So for the last few years I have been training as a powerlifter, but recently I’ve found I want to look like a bodybuilder but have the strength of a powerlifter. Is it possible to do both?
Yes its possible. But if your avatar pic is recent, what have you been doing these last few years with your powerlifting training?
“Strength of a powerlifter” means ability to lift a 45lb bar. There is no qualification to enter a bodybuilding contest. I feel like you need more clearly defined goals. Right now, it sounds like you have bought a lot of internet hype.
Pwnisher what do you mean by the hype? And no my avi isn’t recent
What I mean is that you’ve bought into this idea that attaching a name to the training creates some sort of result. There are a TON of powerlifters with good physiques, like Matt Kroczaleski, Dan Green, Kirk Karowski, Konstantin Konstantinovs, Mark Bell (in his present dieted condition), etc etc. Additionally, there are a ton of strong bodybuilders, like Ronnie Coleman, Johnnie Jackson, Franco, Lou Ferrigno, etc. Then you have Stan Efferding, who had an IFBB pro card and set an all time raw total record, and then all the old school guys that competed in both bodybuilding and powerlifting.
Powerlifting training doesn’t make you fat, bodybuilding training doesn’t make you weak. It’s all just lifting weights. Eating too much makes you fat, not working hard makes you weak. Avoid those two things and you’ll be big, strong and lean regardless of if you wear a singlet or posing trunks.
I see what your saying, thanks man
There are some interesting articles on powerbuilding. The idea is to do your compound lifts heavy sets 5 or less then do isolation work in a standard split.
I always thought that was called Powerlifting.
Or bodybuilding.
Come to think of it, I did that for strongman too.
Absolutely.
Forget the labels: set some goals and then find the best method to get there.
Do you think Ronnie Coleman worries about whether deadlifting 800+ lbs makes him a powerlifter or a bodybuilder?
Or if Tommy Kono worried about whether he was Olympic lifting or bodybuilding?
I didn’t realize you had to be fat to be a powerlifter. Better go tell Jesse Norris his world records don’t count.
Brb, eating all the doughnuts.
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
So for the last few years I have been training as a powerlifter[/quote]
No, you really haven’t. Let’s call it like it is so we’re on the same page.
In the last year or so, you’ve had threads talking about: your biceps peak, your bodyfat gains, your inner chest muscle, triceps definition, your “bodybuilding diet”, leg pressing “1018 for 6 reps”, a very-less-than-stellar Rate My Physique thread, what bodyfat % is needed for abs, what ab exercises will “tighten up” your waist, how to increase leg size, and, of course, a few threads asking about steroids.
Dude, if you’re not happy with the results you’ve gotten over the years, that’s one thing. But be honest with yourself and with us, and don’t pretend you’ve been “training as a powerlifter” all this time. That’s, unfortunately, the go-to with fat guys who lift for a while and don’t see awesome physique changes. “No abs yet? Um, I’ve been powerlifting. Yeah, that’s the ticket.”
As everyone’s said, yes, of course it is. As a recreational (meaning non-competitive) lifter, training does not have to be either/or. Simply ignore the labels because most guys spend a lot of time in the gray area between. Figure out your honest, actual priorities/goals and stay consistent with a well-designed plan to get you there.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
“training as a powerlifter” all this time. That’s, unfortunately, the go-to with fat guys who lift for a while and don’t see awesome physique changes. “No abs yet? Um, I’ve been powerlifting. Yeah, that’s the ticket.”
[/quote]
I’ve seen this used a lot over the years by consistent gym rats with quite less than lean physiques, yet never actually competing as a PLer eiher. While I’m no PLer, I gotta imagine it’s pretty disrespectful.
As was mentioned, trying to get stronger while building a decent physique is definitely doable. But there’s also a heck of a lot more to doing either than just going to the gym with decent frequency.
It sounds to me like you’re just missing a lot of the multiple variables you need to worry about in order to achieve either goal. Ideally, smart training coupled with smart nutrition and recovery will - in time - yield improvements both in terms of strength levels and body composition. For now, I imagine any decent well rounded approach (not just training, but I’m venturing diet as well) would be a good course to follow.
S
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
So for the last few years I have been training as a powerlifter[/quote]
No, you really haven’t. Let’s call it like it is so we’re on the same page.
In the last year or so, you’ve had threads talking about: your biceps peak, your bodyfat gains, your inner chest muscle, triceps definition, your “bodybuilding diet”, leg pressing “1018 for 6 reps”, a very-less-than-stellar Rate My Physique thread, what bodyfat % is needed for abs, what ab exercises will “tighten up” your waist, how to increase leg size, and, of course, a few threads asking about steroids.
Dude, if you’re not happy with the results you’ve gotten over the years, that’s one thing. But be honest with yourself and with us, and don’t pretend you’ve been “training as a powerlifter” all this time. That’s, unfortunately, the go-to with fat guys who lift for a while and don’t see awesome physique changes. “No abs yet? Um, I’ve been powerlifting. Yeah, that’s the ticket.”
As everyone’s said, yes, of course it is. As a recreational (meaning non-competitive) lifter, training does not have to be either/or. Simply ignore the labels because most guys spend a lot of time in the gray area between. Figure out your honest, actual priorities/goals and stay consistent with a well-designed plan to get you there.[/quote]
This call-out got me to reading through some of those threads.
I’m very curious as to what he was doing from the middle of March to the middle of April in 2013. If he wasn’t lying about his numbers, he made incredible progress in that period. Based on 2 threads he started, it would seem he added a couple reps to his 225 lbs bench press, went from 1 rep to 5 reps at a 365 squat, and increased his deadlift from 405 to 455. Pretty sweet gains if you ask me.
Or we could talk about the next month, when he apparently went from squatting 365x5 to 495x1. That would be a net gain of 130 lbs on his squat in 2 months. I would be satisfied with gains like that, but not the OP, as he said this 2 weeks later: "Just putting it out there, does anyone every get that kinda ticked off feeling when you realize how long and slow the process is to getting to where you want to be with your physique? "