Habits are hard to break. This is true on an individual level, and also on a national level. There are still millions of people, running and running and running, with hopes of building a better, sexier, and “fitter” body. Despite the unbelievably large amount of evidence that resistance training is superior for burning fat, increasing resting metabolism, and overall building a better body, the nation keeps pounding the pavement miles at a time. As such, strength based sports aren’t really that popular, so this article is going to explain the difference between four different sports that many people are quick to lump together, yet have very distinct differences. The sports I am referring to are: Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, Strongman, and Weightlifting.

Before I go any further, let me state that being “fit” is a relative term. Fitness has no meaning without context. Who is more fit, the marathon winner, or the Gold Medalist Weightlifter? Think about that as you continue reading.

 

1. Bodybuilding- Without a doubt bodybuilding is probably the most popular of all the sports being discussed here, maybe not in sheer number of competitors, but definitely more average people emulate their training around bodybuilding’s style. That’s most likely due to the fact that bodybuilding is all about aesthetics, and we as humans love looking good.

Bodybuilding is a judged competition. There is no mathematical measurement to decide a winner, however the goal is to be as big, lean, and symmetrical as possible. In competition bodybuilders strip down to nothing but a speedo, and strike several poses in front of judges (usually a choreographed performance put to music). With the show typically ending with all of the competitors on stage at once, so the judges can view them side by side.

The training: Bodybuilders go through cycles called “bulks” and “cuts.” During a bulk the goal is to gain as much mass as possible. Calories are brought up to an absurd level, and training volume is extremely high (since a large amount of evidence suggests that high volume programs are best for hypertrophy or muscle growth).

As competition comes closer, the athletes begin to “cut.” During this period they often cut their calories back a bit, and usually cut out things from their diets such as carbs, salts, and condiments. Their weight training still remains the focus of their program, but additional cardiovascular workouts are usually added in to increase caloric output and speed up the leaning out process. Keep in mind due to a bodybuilders large amount of muscle mass, it’s extremely easy for them to burn fat rapidly.

The Good: Despite there being a lot of “Gym science” or “bro science” (meaning conclusions derived not from true science but personal trial and error) Bodybuilder’s have an amazing dedication to their sport, particularly in the case of nutrition. Typically speaking a bodybuilder has a healthier diet than the average American. If everyone had the dedication of a bodybuilder we’d be a much healthier America.

The Bad: The training style of bodybuilding is usually built around “body parts” meaning the body is divided into pieces and each muscle group is trained individually. Science has shown us that our body isn’t designed that way. The argument behind this style of training is so that every muscle gets “worked evenly,” but ironically enough the opposite happens, and often those who train this way end up with muscular imbalances which can cause frequent pain or injury in joints.

The other downside is the large amount of steroid abuse in the sport. Pretty much if you want to be a pro bodybuilder you have to use anabolic steroids to be competitive. The human body simply cannot reach the size desired in bodybuilding, without the use of performance enhancing drugs.  Look at the following picture comparing Arnold (who has admitted to using steroids) to one of the biggest the behemoths of today, Ronnie Coleman.

Conclusion: While Bodybuilders don’t get much respect from the performance athletic community, their dedication is to be admired, and for the average person (especially men) Having a lean physique with bulging pecs and massive biceps sounds really appealing. And just like anything else, I applaud those who are willing to put their pride on the line and compete.

 

2. Powerlifting- Probably a close 2nd to bodybuilding in popularity is powerlifting. It is actually in this sport that I cut my teeth. Powerlifters compete in 3 events come competition time: Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift.

Each lift is attempted for a single rep at maximum effort (aka: 1rm or 1 rep max). You have three attempts at each lift, and the person with the highest total at the end of the competition wins. Lifters are put into weight classes, and are also separated by age.

The  new era powerlifting community has been divided into two groups: Raw and equipped. Raw essentially means that you perform the lifts with no equipment assisting you. Equipped is (obviously) the opposite of that. Belts, knee wraps, squat suits, bench press shirts, these are all things that when worn can aid an athlete to lift more weight. This is a source of a lot of controversy in the powerlifting world because of the amount of aid that some of these pieces of equipment offer. For example the world record raw bench press is in the 700s, where as with a bench shirt the record is over 1,000 lbs.

The Training: Although in competition a lifter must only lift a maximal load for a single rep, many Powerlifters use “periodization” which is a progression of weight, reps, and sets, over days, weeks and months. The most common (or most simplistic) is linear periodization. A lifter will start with a light amount of weight, a small number of sets, and a high number of reps (sometimes as high as 12-15). As each week progresses the lifter adds weight to every exercise, increasing the number of sets, and decreasing the number of reps, until eventually they’re working at maximal loads. Unlike bodybuilders who split their workouts up by what muscles their training, Powerlifters usually program their workouts around movements. One day for squats and exercises that assist the squat, a day  for deadlifts, etc…

The Good: Powerlifting focuses on 3 compound movements. A compound movement is an exercises that crosses two or more joints. Unlike Bodybuilding where a lot of time is spent working single muscles, squats, bench, and deads all engage large groups of muscle, which is great for maximizing your training time, building a properly functioning body, and burning fat. Squats and deadlifts are two basic human movements and training them regularly can help you develop a strong core, good lower body flexibility and overall strength.

The Bad: Powerlifters are infamous about training hard but not caring a whole lot about their diet (as long as they keep their calories up, they don’t usually care where they come from). Also the bench press is notorious for developing shoulder problems when over done. A lot like bodybuilding, if you want to be at the top of the powerlifting heap, PHDs are almost a necessity. Also with the popularity of equipped lifting the sport has gone from who’s the strongest, to who can lift the most weight, and those things are not synonymous, considering that lifting with equipment can be more of a science, rather than a display of pure strength.

Conclusion: Building a monster squat or deadlift can have a lot of carry over to other sports (football, hockey, MMA, cycling etc…) so using many of the techniques used in powerlifting can be applied to training for other athletes. But where as a cyclist may use squats to supplement and improve their riding, a powerlifter squats to be better at squatting, and subsequently has an arsenal of exercises to help improve the squat (such as good mornings, glute ham raises, etc…). Elite powerlifters are some of the strongest humans on the planet, though maybe not always the healthiest.

Some people are just ridiculous athletes and can perform at the highest level in multiple disciplines.  Check out Franco Columbo’s Bio page to be amazed…

 

3. Strongman- You may have caught some of this on TV, as it’s a popular daytime program for ESPN and it’s variants. Unlike Powerlifting and Weightlifting, Strongman doesn’t have a standard set of events that athletes compete in each time. Events can vary from one competition to another.

With that said there are certain things that Strongman competitors must do, which usually includes: endurance events (holding a heavy object for the longest time), distance events (carrying a heavy object for the longest distance) repetition events (lifting a heavy weight for the most amount of repetitions) and maximal strength events (lifting the heaviest load).

Strongman events are famous for their odd object events, such as flipping tractor tires, deadlifting cars, throwing kegs, carrying giant stones, pressing logs, etc…

Like bodybuilding, at the upper echelon of the sport there are really no weightclasses. It’s not uncommon for professional strongmen to be over 6’5 and weigh 300-400lbs. Of course training is extremely important, but if you weren’t born with a large frame you don’t have a whole lot of hope of making it to the top of this sport.

The Training: Because competitions vary, so does a strongman’s training. A lot of exercises are focused around grip strength, heavy carrying, and strength endurance. It’s also typical for a strongman to incorporate “traditional” gym training in their routine such as bench presses, pull-ups, etc… While they may not use traditional periodization techniques, Strongman do have certain benchmarks they use (lifting a certain weight stone, carrying a yolk a certain distance)

The Good: Given it’s varied nature, strongman training can be a lot of fun, and challenging. Many events don’t just depend on an athletes strength, but also their conditioning. When you talk about heart rate training many people automaticaly imagine running on a treadmill or elliptical. But go flip a 3-500lb tractor tire for 100 feet and tell me that doesn’t get your heart rate going! Training like a strongman will build an iron grip, and test every single muscle in your body. It’s also very empowering! If pushing a truck around a parking lot doesn’t boost your ego, I don’t know what will.

The Bad: It’s hard to pick out a downside to strongman training, but if we’re nitpicking, I’d probably say it can be more dangerous than traditional lifting. Given the fact that competitors are usually carrying odd objects, and working near maximal efforts that can increase the risk of injury. Also consider the fact that in strongman competition there aren’t many regulations in regards to form like there is in powerlifting and Weightlifting. Meaning a competitor can do whatever it takes to lift a weight, which isn’t always the safest.

 

4. Weightlifting- Out of the 4 sports, this is probably the least popular, yet is arguably the most impressive. The sport of Weightlifting revolves around 2 events, the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. Both of these events require a mixture of strength, speed, and flexibility.

Like powerlifting, athletes have 3 attempts at each event, and for a 1rm, the lifter with the highest total in their weight class wins the competition. This sport has been a long time part of the Olympics, and has amazing carryover to other sports.

When Powerlifting began to gain popularity in the 70s people would say that “powerlifting was for those who weren’t athletic enough to be Weightlifters.” Although Powerlifting is an incredible sport, it’s hard to argue that Olympic Weightlifters are the more impressive athletes, considering the Clean&Jerk combines a deadlift, squat, and a press into one single movement, which is all three events of powerlifting combined!

The Training: Olympic lifting is unique that the training programs are usually dictated by the country of Origin (America being an exception to this). The Russians, Chinese, and Poland all have their own national training methodologies. One of the most highly lauded and grueling programs is the Bulgarian training program. Where a powerlifter may train 5 days a week, the Bulgarians are notorious for training 3-5 times a day 5 days a week! This system defies the accepted theories about rest and recovery, but it’s hard to argue with the Bulgarian’s results as they have always been a dominant force come the Olympics. With that said, even those who don’t train in the Bulgarian style still train “the lifts” every day. Where a Powerlifter will work his bench press one day, his squat another day, and so on, a Weightlifter will train  the snatch and the clean & jerk (or some variation of the movement) every single day. Also unlike the other sports discussed, it’s rare for a Weightlifter to do more than a set of 5 or 6 reps on any movement. Most of the training is done  within 80% of the lifters max for sets of 1-3 repetitions.

The Good: Weightlifting helps improve your explosive power, increases shoulder, hip, ankle, and wrist flexibility and greatly increases your coordination. The carryover from these movements to other sports is second to none. Jump higher, run faster, react quicker, Weightlifting does all of this. It’s also one of the most amazing sports to watch, due to it’s fast and explosive nature. Build a strong core, develop shoulder stability, and overall athetlic ability.

The Bad: Weightlifting isn’t very popular in America, and finding a good coach can be difficult. More so than any other exercises the snatch and the clean & jerk are two of the most difficult to learn on your own, and can take years to master. Unlike Powerlifting there aren’t many exercises trained in accessory to the ones used in competition. A Weightlifter spends most of his/her time doing some sort of variation of snatching and cleaning and jerking. That’s about it. Also, given the fact that the weights are moving at high velocity, the room for error is slim, and if you’re not careful, injuries can occur.

Conclusion: One of the most unbelievable displays of human performance, this sport continually gets misconstrued for one of its cousins discussed above. Considered by many the pinnacle of strength athletics; There is stringent drug testing in an effort to eliminate the use of steroids among athletes and there isn’t much in the way of equipment that can aid a lifter simply because the sport is primarily technique based, and many of the Olympians spend their entire lives developing and mastering that technique.

 

In the end fitness is defined by certain parameters. Each of the sports listed above requiring their own skills and attributes. What’s important for those of us who want to be truly well rounded, and well versed, is that we look at all different types of training and take what we can from all of it. Perhaps not everyone wants to have a 500lb deadlift, but that doesn’t mean building strength in that movement cannot be useful. At the end of the day it’s also important to pay these athletes their due respect. A champion Weightlifter doesn’t want to be confused for a guy that wears a thong on stage!

 

Tags: Common Questions, Education, informational, Pictures, Powerlifter, video