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2005/07/21, 08:31 AM
For those of you that are senior members, and have probably had to go through this routine of explaining to uninformed people such as myself the following things, I am very sorry. I tried searching fitBuddy but all it did was leave me with more questions. :(
First of all, what is the basic difference between Powerlifting, and bodybuilding? -> Is it true that powerlifting is in the 1-5 rep range whilst bodybuilding is in the 6-15 range? But what set range do powerlifters use? I take it that powerlifting will develop far more strength rather than weight gains, wheras bodybuilding will shop weight gains with little strength improvement, am i correct?
2nd of all) Does ANYONE go beyond the 15 rep range for any excercises? and if so, what sortof advantages does this have? --> Will it target slow twitch muscles more? Or will it 'define' muscles more (a possible myth??) ?
3) I hear NUMEROUS accounts of far smaller people, with noticably less muscle mass outbenching the big guys at gyms. For instance a student at my school has a bench press of 140kg's and can do this for 4 reps fairly comfortably, wheras alot of the bigger guys are struggling to push 100kg with 1 rep. Why is that? What separates these people in such a way? Is there some training technique they now, could it be this "powerlifting"? If so, is there such a thing as muscle density, and is it the determining element in the above example?
4)I noticed whilst browsing these forums that a member, ManOfSteel has been doing a 7day-a-week routine lifting very heavy, and his muscular figure looks amazing!!! How isn't he overtraining? Also good old Arnie was doing a similar 7 day a week training routine back in the day. I myself am doing a 3 day split, simply because i wouldnt even have the time to fit in any more at the moment, but if i wanted to increase the amount i workout, is it feasable?
I ALSO noticed that ManOfSteel has a very nice build despite doing low reps, 1-4 with realy heavy weights. Does this go against the 6-12 bodybuilding notion for hypertrophy?
5)Last of all, (i am very sorry for this gigantic post, but these questions knaw at me in my sleep), Would it be possible to combine a strength and power (functional traits in other words) with a bodybuilding (aesthetic traits) routine. I ask this because i am a moderately skinny kid @almost 18 years of age, who wants to put on more muscle but at the same time i'd realy like my pathetic excercise figures (especialy that scrawny bench, which is still a while off even my own bodyweight) and athletic performance to increase too.
As a sidenote i am 6'1' and wiegh 85kg's... And i've already done a number of programs (none off this site, as i'd realy like to customize them myself). But the first SERIOUS program i did was my last one, which was an 8 week, 3 day split, basically revolving around compound excercises in the 3set x 10 rep range.. and all my excercise figures increased a little bit, my bench by about maybe 7kg's...
But i'm more interested in learning the answers to these questions rather than getting people to waste their time tryiing to help me with a new routine at the moment.
ALL HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED, AND THANKS FOR READING THIS post.... :dumbbell:
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2005/07/21, 03:17 PM
The programs you did of 3 x 10 are very typical of beginners....it's good that you focused on compound exercises...as they build most muscle strength...
#1 Powerlifters aim to lift most weight....they train around 3 main lifts: squat, deadlift, bench. They often have strength day and recovery or dynamic day....they train with some unique exercises not used by others...and generally stay in 1-5 range...mostly working in reps of 5s, 3s, or 2s...they rest longer between sets and go through different periodization programs...muscle is means to an end... Bodybuilders on the other hand train lighter in the 6-10 range..some go even higher as high as 15...and some do crazy reps of 50 or 100 sometimes to shock their muscles....they do bodypart split and do each muscle group once or twice a week...they generally rest less than powerlifters...
#2 going beyond 15 reps builds muscle endurance...and can be used to shock your muscles occassionally...This form of training may hold some benefits for someone who is an endurance athlete...like marathon runner or triathlete....
#3 many compound exercises hold advantages for certain body types...short, stocky, with short arms individuals have an advantage over taller lifters...hence 'small' guys are able to outlift some bigger guys...
#4 Not sure what you mean....I think you might have misunderstood what he said...although I am not sure of specifics....I don't think he trains 7 days a week...
There are many ways to reach an end....althoughh lifting in 6-8 rep range will help cause hypertrophy more effectively...you can still build more muscle but more slowly if you focus on strength aspect and lifting heavy...I got a similar approach...where I focus on lifting heavy and strength...but although I don't focus on gaining muscle...i still do...maybe less efficiently ...but after a while the results are still great....although i like to become stronger/powerful....I still like to focus on bodybuilding perspectives...however you can't do either one as well if you focus on both...but that doesn't bother me...
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2005/07/22, 12:19 AM
Thanks alot menace, that was very helpful!
But when you answered #3, i don't think i was specific enough.. The bigger guys werent TALLER, they are all of similar hight, its just that the bigger guys had much more muscle mass on them than the guy that outbenched them all, which is why i was wondering how his muscles are so strong for their size, and if that's possibly related to powerlifting?
Also what would be a weekly split for a powerlifter?
ie, for a bodybuilder an example is
Mon - Chest,Tri's
Wed - Back, bi's, SHoulders
Friday - legs, forearms
And what on earth is dynamic day? Is this somehow related to that 'speed bench' which i also have no idea of what it is?
Thanks alot menace3000
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2005/07/22, 04:37 AM
It's possible that those smaller guys trained for power/strength....so that the muscle they do have is more dense...through hyperplasia...pound for pound they are stronger than bodybuilders....bone structure, where muscle is attached to the bone(leverage), split in type of muscle fibers, and so forth...all are factors that influence the success in bench press and other lifts....
powerlifter do splits around the 3 main lifts...squat, deadlift, bench...they also do assitance exercises to train secondary muscles either in same workouts as lif they are training or in separate workouts(like bench press, close grip bench, heavy pushdowns, etc)...some choose to do each of these 1-3 times a week...different training perspectives call for different volume(# of total sets), frequency of training, rest in between sets, reps used, rotation of exercises and reps, etc....some programs also call for strength day where lifter trains with heavy weights and a speed/dynamic day where a lifter uses light weights and focuses on higher volume and speed on each rep....
There are also similar style workouts...push, pull, push assist, pull assist, and lower body...rotating....3 and 4 days of workouts a week...combining concepts of periodization...there was a sample workout of this in flex the last 6 issues... to build strength...
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