The Importance of Power Training
Bodybuilders and
powerlifters are often divided into two very distinct camps. Each sees the
other as a complete opposite and even speak negatively of one another. Powerlifters
claim that bodybuilders train like pansies and dress like clowns. The term
bodybuilder is synonymous with wimp to some of these guys. The first word
to come to a bodybuilder’s mind when discussing powerlifters is ‘Fat’.
Bodybuilders love to mock their slow paced training and the distinctive 300
pound waddle. And to the public, both are ridiculous. So who is right? Which
is better?
The division between bodybuilding and powerlifting formed in the modern era.
Until the ‘60’s, it was common for both to train in the same clubs
and the separation between sports was not so readily apparent. In fact, early
champions such as Reeves, Grimek and Ross stepped onto the lifting platform
as often as the stage. Bodybuilders practiced heavy power moves and assorted
odd lifts as a major portion of their programs and were even expected to display
strength levels in early competitions. During this time, it was if there were
not two sides at all. It was more like there were only strength athletes;
a small percentage of whom would occasionally slip into tiny trunks to show
off their efforts. Then the tidal wave of change rolled in, forever compromising
our already meager sports. And the change was…..(drum roll)….
Drugs! Now before you toss down this article and laugh, hear me out. Drugs
destroyed one of the major underlying principles of weight training : in order
to grow larger, you must grow stronger. Don’t get too technical with
me and start preaching about how 1-3 reps don’t build size, or how ‘cellular
volumization’ only occurs with higher time under tension. Just look
at the big picture. In order to handle the heavier weights necessary for mass
gains, you must grow stronger. Early bodybuilders certainly realized this.
They trained in powerlifting fashion most of the year, then used their new
strength in higher repetition routines to grow larger muscles. With all the
scientific progress of the last few decades, we have some how managed to stray
from the simple truth that we are all strength athletes at our core. We forgot
this fact because anabolic agents allow a person to grow much larger with
nearly any routine. And since power training is brutally hard at times, it
became much easier to follow radically different routines. Since the magazines
only covered the routines of chemically enhanced bodybuilders, we became brainwashed
with less effective means of training. Drug usage set back the training of
natural bodybuilders by forty years! It is time to return to basics.
I am not saying that you should discard all of your current routines. Three
on, one off, six one, one off, even double splits have their place. What I
am saying is that the majority of the year we should emphasize simpler routines
that emphasize strength. Let’s get something else straight: I am not
advocating the ‘hard gainer’ school of thought. Or the Mentzer
theories, though they are sound. And I am not creating my own method. What
I am calling for is the basic routine of the powerlifter for at least half
the year. Spending several months concentrating on the big three lifts; squat,
bench and deadlift, using tried and true programs to slowly and steadily increase
strength levels. This never requires more than five days per week in the gym,
often less. No need to blow up like a balloon either; keep the calories moderate
to support growth and stay lean year round. Maintain a base level of cardiovascular
conditioning as well. Then as the contest draws near, shift gears and begin
to employ more exercises, less rest and more volume. As soon as the show is
over, gradually return to your off season routine, focusing on being stronger
in the major lifts than you were last year. This is the way to insure consistent
improvements from year to year.
To get started, you will need knowledge. Read all you can find, and spend
some time with some of your new fellow lifters. Listen, sample and experiment.
There are several schools of thought in powerlifting just as in bodybuilding.
My personal favorites are the programs of Charles Poliquin. The man is recognized
as the top strength coach in many sports for good reason. He knows his stuff.
His routines are short, intense and most of all, effective. Give his methods
a few months and see if it works for you.
The sad truth is that the vast majority of trainees, especially drug enhanced
lifters, do not know how to grow. The material that has been thrown at us
has little real value. There are no special or magical methods to grow. The
way that worked fifty years ago is the still the same way today, but it doesn’t
sell well and it isn’t particularly fun, so it gets no publicity. The
single most important principle in the weight room, regardless of sport or
objective, is progressive resistance. You must continuously handle more weight
or more repetitions to fully stimulate the body. This was swept under the
rug in favor of the glamorous routines of drug abusers. It is time that bodybuilders
once again embrace the basic principles of powerlifters. If you don’t
call them fat, they may not even call you a wimp.
