypertrophy sessions and grow a bigger chest and legs than you would if you weren't strong in the first place

 

frustrated that i spent so long not really considering strength, have had better size gains training for strength than i did training for size lol

i agree and disagree lot of power lifters i know have huge bench weight but not the biggest chest, i put it down to power lifters benching with there whole body were as wen i bench im tring to isolate the chest,

i agree that getting stronger helps you get bigger but only if done right,

 

realtalk you might lose your power lifting acreditation saying powerlifers can ben from bodybuilding(joke) but i agree we can all learn from each others sport and take things that will help

[HarryB]

Bodybuilders aren't the smartest blokes luckily they have access to all those powerlifting geniuses

[ngapuhi strong]

Bodybuilders aren't the smartest blokes luckily they have access to all those powerlifting geniuses

powerlifting the thing you do once you realise you got shit genes for looking good lol

[soundsgood]

Hitting me right in the Feels Ngapuhi lol

[ngapuhi strong]

Hitting me right in the Feels Ngapuhi lol

sorry braa you need a tuddle 

[Realtalk]

i agree and disagree lot of power lifters i know have huge bench weight but not the biggest chest, i put it down to power lifters benching with there whole body were as wen i bench im tring to isolate the chest,

i agree that getting stronger helps you get bigger but only if done right,

 

realtalk you might lose your power lifting acreditation saying powerlifers can ben from bodybuilding(joke) but i agree we can all learn from each others sport and take things that will help

Bodybuilders are usually leaner, or get leaner than powerlifters. Chest like all body parts look bigger when they are leaner. But yeah you're right bodybuilders train for hypertrophy powerlifters train for strength they are different methods of training and yield different results. I wasn't saying bodybuilders should train the same as powerlifters, I was saying it would be of benefit to a lot of them to put a focus on getting stronger especially as novices.

And I know you were joking about powerliftinh acreditation, whatever that is lol. But a lot of powerlifters have a poor understanding of advanced nutrition and a lot of bodybuilders have a poor understanding of advanced biomechanics. Admitting is the first step lol

[HarryB]

Agreed. Beginners should always focus on increasing strength. Biomechanics I'm not so sure about in that what is advantageous in terms of set up and form to shift maximum weight is often not the best for stimulating the most hypertrophy in a given muscle group. Case in point low bar squats and power lifters with huge squat numbers but comparatively poor leg development and guys with ridiculous quads who barely squat past parallel. I guess it's all about specificity so maybe a bodybuilder knows about the mechanics of a movement and applies what works best to help him achieve his goal. But taking all that aside most newbys have no idea how to lift anything and don't think it's important to have a base of strength. They also think steroids are the same as supplements and probably didn't study at all in high school.

[Realtalk]

Fair point. I see lots of nz bodybuilders with great quads and poor hamstring and glutes... Maybe learning to squat properly would help with this?

[HarryB]

Lol bro you and I both know it's not learning to squat properly it's the fact they don't squat at all for the most part. That's why there's a board shorts class now. But that's a fair comment. Although you're a good example of my point. High bar upright stance squat and great leg development. Vs say some bodybuilders who have a pl background who's legs are.... poo.

[Pseudonym]

So how should a bodybuilder go about harnessing all this powerlifting goodness? Is it a matter of doing 6-week alternating size/strength cycles? Or would you do a powerlifting routine with supplementary bodybuilding sets?

[trainlikeafreak]

Quite a lot of top pros especially old school guys started out as power lifters. I see toms point and agree but bodybuilding training isn't as simple as moving shit from a to b. Have tried that and nothing happened lol.

[HarryB]

Quite a lot of top pros especially old school guys started out as power lifters. I see toms point and agree but bodybuilding training isn't as simple as moving shit from a to b. Have tried that and nothing happened lol.

Not much happening now either.. ha ha ha punch me later.

[trainlikeafreak]

Not much happening now either.. ha ha ha punch me later.

lol we'll see faggot

[tyreguy]

Isnt that where the term "Power Builder"  came from

 

Ronnie Coleman as an example.

[byza213]

good read , i always train strength and never will stop , just balance it all out , bodybuilding , power-lifting and bit of high rep intensity training.

The "big"boys  at the gym are always suprised at me being a small bugger.

Then again i never see them squat  or deadlift at all.. :---)

[HarryB]

good read , i always train strength and never will stop , just balance it all out , bodybuilding , power-lifting and bit of high rep intensity training.

The "big"boys at the gym are always suprised at me being a small bugger.

Then again i never see them squat or deadlift at all.. :---)

Then they're probably not really that "big"

[HarryB]

In my opinion there seems to be a lot less emphasis placed on the most basic bodybuilding principle which is progressive overload (thanks Joe Weider rip)

What guys call power building is essentially how bodybuilders trained in the past. Always trying to increase their strength because if your form doesn't change and you increase your bench from say 60 for a 10 rep max to 100 for a 10 rep max all the supporting musculature has to get bigger and stronger as it adapts. Realtalk said this earlier in relation to bb rows I think. Increasing your strength on the basic lifts is the way guys have gotten bigger and stronger for... well forever.

Now I see guys with not a whole lot of muscle lifting shit weights cos someone told them that will make them huge. Hell I see massive guys making a plate look like it weighs a tonne cos they're targeting that muscle and muscle don't know what weight is just tension blah blah blah blah. Shits me no end. They didn't get big lifting like that.

[Realtalk]

So how should a bodybuilder go about harnessing all this powerlifting goodness? Is it a matter of doing 6-week alternating size/strength cycles? Or would you do a powerlifting routine with supplementary bodybuilding sets?

No. Firstly, what you see when you see a pro bodybuilders training dvd or YouTube video isnt accurate. What you are seeing is not what you are getting. I guarantee vast majority of them started doing compound movements, getting stronger at those and that is probably what they built off from there. Why don't they do them anymore? Well they either don't need to or they didn't have good knowledge on how to do them properly. I know that is going to be hard to swallow for some of you me saying a top pro doesn't know how to squat properly which fucked their knees and that's fine but I actually don't care because it's probavly true.

Aspects of powerlifting that I am talking about that could be used by bodybuilders are

Structuring your workouts, when you walk into the gym knowing how many sets of this you are going to do and how many reps you are going to do. It's much easier to measure progress when you have a structure to measure it off. This also covers smart training. Let's be honest the human body is not invincible there is only so many squats the hips and knees can do before they start to wear out. There is only so many leg presses the knees can do before they wear out. Only so many ohp and bench press reps before the shoulders start to wear out. This varies person to person but with structure you can get longevity out of these. I guess what I'm saying is I see so many bodybuilders just going balls to wall... Volume volume volume to Failure, failure, failure. Failure and doms doesn't result in more muscle growth. Quality over quantity. Since when did wrapping your knees, loading the leg press with 15pps and doing pathetic rom do anything for you. You would get better results doing a full rom with unwrapped knees and you could do it for longer. I just did leg press 15pps is silly when you really aren't that strong. It goes back to what I was saying before about thinking long term, and getting some economy out of your training. That is just gym dumb. Another thing I see is guys thrashing themselves on the leg extension and the leg curl as some kind of 'pre exhaustion' then they will go and do barbell squats. Iv never witness something so stupid. Compounds first imo, if not why not? Not to mention they are the same pepple bagging Crossfit when essentially they are doing exactly they same thing.

I could go on all day, but I want to watch the cricket lol.

[maccaz]

long yarn

100% agree

can only go off my own experience (limited compared to a lot of people on here) but can say without any doubt that the best results I've had over one period (im talking size, strength, and i guess to a small degree body composition) has been the last 6 months with strength being my main focus, only compounds really (ocasionally arms for vanity pump) squat, deadlift, bench press, over head press, bb row

 

my progress over the last 6 months easily beats the 1.5years + spent on just general gym rat f*ck around kind of workouts and bodypart splits with 8 exercises for chest for example

 

not saying this is necessarily the case but in my experience, simple compound movements and programming and making increasing weight moved the main focus has paid off big time for me, wish i hadn't wasted so much time worrying about how many sets machine preacher curls or machine flys and db shrugs i can do 

 

i think good combination would be something like i think its jim wendler wrote a variation of 5/3/1 called "boring but big", my mate is doing it and its working out well for him, its like a usual strenth program but each workout is followed by a few high rep sets for hypertrophy to finish off, makes sense to me

 

http://www.jimwendler.com/2013/05/boring-but-big/

[Realtalk]

Btw I'm not saying bodybuilders are wrong. All I'm saying is that's what I would do and just my opinion. Not meaning to disrespect anyone or anything I'm over doing that lol. Others are bound to disagree which is fine. Just putting thoughts out there in sure someone will benefit from reading it even if it makes them have a wee think about their training. Machines and isolation is important I do alot of it I call it assistance work. It's a good tool to build muscle and get more work in without beating up the body.

[HarryB]

Some guys do isolation prior to compound to fatigue specific areas so they don't have to go so heavy on squats or benches of whatever. Can't really compare that to crossfit imo lol but hey what do I know. I do leg extensions so I don't have to squat 100k every time I squat. 60 just "feels" better.

[Realtalk]

Iv always found if I'm fatigued then do squats my squats arent very good because the fatigued muscles are weak muscles so other groups compensate resulting in below average form... But if you're only squatting Half your bodyweight then I guess that wouldn't be an issue.

[HarryB]

Exactly