FW: The Powerbodybuilding Method

Published: Thu, 11/29/12

There seems to be an accepted notion that aesthetic bodybuilding techniques
can't be integrated within the structure of an empirical powerlifting workout
program.  I firmly believe otherwise.
 
 

It has been my observation upon viewing the iron game there are two types
of people.  First there are those who are pumpers and toners and secondly
there are those who concentrate on the brute power of heavy lifting alone.

That is until recently when we have a metamorphosis of a third type of hybrid
person who trains to combine the best of both worlds.  It involves the nice
blood choked pump of the bodybuilder yet it's got the rugged and capable
power of a strength athlete. 

When you combine these two approaches you have what is called powerbuilding
or powerbodybuilding.

Powerbodybuilding can be used by competitive bodybuilders as well.  It's great
for the early cycle in which a bodybuilder is embarked on the critical muscle mass
building phase.  For the contest entering and winning bodybuilder it is important for
him to be perceived as someone who doesn't just have herculean size which is
ALL SHOW and NO GO

There's a stereotype out there that bodybuilders are not very strong.  Using a
powerbodybuilding method at the beginning of their contest cycle they'll be able
to back up the great cosmetic physique with some real world strength and power.

Likewise a strength athlete or powerlifter would like for the public to perceive
them as not just someone that lifts heavy iron, but also has the rugged, solid and
capable look of a finely tuned athlete.

 
One of the saddest things I have observed especially in the powerlifting arena is
that of the lifters who weight under 242 pounds.

Many of them possess tremendous tendon and ligament strength but yet as far as
overall behemoth muscular bulk they just don't have it. And when you throw a
long sleeved shirt and tie on them they pretty much blend with the masses of the
general public.

Personally, that bothers me. Granted, tendon and ligament strength is important
I admit to that. But I've observed lifters with larger physiques than mine that
move much less heavy iron that I do. I feel that they're more into a pump phase
of training, which is fine, but deep down I know they desperately want to
possess more superhuman strength and power. Enter POWERBODYBUILDING.

I am not the lone proponent of the POWERBODYBUILDING movement
(I am only seeking to introduce a renewed interest in this powerful training
component), there have been others over the span of the last 60 years.

Some of the most notable luminaries of this movement that I can think of offhand
includes and is not limited to: Malcom Brenner, Franco Columbu, Jeff Everson,
Lou Ferrigno, John Carl Grimek, Donne Hale, Mike & Ray Mentzer, Sergio
Oliva, Reg Park, Bill Pearl, Clancy ross, Bill Seno, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Chuck Sipes and Dorian Yates, just to name a few.

 

If I am not mistaken POWERBODYBUILDING may have achieved its zenith
when one of the criteria's for entering an AAU sanctioned physique event required
athletic events such as Olympic & Powerlifting to help secure additional points in
the physique contest itself. Sad to say that's not the case today.

All of the guys I have just mentioned have been great assets to the physique
game because for them to get the size they possessed they had to do some
heavy, heavy lifting and if you looked at their workout programs you could
see that they combined heavy tendon and ligament building movements with
the muscle sculpting movements of the cosmetic bodybuilder.

 
It was not uncommon for Franco Columbu to bench in the high 400´s or deadlift
over 700 pounds for a big triple. In tests of power, moving a huge weight in a
short movement, deadlifts, squats, supports were all easy for John Carl Grimek.
Clancy Ross was fully capable of getting 180-pound dumbbells in position self-
assisted for some heft incline work.

And who can forget Chuck Sipes who could squat 6 to 700 pounds and bench
nearly 600 pounds, when nobody else near his bodyweight was even close. 
Plus he was an IFBB super-star bodybuilder to boot.

It's not by accident that all of the names I have mentioned have ended up at the
top in the iron game. They not only looked the part (cosmetic bodybuilder) but
they all could push the heavy iron that the general public perceived of them.

Continue reading the rest of the article here....
 
 
Keep training hard,
 
Mike
LeanHybridMuscle.com
 
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