Powerlifting: sport
Bodybuilding: beauty pageant (but at least its still competition)
Powerbuilding: gymrat. In it for the chicks?
I see this 'powerbuilder' term thrown around all the time. However I don't see any 'powerbuilding' competitions? My understanding is that powerbuilders are 'doing it for themselves' whatever that means. Getting stronger or looking bigger are a means to an end, not a reason in themselves.
'Powerbuilders'.... please enlighten me.
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11-11-2007, 09:39 PM #1
What on earth is a powerbuilder?!
I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength- Philippians 4:13
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11-11-2007, 09:41 PM #2
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11-11-2007, 09:42 PM #3
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11-11-2007, 09:48 PM #4
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11-11-2007, 09:50 PM #5
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11-11-2007, 10:01 PM #6
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11-11-2007, 10:30 PM #7
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11-11-2007, 10:33 PM #8
I think it was a term coined by that Doggcrapp dude Dante Bautista who has his ring of cronies over at intense muscle dot com. You basically say "hey i'm a bodybuilder", then train with getting stronger as your primary goal, live by your log book, eat like a t-rex, and consume 3 dog turds at every meal.
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11-11-2007, 10:35 PM #9
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11-11-2007, 10:50 PM #10
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11-11-2007, 10:51 PM #11
I didn't mean to come across with any kind of attitude.
I also never said there was anything wrong with trying to look bigger or get stronger seemingly for no reason, although that may have been inferred with how I appeared to be coming across.
The reason I made this thread is because from my point of view if you aren't training for a good reason (i.e. a sport) then I don't see how someone could keep up lifting for a long period of time (say 5+ years). When your feeling beat to crap, bored with your training and diet or injured the 'lifting for enjoyment' excuse won't convince yourself to keep going. Lifting for chicks won't keep someone motivated for years to come. Likewise, lifting for strength with no reason to apply that strength won't keep you motivated in the future.I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength- Philippians 4:13
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11-11-2007, 10:58 PM #12
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11-11-2007, 11:25 PM #13
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11-11-2007, 11:35 PM #14
A powerbuilder combines the bodybuilding and powerlifting/strongman styles of training.
There are a lot of people who train not for a sport. Why they do it is as varied as can be. From health or not being into team sports or just to physically improve themselves or pursue an ideal they have set. Like the old idea about the skinny guy wanting to bulk up and get stronger (like many of us.) and people just love it like any other activity and have a passion and love for what they do and that's the best reason. That will keep you coming back and going year after year to the gym or doing whatever you do for that matter.
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11-11-2007, 11:49 PM #15
Let me enlighten you, no hard feelings, I just don't think you've had a lot of exposure. You're assuming that sport is a good reason while internal motivations are not. I assert the opposite. If you need some external force keeping you on course, maybe you don't really love it. Those with internal forces driving them need no such outside prodding.
All that aside, I am not a powerbuilder, but I am one who simply loves moving heavy weights purely for the fun of it. I get off moving the iron - not the idea that I'm better than someone else at it. Even if there were no benefits such as strength and size and health, I would still lift because it is the lifting itself that I love to do. It's not a means to an end for me, but a means and an end in itself. Hope this makes sense.
I've been at it more than half my life, 16+ years and have been through the gauntlet of injuries. I personally know competitive lifters who have quit with lesser injuries, never to return to the game. My motivation is greater. At 16 years experence I'm just hitting my stride...
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11-12-2007, 12:12 AM #16
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11-12-2007, 12:20 AM #17
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11-12-2007, 12:22 AM #18
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11-12-2007, 12:26 AM #19
I can only answer for myself:
I want to improve my appearance to some extent but want to do so in line with what I prefer on my frame or with my bodytype.(not the IFBB, so called natty bbers who always look thin and weak to me, or hardcorzzz juicemonkeys who dont look attractive to me or even 155lbs kids who think they look amazing bc they havezz teh 6 pack...). Personally my tastes run towards the larger framed more powerful builds that just have a masculine power look to them....over say a meterosexual uber lean look...of course that isnt meant as an insult just a matter of taste. I have little to no interest in ever dieting down below 10% bodyfat and may never even approach being that low....I simply dont think the male body looks better at sub 10% plus I couldnt ever diet that rigidly for an extended period of time to attain it with my bulky genetics. So obviously BBing isnt really for me...at least not competitive BBing.
At the same time I want to get stronger....see improvement in my lifts, and eventually reach a certain level of competence in my lifts so that I feel like im "strong/powerful", but I want to do it my way without regard for equipment and without regard to what someone else is really doing or the technique they use bc then it becomes a game of leverage/lessening ROM and (IMHO) perverting the movements to such a degree that they become almost unrecognizable to a layman----that its basically just putting numbers on a board for numbers sake....which im not interested in.
(This is basically PLing...which is cool and interesting but just not for me)
In short I lift to be bigger/stronger and look better.....just like 70-80% of folks you see in an average gym do....and most 14 yr olds do when they pick up their first dumbells.Last edited by Bodysteele; 11-12-2007 at 12:32 AM.
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11-12-2007, 12:27 AM #20
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11-12-2007, 12:33 AM #21
This is a good reply and explains it better than any other I have seen. I lift because I love it as well.. the comps just give me something to focus on. Plus comp day is one of the most fun things one can do.
However I do think that people such as yourself who can love it year in year out for a long period of time are quite rare.
Anyway thanks mate.I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength- Philippians 4:13
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11-12-2007, 12:50 AM #22
I should have added that a lot of people who do use competition usually love it just as much. I was really only giving my analogy to demonstrate how the logic can be used equally validly from both perspectives. I don't really believe you don't love it.
I think it's great you love competitions. I'm a big fan of competitors in the strength sports. Keep at it!
There's so many types of people and reasons to do anything. I just like to push the idea of openmindedness towards other ways of doing things whenever the opportunity presents itself. Once a person thinks they know it all and have everything neatly compartmentalized to fit a rigid belief set, they stop learning. There's no way to continually progress in the strength game if you have stopped learning. Everone has something to offer.
No problem, man, that's what these boards are supposed to be for.
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11-12-2007, 01:20 AM #23
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11-12-2007, 02:00 AM #24
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11-12-2007, 02:53 AM #25
IMO a powerbuilder is somone who is training for aesthetics, but uses a powerlifting type program to build mass.
I think a lot of people training for mass have found that conventional bodybuilding programs dont work for them. They have more sucess adding size and strength by using powerlifting lifts in a medium rep range.
+ powerbuilder sounds cool"I feel like earth's gravity is just here to pull us down."
Mudvayne
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=632076&page=13
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11-12-2007, 03:39 AM #26
I'm probably in the category. I train purely for personal challenge, to further myself. I associate "gymrat" with "meathead" - I'd rather call myself a training rat - I become obsessive about all types of physical training. I would be lying if I said I don't care about aesthetics - I do. I also care about increasing my numbers in the big lifts, mainly the squat and dead. And trying to maintain a reasonable ability to run and cycle for someone at my weight.
To me it's the best of all worlds. Every month I'm running faster, squatting more, and maybe looking a bit better in the mirror. If I ever decide to compete in a particular area, well I'm sure the focus will shift to that training.
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11-12-2007, 06:06 AM #27
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11-12-2007, 06:16 AM #28
- Join Date: May 2007
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In case you haven't noticed, most people who go to the gym train entirely to get girls.
Powerbuilders are the next step up from that, and you can have a meaningful conversation about lifting with them, and they respect good lifts and the work that it takes. I'd basically say a powerbuilder is on a level much higher than your average gymgoer, and probably the most understanding out of all of them, as he/she (read he) has trained from both ends of the spectrum and understands the importance of both in achieving strength/aesthetics.
A powerbuilder is basically training the way that people should train if they aren't training specifically for a sport.
That being said, anything more than 5 reps is exhausting, bicep curls are the worst things in the world, and deadlifts make the world go round. (had to get my powerlifter card back)Team Super Awesome!
There is no such thing as 'strong enough'
PL:565/385/716
If hard work pays off then easy work is worthless.
Take a look at what I did, now imagine what I'm about to do
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11-12-2007, 06:30 AM #29
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11-12-2007, 06:56 AM #30
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