Most people say that the bigger, the stronger you get, but is very different strongman vs bodybuilder!
Does it really make sense for natural bodybuilders to adopt powerlifting systems from a mass and size development perspective? What effects do these exercises have on physique and body composition, regardless of the performance side? We will explore this topic in more depth in this article.
STRONGMAN vs BODYBUILDING
In such a system in which the goal is strength and not mass, does muscle development have real benefits? I am talking about volumes and inches of arms, legs and shoulders: will they really increase?Because the answer is a resounding “no,” I must disappoint you.” A powerlifter training program is not capable of building a bodybuilder’s body, at least no more than a regular fitness program….
It will surprise most of you to know what I am about to say, but you must first understand and secondly trust those who have been in the gym world all their lives (and have not wasted their lives on powerlifting programs, but on training systems that are logical, progressive and, above all, perfectly adapted to a true natural bodybuilder). Need I add that those who speak to you are endowed with the most impressive natural physique of all time?
So let’s reason: there are categories of athletes in the world who are much stronger than bodybuilders. And I’m not just talking about powerlifting, who are super strong on the flat bench and squat. There are also strongmen, who do incredible feats of strength … and weightlifters who lift weights over their heads of more than 250 kg: do you realize the immense strength they have? Yet their muscles, in general, are nothing compared to those of a bodybuilder.
All these super strongmen, when placed next to a competitive bodybuilder and with the same body fat, will always and systematically be much smaller in terms of muscle mass, volume, and inches. Even with the same amount of doping, let’s be clear. Simple: strength itself is more a matter of muscle voltage, neurological coordination, adrenaline and other factors related to unleashing maximum power.
In fact, strongman train exclusively in this way, with consistently high (or medium-high) loads and only basic exercises and the like. What about a bodybuilder? They pump with medium-light weights and do a lot of volume work with isolation exercises. Because pumping is the real key to developing ultimate muscle mass, thanks to the activation of special local hormones (IGF-1) triggered by the large amounts of lactic acid.
WHO ARE THE STRONGER THE STRONGMAN OR THE BODYBUILDERS?
Some people just want to be strong, others want to be big and strong at the same time. But you can’t have two treasures, one in heaven and one on earth: you have to choose between being a bodybuilder or a lover of pure strength! In bodybuilding, you essentially have to pump, with dynamic repetitions and long sets, but on a foundation of total strength that must be built in the early years of your career (“when you’re young”, let’s say).
In powerlifting, on the other hand, you always have to push heavy and with explosive movements, taking advantage of short sets with few repetitions. Obviously, in the long run there will be physical differences in muscular nature and strength: powerlifters will be stronger, but not particularly big and without rounded muscles, while bodybuilders will be less strong but with greater and well-formed muscle mass.
The only commonality between these two lifestyles, unfortunately, is doping … and in any case, with or without the use of illicit substances, it must be said that muscle pumping is capable of building muscle much better (and more) than just using heavy loads and low repetitions. The large amount of lactic acid triggers very deep cellular growth phenomena, new muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia.
This explains why Mr. Olympia’s are much bigger and more defined than weightlifters of the same world level, even though the latter are much stronger. Even without doping, pumping beats heavy lifting in terms of building mass (of course doing things the best you can and with long-term, logical, progressive strategies)-a road you can start down thanks to the MWS System, my training system.
STRONGMAN vs BODYBUILDING: WHAT DIFFERENCES?
There are often discussions and diatribes about which discipline best represents the concept of “pure strength.” But what, in a nutshell, do strongmen do? Very simple: sometimes (not always of course) they are super doped-up homos on anabolic steroids and testosterone, who compete in amusing and meaningless tests of pure strength…like carrying very heavy pints of beer, moving huge tree trunks by arm, and things like that.
These are such pointless and stupid actions that none of you will have ever experienced in your lives, not even once will you? Now the usual mediocre know-it-alls will say that this evaluation has nothing to do with it and that the real purpose of this discipline is pure demonstration of power. But the real concept is this: the strength of these men is in many cases related to doping abuse, just as it is in powerlifting.
But at least in powerlifting you have to prove you are strong in three technical exercises that are very familiar to anyone who has ever trained in a gym, namely the flat bench press with barbell, the squat and the deadlift with barbell: you just have to concentrate on the technical execution of these three exercises, not in a thousand similar and invented tests. In this sense, powerlifting is to all intents and purposes a sport and not circus exhibition.
If, as if by magic, all steroids disappeared from the world and it were impossible to use them, however, strongmen would only be able to move ridiculous weights and objects that even a little woman could lift perhaps even better than they can. How does bodybuilding fit in? Just win!But mind you, what wins is natural bodybuilding, and not the bodybuilding of competition stages or YouTube biggies.
Doping often exists in there, too, and technical truth is dead and buried, giving way to lies and falsehoods designed only to scam poor kids. But if you become devotees and heroes of true natural bodybuilding, which is what I have always taught, then you will not only become really strong … but you will also have a super muscular body! Not just a temporary illusion, but muscles that will last a lifetime.
WEIGHTLIFTING AND POWERLIFTING, THE TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES
But what differences are there between the exercises and equipment of a powerlifter versus a weightlifter (i.e., a weightlifter)? To begin with, the barbell is different. In fact, in weightlifting it is more elastic and not very rigid as is the case with those in powerlifting. The discs are not the same either: in powerlifting they are iron while in weightlifting they are rubberized and have different heights depending on the weight.
But the real difference is found in the performance of performing the exercises. In weightlifting, for example, there are athletic gestures called “snatch” and “momentum”: in the former, the athletes have to carry the barbell above their head in a single, explosive movement, while in the latter you have to carry the barbell to shoulder height then raise it above your head with outstretched arms.
In powerlifting, on the other hand, we have the squat, bench press and deadlift, all of which are very familiar exercises to anyone who has ever attended a gym. Although these two disciplines are quite successful and are certainly useful for the purpose of improving strength and fitness, they could never match the body-shaping power of powerlifting. Only this discipline is capable of building complete and harmonious muscles!
In addition, the exercises are far more numerous and include not only the use of free weights, but also machines. No one like Master Wallace has been able to build a super natural and perfectly healthy body.
Without the use of drugs or doping, he also happens to be very strong in the bench press and squat. For those who really want to know about natural bodybuilding, his course is the best. What are you waiting for?
