What is Powerbuilding? Everything You Need to Know About Powerbuilding

Naturally, people gravitate towards specific workout routines and methods. Most of this depends on your fitness goals, whether you want to build muscle, lean down, or simply stay healthy and keep your heart pumping.

Another reason people choose different types of workout styles is for their specific body type. Sadly, not all of us are built to be as shredded and lean as Chris Hemsworth, and not all of us can build up like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but some of us are.

We naturally gravitate towards workout styles that fit our body type, sex, and other factors. There are loads of people who love to do calisthenics, and there are many who do a hybrid of both bodybuilding and practical bodyweight workouts.

What about Powerbuilding? What is it? How does it benefit you?

In this article, we are going over what Powerbuilding is and everything you need to know.

What is Powerbuilding?

Powerbuilding is a workout style that combines powerlifting and bodybuilding techniques. This hybrid workout style lets powerbuilders increase their strength while also building muscle size and definition.

Although most people may already be “Powerbuilding”, understanding the different elements that make this style so unique and beneficial will help you decide on whether you want to pursue this style or not.

Powerbuilding centers on the three powerlifts (squat, bench press and deadlift), plus other heavy compound exercises, such as:

Deadlift
Bench Press
Squat
Shoulder Press
Pull-up

In addition to this, you also practice focusing on key muscle groups. Doing exercises such as:

Bicep Curl
Crunches
Leg Press
Chest Fly’s

The options here are not limited and you have pretty much full range over what you want to do when powerbuilding. You get to include strength training, while also having a decent amount of focus on building definition.

What is BodyBuilding?

The Bodybuilding workout style focuses on working out key muscles one at a time while including some of the important compound exercises.

In order to know Powerbuilding, you need to understand the “building” portion of the word.

Bodybuilders are ones who isolate the muscle in order to get a maximum contraction. Don’t be fooled though, you can most definitely build strength when bodybuilding, but remember that looks and definition are always the priority.

Have you ever seen the nearly naked men that are spray-tanned flexing on the stage? Those are bodybuilders. You can see nearly every human muscle possible just popping out. Well, bodybuilders, although 99 percent of them not to that extreme, focus on targeting the muscle and creating tone.

When powerbuilding, you blend this bodybuilding work into your sessions. This usually means doing more reps, often 8-12, although muscle grows across a wide range of reps when sets are taken close to failure.

What is Powerlifting?

Powerlifting is a strength sport built on three lifts: the squat, bench press and deadlift. Training focuses on lifting the most weight possible for one rep in each.

Powerlifters usually aren’t the ones that go around showing off their tone. Instead, they focus on building strength, which usually comes with a bulkier build, not necessarily, fat, but big.

Most of these workouts consist of compound powerlifting exercises like deadlifting and others. These compound exercises target multiple muscle groups at once and often require an incredible amount of abdominal strength.

Building your core and increasing your strength is the name of the game here. This also means using heavier weights for fewer reps, usually about 1-6. A review of loading research found heavy loads work best for maximal strength, while muscle growth happens across a wide range of loads.

What is Powerbuilding Training?

Powerbuilding workouts and training include a healthy amount of bodybuilding exercises, with the implementation of one or more powerlifting exercises.

Usually, most of your workout should consist of bodybuilding muscle focus. This means to include workouts that target your muscle groups and those sets should be around 8-12 reps.

Additionally, add in some powerlifting exercises, whether that be one or more. This means that you need to add in some strength training compound exercises, like deadlifting or bench. These are usually going to be higher amounts of weight and the reps should be around 3-6.

Ultimately, talk to your personalized trainer about what you can handle and never do too much to the point where you are harming yourself. Train with intensity and train hard but know your limits. Blend in the strength training but don’t forget to do your focus work and retain that tone.

Is Powerbuilding Effective?

Powerbuilding can be very effective for people who want both size and strength. It combines bodybuilding work with powerlifting strength training. If you want to build muscle and get stronger, it offers the best of both worlds.

Now, if you want to just focus on building strength and gaining all-around size, then maybe this approach is not for you. I would say that this style takes a little more from bodybuilding than it does from powerlifting. It implements those compound exercises in order to help build strength. Powerlifting is the support portion of this workout style.

If you only care about muscle size and appearance, a pure bodybuilding program may suit you better. If you only care about your total in the squat, bench and deadlift, a dedicated powerlifting program will be more specific.

I believe that Powerbuilding is an extremely effective option for building muscle, keeping yourself tone and continuing to be tone, and building strength for practical use.

Cardio for Powerbuilding

Cardio is very welcome when following a Powerbuilding workout style. The CDC recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week plus muscle-strengthening on at least two days, and powerbuilders benefit from both.

Cardio is never a bad option when working out, no matter your workout style. Now, you may want to focus on certain types of cardio rather than others. Some cardio styles benefit you more than others when practicing power building.

Some great cardio workouts for powerbuilding include:

Stair Stepping
Walking
Incline walking
Swimming
Stationary Cycling
Row Machine
Intermediate running

Low-impact options like walking, cycling and rowing are easy to recover from. If you run, keep the volume moderate so it doesn't interfere with your leg training.

If your body allows for it, running longer isn't a bad thing. Just keep the focus on general cardio fitness rather than endurance racing.

Conclusion

Powerbuilding is an excellent workout style for many lifters. You may already be training this way without knowing it. It keeps things balanced and keeps you focused on not only looking good but practically getting stronger.