BODYBUILDING, POWER LIFTING & WEIGHTLIFTING (440 words)

Every child’s first ambition is to be a pilot and the very next is to be a bodybuilder. But the imbecile innocence of his gullible existence masks him from the sharp furrows that cut across the extreme forms of weight training viz. bodybuilding, power lifting & weight lifting.

Bodybuilding is a glamorous, looks oriented practise and by far the beguiling façade to the discipline of weight training. This was popularized, in its nascence, by the likes of Eugene Sandow and “Purgy” (first women builder of repute). And was later revolutionized by little known folks like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Tom Platz (the King of Squat), Ronnie Coleman and et. al.

Bodybuilding, essentially builds looks and the associated strength is only a by-product! Shocking but true. Bodybuilding brings about palpably pellucid spatial proportions, adoringly envious muscular bulk and ignorantly attained pervasive power. The thrust of bodybuilding is to attain Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy—the bulging of the plasma of the muscle fibre cells due to a sudden influx of blood—which is best observed immediately after a strenuous workout. Sarcomere hypertrophy—which is the thickening of the muscle fibres itself—takes longer to build and is long lasting. Basic muscular mass can be built only through sarcomere hypertrophy, which the bodybuilders understand, and is built through fundamental power lifting principles. The built mass is then, in the run-up to contests, is enlarged and/or proportionated through the sarcoplasmic approach. This is achieved through well honed techniques like super-sets, mega-sets and so on. Bodybuilding is also known for its peculiar destructive feature of burning up “excessive” muscle fibres through targeted overtraining to attain that picture perfect proportionate shape.

Power lifting is the underlying method to build extreme muscular bulk and power. Power lifting is all about the measure of weights that you lift. Power lifters, unlike bodybuilders, are always high on carbohydrates (and of course proteins) and are not deterred by the increase of non—contractile tissue in their body. Power lifters, though, compete only on the following three movements: the Bench Press, the Squat and the Dead lift. Power lifting, unlike weightlifting, suffers from the blatant lack of standards and raging disagreements over the validity of lifts. Each national federation has its own finer nuances over the lifts, which has, unfortunately, prevented this magnificent training tenet from attaining the status of an Olympic sport.

Weightlifting, on the other hand, is a highly specialized and standardized sport, that involves just the two movements: the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. The training procedures are mainly lifting parts oriented (thighs, back, shoulders…), but the body as a whole, like in every other sport, is trained for the kill.