# Bodybuilding vs. Powerlifting



## Saturday Fever (Jun 25, 2004)

I always see this myth passed around that "this routine is better for size" while "that routine is better for strength." And I always have to laugh. So I present my argument:

 Man A is 5'10 and weighs 200 pounds. He eats 2500 calories a day. He uses a bodybuilding routine.

 Man B is 5'10 and weighs 200 pounds. He eats 2500 calories a day. He uses a powerlifting routine.

 Now are we to honestly believe that Man A is going to get bigger than Man B simply based on his routine? Don't you have to eat to get bigger? And if getting bigger is truly about eating, and not routine, then why will Man B not get bigger if he eats more as well?

 I mean, what do bodybuilders do when they want to bulk or cut? They DIET. They don't keep everything the same save switching to some miracle routine. In fact, most bodybuilders I've ever known are religious about their routines and won't change. But they will diet when they need to gain and they will diet when they need to lose.

 So the next time you hear someone make the comment that a routine is "better for size" or "better for strength", laugh at them. Every routine has its point (well, mostly, FLEX magazine routines are pure shit, for example) and every routine has its benefits. But size is all about diet.


----------



## DimebagDarrell (Jun 25, 2004)

theyre probably both not eating enough


----------



## bigss75 (Jun 25, 2004)

I think ronnie coleman said that good bodybuilders train like powerlifters and good powerlifters eat like bodybuilders


----------



## Saturday Fever (Jun 25, 2004)

Ironic that Ronnie Coleman himself trains using the Westside Barbell powerlifting routine, I always say.


----------



## LAM (Jun 25, 2004)

all of the great heavyweight bodybuilders use a lot of powerlifting in their routines...you can get big from doing bb routines but you don't build true thickness over the entire body with out power lifting...


----------



## Arnold (Jun 25, 2004)

Saturday Fever said:
			
		

> Ironic that Ronnie Coleman himself trains using the Westside Barbell powerlifting routine, I always say.


Ronnie is a genetic freak loaded up on enough drugs to kill a horse, using him in this equation makes no sense.

As far as the original question, a bodybuilder needs to attack muscles from many different angles for continued progression, and use a variety of rep ranges, everything from 4 to 20 reps.


----------



## Saturday Fever (Jun 25, 2004)

And we can all still agree that without the proper diet, you're not getting big regardless.


----------



## Arnold (Jun 25, 2004)

Saturday Fever said:
			
		

> And we can all still agree that without the proper diet, you're not getting big regardless.


absolutely.

I have always put diet and nutrition ahead of training.


----------



## LAM (Jun 25, 2004)

Robert DiMaggio said:
			
		

> I have always put diet and nutrition ahead of training.


it's a shame that most people do not do the same.  

95% of the people at my gym look exactly the same as they did over a year ago when I joined.  if your body does not make any noticeable changes over the course of a year your diet needs some serious work...


----------



## CowPimp (Jun 25, 2004)

Granted, diet is truly the most important part of a bodybuilder's lifestyle.  However, I don't understand why it isn't conceivable that certain routines are better at promoting hypertrophy.  There are certainly routines that are better at promoting strength (Westside, for example), so conversely there should be routines that are more focused on gaining mass (HST).  All the training in the world isn't going to make you grow without the necessary caloric intake, but still...


----------



## Johnnny (Jun 25, 2004)

Personally I've always believed that diet & getting enough good food is almost more important than training itself.

When I used to play football at 227lbs I was eating 8 meals a day just to keep my natural size to play running back.

I know there are some football players here & you know that many football strength & conditioning routines are similar to powerlifting routines.

With the weights we need a lot of food but with the off season & in-season conditioning part we need even more food. With the plyometrics with & without the plyometric shoes, wind sprints with & without plyometric shoes, sprints with parachutes attached to you, climbing walls, & sprinting & jumping over those wooden walls used in obstacle courses, & even taking a training routine out of the big Tampa Bay Buccaneer full back Mike Alstott who used to get 3 of his friends to sit in a Lincoln Navigator while one guy would push it in an empty parking lot as fast as he could for 100 yards at a time causes you to burn a shit load of calories therefor needing a sh!tload of food.

& get this, some guys on our team were only eating 3 times a day & a lot of the food they were eating was junk & grease. They ended up getting kicked off the team b/c they weren't performing to their peak or big enough as they got older.

Why b/c they weren't getting enough good food for growth, recovery & fuel.

The more physical you get whether it's with weights or a conditioning routine, you're going to need. Bodybuilder, powerlifter, football player, hockey player, you name it each one of these ppl needs alot of calories & protein to supply their body.

Simple fact, no food, no growth/recovery.


----------



## Saturday Fever (Jun 25, 2004)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Granted, diet is truly the most important part of a bodybuilder's lifestyle. However, I don't understand why it isn't conceivable that certain routines are better at promoting hypertrophy. There are certainly routines that are better at promoting strength (Westside, for example), so conversely there should be routines that are more focused on gaining mass (HST). All the training in the world isn't going to make you grow without the necessary caloric intake, but still...


 I generally agree. I agree that with regards to strength training, the routine has to be geared for proper stimulation and adaptation of the CNS. But from a size standpoint, I don't really feel it matters. Have you seen the top level powerlifters these days? They're massive! The variable is that, in general, a lot of powerlifters don't eat real clean or have to worry about things like being bloated like bodybuilders do because they aren't judged on the definition of their abs, they're judged on what they can lift.

 (note before this potentially gets out of hand: I'm not dogging bodybuilders or routines, simply dogging the old myth that there are "this routine is better for size")


----------



## CowPimp (Jun 25, 2004)

Saturday Fever said:
			
		

> Have you seen the top level powerlifters these days? They're massive! The variable is that, in general, a lot of powerlifters don't eat real clean or have to worry about things like being bloated like bodybuilders do because they aren't judged on the definition of their abs, they're judged on what they can lift.


This is certainly true.  I do feel that the best bodybuilder routines still incorporate powerlifting techniques into them, hence Gopro's routine which includes one week of every three going heavy.  I usually recommend bodybuilding newbies start at higher reps, but eventually incorporate lower reps into their routines.  Of course, I went pretty heavy from the start.


----------



## Premo55 (Jun 25, 2004)

I always scoff at traditional bodybuilding routines built around 'isolation' exercises and whatnot. My approach towards the gym is powerlifting movements with bodybuilding protocols. I love my deadlifts, cleans, snatches, pulls, squats and presses, and why would anyone settle for less when these are clearly the most anabolic choices, not to mention the carryover into functional strength, power, explosiveness, not to mention the cardiovascular benefits these extremely punishing exercises have?

 I mean my premise at the end of the day is why stimulate one or two muscles when you can stimulate 20...it just seems like a waste of time....I also scoff at people who say that you need to work in a certain rep range to gain mass....right....if powerlifters did their powerlifting movements in powerlifting rep ranges (5x5, or even bizarre ones like 12x2, 20x1, 8x3), but with bodybuilding protocol (multiple exercises), I certainly believe they would all be in tremendous 'bodybuilding' shape.

 For reasons like this I detest things like the leg press machine...why sell yourself short when so many variations of the squat exist? Bodybuilders are so concerned with cosmetic appearance as opposed to genuine functional strength, which can be achieved ALONG with their adored musculature....you just have to put in a bit more work with the harder exercises

 Peace.


----------

