[quote]derek wrote:
Is it a mere coincidence that the strongest powerlifters in the world and the biggest bodybuilders in the world use bodypart splits and relatively low frequency and NOT tbt?
The subject of olympic lifts is pretty far removed from either bb-ing or PL-ing. The technical prowess and neurological efficiency involved and especially the fact that the two lifts are indeed full-body lifts nescesitates the higher frequency and lower volume.[/quote]
This is a very interesting question/discussion. I’d say that the more technique/CNS dominant an activity is, the higher the training frequency and the more specific the exercises need to be. For example the olympic lifts are far more technical than the powerlifts and the intermuscular coordination factor necessary for ELITE performance is much more important too.
This is why olympic lifters have moved away from most assistance exercises to focus almost exclusively on practicing the competitive lifts. Most elite olympic lifters only use 2-3 assistance movements:
- the front squat
- the back squat
- the ‘‘power’’ variations of the olympic lifts
There are some exceptions (Chinease lifters) but the above is true for 90>% of the top level lifters.
The reason for that type of training is to maximize technical efficiency in the competitive lifts. This is why they will train on the competitive lifts 5-6 days a week using a low number of lifts.
It is actually interesting to note that lifters from the 60s, 70s and 80s actually used a lot more assistance exercises (the old Soviet system included 110 assistance movements, including several ‘‘bodybuilding’’ exercises). To me it is not surprising that the physique of the lifters from that era were MUCH more muscular on average than today’s lifters.
YES there are some modern lifters who are really muscular (Dimas, Tavakoli, etc.) but on average lifters were a lot more muscular in the 60-80s, especially in the upper body. I do not think that it is a coincidence that lifters from that era were more muscular and doing more various lifts.
Heck, many olympic lifters from the 60s and 70s actually used a form of ‘‘split training’’ because they would focus on one competition lift per day and its assistance movements.
For example, in the 60s they also contested the standing press. So the lifters would either split their training into:
A press day
A snatch day
A jerk day
Or…
A snatch and clean & jerk day
A press day
The press day would include various forms of pressing work (military press, incline bench press, push press, DB press, Bradford press) as well as some isolation work for the deltoids and triceps (sometimes for the chest).
Heck, Russ Knipp a former world record holder in the press would actually perform a lot of reverse curls!
Back then we could say that olympic lifting training was more ‘‘muscle dominant’’ than today. And when you look at the technique of the lifters from that era it does seem less efficient than today’s lifters.
The bulgarian are the ones who began to focus only on perfecting technique and the rest of the world followed in their footsteps once they began to dominate the sport, with a much smaller pool of athletes.
Powerlifters are much like the olympic lifters of the 60-80s: they put a lot of emphasis on the muscle portion of strength production, and rightfully so. Since they have to optimize muscular development, they need to use more assistance lifts, hence the need to segment their training either in ‘‘lift days’’ (squat day, bench day, deadlift day) or even using a modified body part split in some cases.
