Bodybuilders vs. Powerlifters

[riverrock]

Well, as a Powerlifter, I see no excuse for being out of condition and looking like an off-season Bodybuilder. As a result, I am always in great shape. Thus, I get the great satisfaction of always looking and feeling good about myself. Best off all is the thrill of real competition. I consider Powerlifting a sport and Bodybuilding a Sports Science having competed in both at different times.

 

[Heracles]

There is so much subjectivity in bodybuilding. I mean how do you look at two huge monsters, who look similar in muscle size and pick one? I hear all of the things about "symetry" and the like... What a crock...
Do the judges actually go on stage with a micrometer and figure out who is more proportional or symetric using mathematical formulas?

No. It is all subjective with judges and when that happens it is open to corruption and politics...

This is why I prefer actual competitive sports like Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting.

Bodybuilding seems like a male beauty pagent to me.

 

[silver_shadow]

very true and yes bodybuilding is very much like a male beauty pageant. yes there has been a lot of politics in bodybuilding- how do u explain ronnie winning a 6th (?) mr O with a GH gut. and there have been some good bodybuilders (can't remember any of the top of my head though) who have never won the mr O.

 

[DIVISION]

i know this girl whos ex is a powerlifter and says stuff like "bodybuilders are sissys", and some bouncers who are powerlifters that say the same thing, etc.

Then bodybuilders retaliate by saying stuff like "powerlifters lack endurance", "im a lover not a fighter", etc.

powerlifters vs. bodybuilders is like ARMY vs. MARINES.

they're alike in many ways, but just different enough to cause a rift.

I'm a PL, but I do respect bodybuilders, at least the ones who can lift some serious weight. The bodybuilders who I laugh at are the ones who or obsessed with aesthetics to the point where it rivals that of a female.

 

[Heracles]

Powerlifters are the guys with the bloody, scabby knees and monoab, while Bodybuilders are the guys staring at themselves in the mirrors.

 

[Royster]

completely agree with the fact that all this debate is brought on by all the wannabes. However, it is a fact that bodybuilding has taken a turn for the worst with all the "I wanna get buffed" trend. You see people going to the gym and doing bench presses (albeit, with shit form and reduced ROM) and bicep curls and they say they are bodybuilders. Go to a gym, 95% of all the trainers in there are doing bodybuilding type routines, yet they either dont look like they train or they are lazy fucks who only do exercises for the "show off" muscles, going for the pump.
On the other hand, powerlifting is a more niche type sport, which luckily, means that it is not invaded by the "i wanna get buffed" or "i wanna have big arms" crew, thus the hardcore attitude is maintained.
I say, the trouble with everything, is that any wannabe calls himself bodybuilder or powerlifter, without really understanding the principles and effort behind making such statements.
I consider myself a begginer, and like to call myself strength trainer, I do a mixture of everything, but I always try to put 100% effort, and thats the difference between me and a wannabe, effort and attitude.
This is all IMO, of course.

 

[Heracles]

completely agree with the fact that all this debate is brought on by all the wannabes. However, it is a fact that bodybuilding has taken a turn for the worst with all the "I wanna get buffed" trend. You see people going to the gym and doing bench presses (albeit, with shit form and reduced ROM) and bicep curls and they say they are bodybuilders.

Don't forget the half- and 3/4 bench pressers and the ones who bounce the weights off of their chests.

 

[silver_shadow]

Don't forget the half- and 3/4 bench pressers and the ones who bounce the weights off of their chests.

or how abt the assholes with skinny legs who work out chest/bis every 2nd day and still lift the same weight. then once every 2 wks they come in and struggle thro 4" squats.

 

[TONY STARKS]

I must say i love both,Me personally i call it "working out".I look at bodybuilders only as those that compete(any level)Everyone else falls on the w/o catagorie,imo.There are days when i really want to see where i'm at in terms of power,and i only do 2-3 rep max or 1rep max when it comes to dead-lifts and squats.So where does that fall unda weight or powerlifting?Umm

 

[trez]

Since I've started and until I finish I'll be a Gym Rat. At the start I was guilty of things like:

half- and 3/4 bench pressers and the ones who bounce the weights off of their chests

or how abt the assholes with skinny legs who work out chest/bis every 2nd day and still lift the same weight. then once every 2 wks they come in and struggle thro 4" squats.

But without the money to pay for a PT, any friends who were into it, or this forum, I just tried to emulate what I saw around me. Not knowing didn't make me an asshole, it just make me naive. And I did start for the wrong reasons, wanting to 'get buffed' or whatever. But both bodybuilding and powerlifting in competition are serious sports and I'd never have to time to become either of them, so I just do my best with the time and resources I have between work and study.

I'm not trying to have a go at the guys that are making these comments. It's just that if every time a skinny dude comes into gym instead of giving him sideways looks and shaking your head, take 20 seconds at the end of your workout and say 'Hey buddy, if you want to get big you need to squat big and eat big'. I'll never forget the day a powerlifter told me that... because after that I was put on the right track. I respected his opinion because I saw his strength.

Peace, and keep the passion high it's what makes these sports great.

Trez