Maddie It’s easy to confuse the distinctions between strength sports such as powerlifting vs. bodybuilding vs. weightlifting, etc. This post discusses the major differences between bodybuilding and powerlifting specifically.
There is a wide variety of strength sports that all have unique distinctions. However, many people are unaware of those exact distinctions.
Here we’ll go over a brief history of bodybuilding vs. powerlifting, as well as notable differences in training styles and competitions.
This post is all about the differences between powerlifting vs. bodybuilding.
Powerlifting vs. bodybuilding:
What we’ll cover…
- What is powerlifting?
- What is bodybuilding?
- What is ‘powerbuilding’?
- The 2 most important differences
After reading this post, don’t forget to check out…
Everything You Need to Know About My Diet as a Competitive Female Powerlifter
9 Important Things You NEED to Know When Starting Powerlifting for Women
BEST 12 Week Powerlifting Program for Complete Beginners (Simple & Effective)
What is powerlifting?
A brief history of powerlifting
The origin of powerlifting (and other strength sports) began in ancient Greece where men had to lift heavy stones and other objects to prove their strength and manhood. However, the official sports of powerlifting, bodybuilding, weightlifting, and strongman were obviously nonexistent and indistinguishable during the time.
With that said, let’s bring our attention to the late 1800s when the first established strength sport–Olympic weightlifting–made its appearance. Weightlifting was first featured in the Olympic Games in 1896. I only mention this because the establishment of Olympic weightlifting is important to consider when discussing the birth of powerlifting.
Essentially, the general principles of powerlifting competitions derive from those of Olympic weightlifting competitions. Powerlifting was first introduced as a sport in 1972 under the IPF (International Powerlifting Federation) by Bob Hoffman, though squatting, bench pressing, and deadlifting were popular several decades prior to the official start of the sport.
For example, unofficial strength competitions were held in Europe in the 1950s and they consisted of bicep curls, bench presses, and squats. And in 1964, there were unofficial strength competitions based on the squat, bench press, and deadlift (the three modern powerlifting lifts).
Women have been strength training since its beginning, but the first official women’s powerlifting meet took place in Massachusetts, USA, in 1980. Now in 2023, women are participating in the sport of powerlifting more than ever before!
Ivy Russell was born in 1907 and began strength training at just 14 years old. She was known as the strongest woman in the world during her time; she could deadlift just over 410 pounds and clean-and-jerk almost 200 pounds.
Important aspects of modern powerlifting
As I briefly touched on above, modern powerlifting is a strength sport based on maximal strength in the barbell back squat, bench press, and deadlift. It’s all about lifting the most amount of weight possible in those three main lifts.
Below I’ll go more into powerlifting competitions and what they consist of.
Powerlifting meets
After registering for a powerlifting meet, you are separated into age and weight classes to make the competition as fair as possible. Essentially you are given three attempts at each powerlifting lift (squat, bench press, and deadlift), totaling nine lifts throughout the meet.
Your highest successful attempt from each lift is counted towards something called your total.
It doesn’t matter if you fail a few lifts; as long as you have one successful lift from each discipline, your total will remain unaffected. When I say “successful” lift, I am referring to one that the judges see as meeting powerlifting standards (according to the specific federation you’re competing in).
For example, if during a squat attempt you fail to hit depth, your squat will be considered unsuccessful and won’t be counted towards your total. Sometimes scores are calculated mathematically, taking your body weight and total into consideration which is called a Wilks score. Otherwise, your raw total can just be used to score you.
It ultimately depends on the size of the meet and the circumstances surrounding it. There are many more small details that I could get into, but what I just explained above is the basic idea of competitive powerlifting.
How powerlifters train
Since powerlifting is all about total strength, training for it is quite different from how most gym-goers work out.
Obviously, powerlifters put A TON of focus on the big three: the back squat, bench press, and deadlift. I never have a workout without performing at least one of them.
In terms of the specifics in the way that powerlifting vs bodybuilding workouts are structured, powerlifters train heavier and typically in fewer reps per set. You’ll mostly see squats, bench presses, and deadlifts done in sets of less than five reps.
However, it’s not impossible to see SBD sets done in slightly higher rep ranges (6-8); it really just depends on the amount of volume the lifter requires and how his/her programming is set up.
Powerlifters perform some accessory and isolation movements, but usually not nearly as many as bodybuilders do. The accessory movements are done to help indirectly increase the lifter’s squat, bench press, and deadlift numbers.
What is bodybuilding?
A brief history of bodybuilding
We can’t discuss the history of bodybuilding without mentioning the name Eugen Sandow: The Father of Modern Bodybuilding.
Eugen Sandow was popular in the late 1800s, around the same time weightlifting became an Olympic sport. Sandow held shows called “muscle display performances” where he would show off his unreal physique to an audience. He was the first person to do such performances, which is why Sandow is considered The Father of Modern Bodybuilding.
Sandow actually studied every muscle of the body and came up with a system so that he could individually target each one to create the most perfect body possible.
Like powerlifting, bodybuilding has roots back in ancient times, but the roots are far from what modern bodybuilding looks like today. For that reason, I won’t spend much time covering the very first origins of the sport.
Bodybuilding contests begin
The first large-scale bodybuilding contest was organized by Eugen Sandow in 1891, and it took place in London, England. It was called “The Great Competition.”
After the first bodybuilding show, the rest was history. Bodybuilding began picking up popularity and more shows started occurring everywhere around the world, not just in England.
However, it is said that the 1930s was the “golden age” for bodybuilding development when men began caring more about maintaining a balanced physique and when gyms became a common part of typical fitness routines.
Mr. America was first introduced in 1940, the first Mr. Universe competition was held in 1948, and the first Mr. Olympia contest took place in 1965.
The most well-known bodybuilder to ever exist is Arnold Swarzenegger. Swarzenegger reached peak popularity in the 1970s; he was HUGELY influential in the bodybuilding world. He won seven Mr. Olympia titles during his career, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Sports Festival which is held in Ohio, USA every year.
Women began competing in bodybuilding in the late 1970s, but as I stated above, women had been participating in strength sports (just not officially) since their beginnings.
Born in 1917, Abbye ‘Pudgy’ Stockton was a bodybuilder, strongwoman, gymnast, and acrobat.
Important aspects of modern bodybuilding
Where powerlifting is all about strength, bodybuilding is based entirely on physique–the total amount of weight you can lift doesn’t matter. You may think physique and strength go hand-in-hand, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Powerlifters tend to carry some extra body fat as it helps with strength, whereas a bodybuilder’s goal is to become as lean as possible before their show. In general, bodybuilders just don’t train for strength; they train for size.
When discussing bodybuilding vs. powerlifting, we note that bodybuilding is very subjective. With powerlifting, there’s a clear winner based on the total amount of weight lifted.
In bodybuilding, the judges score your physique based on several factors–muscle mass, definition, symmetry and balance, and stage presence. The most aesthetic physique wins bodybuilding contests, but what is considered “most aesthetic” is all up to what the judges see–making bodybuilding one of the most subjective sports there are.
Genetics do play a pretty big role in a bodybuilder’s success, especially at very high levels of competition. The shape of your muscles, where the muscle sits, and your frame are all influenced by your genetics.
Bodybuilding competitors are judged on several poses that are meant to optimally display the different muscles of the body.
Bodybuilding poses
Men’s Open Bodybuilding has eight poses…
- Front double biceps
- Front lat spread
- Side chest
- Back double biceps
- Back lat spread
- Side triceps
- Abdominals and thighs
- Most muscular
Women’s Bodybuilding does have some slight differences from Men’s Open. In Women’s Bodybuilding competitions, the athletes only do seven of the eight poses listed above…
- Front double biceps
- Front lat spread
- Side chest
- Back double biceps
- Back lat spread
- Side triceps
- Abdominals and thighs
There are lots of different categories in the bodybuilding world including Men’s Open, Classic Physique, Men’s Physique, Wheelchair Bodybuilding, Women’s Bodybuilding, Women’s Physique, Women’s Figure, and Women’s Fitness.
I won’t go into details about each one, but they all have slight differences in poses and the way in which they are judged.
I am not a bodybuilder myself, so I am unfamiliar with lots of the little details of the sport, but there are so many other great articles about the sport of bodybuilding on the web.
Though, I hope this gives you a good general idea of what bodybuilding is all about!
How bodybuilders train
If you can recall, I mentioned earlier that powerlifters put tons of focus on the three big compound movements: the squat, bench press, and deadlift, and that they typically work in lower rep ranges to build total strength.
Bodybuilders, on the other hand, work in higher rep ranges and do lots of isolation movements to target individual muscle groups; they actually split up their workouts by muscle groups.
Bodybuilders do this to build the most aesthetic physique possible. I’m not saying bodybuilders never do compound exercises, it’s just that they do way more isolation movements than powerlifters typically perform in any given workout.
It depends on experience level, but in comparison to powerlifters, bodybuilders usually have more workouts in a given week because powerlifters have more intense lifts and need more time to recover from them.
In addition, when looking at powerlifting vs. bodybuilding, bodybuilders generally do more cardio. They are chasing the lowest body fat percentage possible, especially nearing a show.
What is ‘powerbuilding?’
Powerbuilding, as you can probably guess, is a hybrid of bodybuilding and powerlifting. ‘Powerbuilders’ may compete in powerlifting, bodybuilding, both, or possibly neither.
They train using squats, bench presses, and deadlifts to gain strength, but they also use lots of isolation movements to build size.
The takeaway
Powerlifting is all about being as strong as possible. Competitions are based on an individual’s maximal squat, bench press, and deadlift.
Bodybuilding is based on having the most aesthetic physique possible; physical strength doesn’t matter.
I hope this post cleared up any confusion you may have had, and that you are now confident in the differences between female powerlifting vs. bodybuilding!
