Difference Between Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, & Olympic Lifting

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You want to get jacked, but you don’t know which lifting style is right for you. The difference between Bodybuilding, Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting, whatever you do, you don't want to be one of the 60% of adults who completely skip strength training.

Don’t worry; we got you. In this article, we break down the differences between bodybuilding, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting so you can make an informed decision about which one is best for you.

After reading this article, you’ll be able to walk into your local gym and crush it in the weight room. And who knows – maybe you’ll even start competing in one of these disciplines!

Hit the gym and start building some serious muscle! Keep reading to get the jist of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting.

Difference Between Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, & Olympic Lifting

Don’t worry; we got you. In this article, we break down the differences between bodybuilding, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting so you can make an informed decision about which one is best for you.

After reading this article, you’ll be able to walk into your local gym and crush it in the weight room. And who knows – maybe you’ll even start competing in one of these disciplines!

Hit the gym and start building some serious muscle! Keep reading to get the jist of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting.

Bodybuilding

If you want to build muscle size and symmetry, bodybuilding is the lifting style for you. You’re going to have to put in some serious work.

Bodybuilders train with lighter weights and higher repetitions, with workouts usually lasting around 60-90 minutes. Their goal is to build muscle endurance and size rather than maxing out on strength.

Bodybuilders focus on isolating individual muscle groups. For example, they might work chest and triceps one day, back and biceps the next, and legs the third day.

Some of the most popular movements include squats, bench presses, and shoulder presses. These are all basic exercises that target many muscle groups at once.

Bodybuilders use a variety of equipment to help them achieve their goals. They use free weights such as barbells and dumbbells, weight machines, and even resistance bands, which are proven to be quite beneficial to bodybuilders routines.

Power Lifting

Powerlifting is all about, well, power. Powerlifting aims to lift the heaviest weight possible for a given exercise, to achieve their 1RM. Their routine and diet are both geared towards this goal.

Powerlifters use heavier weights and lower repetitions than bodybuilders. Powerlifters use exercises that work all muscle groups in each workout. The 3 main powerlifting exercises include the squat, bench press, and deadlift.

Powerlifters work with a lot of equipment, such as barbells, weight bench, squat rack, and weight plates. However for that additional support, they use weightlifting belts, knee wraps, and wrist wraps to help them lift more.

Olympic Lifting

The goal of Olympic lifting is to lift the heaviest weight possible in each lift. They focus on explosive movements to help lift the weight at faster speeds. Olympic lifters follow a full-body split. That way, they can work all muscle groups in each workout.

Olympic lifting consists of two main lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk.

The snatch is a very technical lift. It requires the lifter to pull the barbell from the ground to overhead in one continuous motion. It is one of the most challenging lifts to master.

The clean and jerk is a two-part lift. It consists of raising the barbell to shoulder level (the clean), then jerking it overhead (the jerk).

Olympic lifters use several pieces of equipment in their training and competition. Most notably, a barbell, plates, a weightlifting platform, collars, and chalk.

Now Set Up Your Strength Exercise Routine!

Whatever your style, make sure you hit the gym and start lifting! Whatever your goal, hit the gym and start lifting! You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.

Head on over to our strength training page to see some of the best equipment on the market.

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