Bodybuilders vs. Powerlifters

[TheProject]

agreed but unfortunately i have to say that most of the so called powerlifters at my gym just use it as an excuse to be fat and out of shape they claim 500 lb benches but with a shirt i can do 515 raw how am i supposed to be impressed?

Okay, shirted and raw are two totally different things.

If you have a 515 raw bench, why aren't you competing?

I think bodybuilders just like to call powerlifters fat and out of shape.

 

[dzulboy]

no pause that i wll admitt but i am bodybuilder not a powerlifter just like my best friend he ddi 405 for 25 reps unassisted i know its almsiost impossible to believe but he did it hwe weighs around 285 currently me 210

and i won't compete in a bench competition with all these gadgets these guys use to bench if yosay yyou bench something the you should be able to do it with out and wraps supports etc

 

[super_rice]

i think you guys forgot the category of people that just do it because they love it and love ALL of its benefits.

 

[Quadsweeps Sister]

I saw this post and had to reply. These words are from someone who has truly been on both sides of the fence. I have been bodybuilding competitively for 6 years and most recently at the national level. I have also for the last several months begun training with goal of competitive powerlifting. I had occasion to train amongst some of the most Elite powerlifters in the world while working in Columbus. Being trained by a man many travel from around the world to see was both a humbleing and motivating experience. He helped me change my direction for now and I will see how it goes. For whatever its worth, let me speak about my experience.

Bodybuilding did many things to change my life. I know i would not be who i am today without the changes i made in my body through this sport. It boosted my confidence, helped me learn about nutrition and motivated me to set yearly goals to compete. I loved it, but i came to loathe it. I developed a confusion in who i had become and why i hated lifting when once i had loved it so much. Why I hated eating when once it had been an enjoyable experience shared with friends and family. I hated tupperware, and packing my meals, cooking in bulk - carrying my food to superbowl parties and cookouts. Why did i have to eat every last fucking cookie in the pack like there would never be another one made? Was i screwed up in the head - and what the hell was body dysmorphia anyway? Well - whatever it is, i had it. Every waking moment i was consumed by making my body look a certain way only to become an opinion in others eyes; friends, the judges, my family - everyone.

Now i am lifting for a purpose - lifting to better my lifting, so to speak. I will be judged on those lifts performed well and for those I don't - I will know why and then try harder so that next time I will succeed. Why do I lift? Because I love to be strong...Why do I Power Lift? Because I love to compete.

Do I still look like a bodybuilder...yes. Will Powerlifting make me a better bodybuilder - some think so. Did Bodybuilding make me a better Powerlifter? I think it did - because sometimes it takes the realization that what your doing is wrong for you, to find the thing thats right. In the end - each can compliment the other and make a person more complete. The knowledge we gain through all our learning is valuable no matter how it was learned, even if it was the hard way.

 

[Quadsweep]

I saw this post and had to reply. These words are from someone who has truly been on both sides of the fence. I have been bodybuilding competitively for 6 years and most recently at the national level. I have also for the last several months begun training with goal of competitive powerlifting. I had occasion to train amongst some of the most Elite powerlifters in the world while working in Columbus. Being trained by a man many travel from around the world to see was both a humbleing and motivating experience. He helped me change my direction for now and I will see how it goes. For whatever its worth, let me speak about my experience.

Bodybuilding did many things to change my life. I know i would not be who i am today without the changes i made in my body through this sport. It boosted my confidence, helped me learn about nutrition and motivated me to set yearly goals to compete. I loved it, but i came to loathe it. I developed a confusion in who i had become and why i hated lifting when once i had loved it so much. Why I hated eating when once it had been an enjoyable experience shared with friends and family. I hated tupperware, and packing my meals, cooking in bulk - carrying my food to superbowl parties and cookouts. Why did i have to eat every last fucking cookie in the pack like there would never be another one made? Was i screwed up in the head - and what the hell was body dysmorphia anyway? Well - whatever it is, i had it. Every waking moment i was consumed by making my body look a certain way only to become an opinion in others eyes; friends, the judges, my family - everyone.

Now i am lifting for a purpose - lifting to better my lifting, so to speak. I will be judged on those lifts performed well and for those I don't - I will know why and then try harder so that next time I will succeed. Why do I lift? Because I love to be strong...Why do I Power Lift? Because I love to compete.

Do I still look like a bodybuilder...yes. Will Powerlifting make me a better bodybuilder - some think so. Did Bodybuilding make me a better Powerlifter? I think it did - because sometimes it takes the realization that what your doing is wrong for you, to find the thing thats right. In the end - each can compliment the other and make a person more complete. The knowledge we gain through all our learning is valuable no matter how it was learned, even if it was the hard way.

Damn! Seems we need a talk huh? Nothing negative...just inquisitive.

Q.

 

[Quadsweep]

I saw this post and had to reply. These words are from someone who has truly been on both sides of the fence. I have been bodybuilding competitively for 6 years and most recently at the national level. I have also for the last several months begun training with goal of competitive powerlifting. I had occasion to train amongst some of the most Elite powerlifters in the world while working in Columbus. Being trained by a man many travel from around the world to see was both a humbleing and motivating experience. He helped me change my direction for now and I will see how it goes. For whatever its worth, let me speak about my experience.

Bodybuilding did many things to change my life. I know i would not be who i am today without the changes i made in my body through this sport. It boosted my confidence, helped me learn about nutrition and motivated me to set yearly goals to compete. I loved it, but i came to loathe it. I developed a confusion in who i had become and why i hated lifting when once i had loved it so much. Why I hated eating when once it had been an enjoyable experience shared with friends and family. I hated tupperware, and packing my meals, cooking in bulk - carrying my food to superbowl parties and cookouts. Why did i have to eat every last fucking cookie in the pack like there would never be another one made? Was i screwed up in the head - and what the hell was body dysmorphia anyway? Well - whatever it is, i had it. Every waking moment i was consumed by making my body look a certain way only to become an opinion in others eyes; friends, the judges, my family - everyone.

Now i am lifting for a purpose - lifting to better my lifting, so to speak. I will be judged on those lifts performed well and for those I don't - I will know why and then try harder so that next time I will succeed. Why do I lift? Because I love to be strong...Why do I Power Lift? Because I love to compete.

Do I still look like a bodybuilder...yes. Will Powerlifting make me a better bodybuilder - some think so. Did Bodybuilding make me a better Powerlifter? I think it did - because sometimes it takes the realization that what your doing is wrong for you, to find the thing thats right. In the end - each can compliment the other and make a person more complete. The knowledge we gain through all our learning is valuable no matter how it was learned, even if it was the hard way.

By the way. Great post! I know what you mean. I go through it. But I always come back....for some dumb assed reason. Its just what I do, what I am. I hope this works out for you. I have powerlifted and it was tons of fun. Lots of food! Whatever food!

Q.

 

[pee wee]

Im a bodybuilder that tries to lift as heavily as possible, does that make me both then?

 

[TheProject]

Im a bodybuilder that tries to lift as heavily as possible, does that make me both then?

Unless you compete as a PL, not really.

 

[MJBossman]

I guess I'm a bodybuilder who cares about strength too.

I don't want to be all show and no go.

 

[TheRide]

By the way. Great post! I know what you mean. I go through it. But I always come back....for some dumb assed reason. Its just what I do, what I am. I hope this works out for you. I have powerlifted and it was tons of fun. Lots of food! Whatever food!

Q.

Ditto - Agree w/QS. That is a great post. I think it pretty much sums up the way many people who train/diet and invoke this way of life feel at one point in time or another. What makes you different is your ability to adapt and overcome. You took something that you once loved, then hated and morphed it into something that you now love again. That passion will undoubtedly make you as successful on the PL'ing circuit as you were on the BB'ing stage.

Granted, I don't compete and never have but can relate to all the points you touched on in that post. And to be honest, your perseverance toward the sport is very inspirational.

Just r/ber... why you lift??? For me it's something that burns inside of me. Something inside that just clicks on when I'm @ the gym @ 5:30am or 9pm... something inside of that says "I did it" when I squeeze that last rep out when I really didn't think I could... It's the physical and metal battle with myself to achieve milestones and make progress not only in physical strength but mental discipline. Sure, looking good, feeling good come with the territory, but at the end of the day.... I train for me!! It doesn't matter if it's bb'ing, power lifting or some other type of training; what does matter is you enjoy it and it make YOU complete as a person.

OK, I'm getting off of my soap box now...

QS - hope the leg is healing quick and you back in the saddle soon bro!
QS Sis - Eat, train, sleep... repeate as needed